Home to Stay by Maryann Jordan

21

Lucy drove up to Paula’s house earlier than scheduled but figured she could kill time by planning her next trip to the hardware store. Parking to the side of the end-unit townhouse, she was struck, not for the first time, how glad she was to have her house in the woods instead of a townhouse in the city.

Paula’s rental backed to an alley that was next to a storage facility, but Paula claimed the location that was near several restaurants and bars made it perfect. She had a few neighbors in the other townhouses, but they were elderly and kept to themselves. Paula would laugh when she said her neighbors were hard of hearing so they didn’t care what music she played and couldn’t see very well so they didn’t know if she brought somebody home for the night.

She sighed heavily. The excitement she used to feel when visiting Paula was gone. And the odds of it coming back are slim. Closing her eyes for a moment, she cast her mind back in time. The first time she’d met Paula a couple of years ago was when the principal asked her to be one of the new teacher’s mentors. “I think Paula will make a wonderful teacher, Lucy, but you would be a steady influence and are close to her age.”

In truth, she was five years older than Paula, had just bought her fixer-upper house, and was mired in projects to accomplish. In many ways, they couldn’t have been more different. But maybe that was why they clicked. Paula got Lucy to go out more and have some fun. Lucy convinced Paula that lesson plans needed to be written on time and Monday morning hangovers needed to be left back in college. Looking up at Paula’s house, she now wondered if their friendship had been more of a convenience rather than a true melding of hearts. So why am I here? A ready answer didn’t come, but she figured a chance to see if there was anything left of a friendship over a glass of wine wasn’t a bad thing.

The sound of a vehicle coming down the street met her ears and she turned to see Paula’s small sedan approach. Lifting her hand to wave, she was surprised when Paula turned short of her street and parked off to the side. Climbing out, Paula jogged over to the side of the storage facility office and waited until a man came from around the corner. She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope, folded it in half, and poked it through one of the openings in the chain-link fence. The man accepted the envelope and the two of them stood for a moment while he opened it and peered down, his fingers riffling through whatever was inside.

Eyes wide, Lucy wondered what she was seeing, and her active imagination went into overdrive. The man looked up at Paula and appeared to speak harshly. Lucy rolled her window down to see if she could hear what they were saying, but only a few words were discernible. From what she could tell, he didn’t think it was enough of whatever it was, and Paula was insisting it was all she had.

Sucking in her lips, she continued to watch as Paula whirled around and hustled to her car. Once inside, she drove the rest of the block and parked to the side of her townhome. Alighting, she walked quickly to her back door and disappeared.

Lucy sat for a moment, blinking as her gaze swung back to the man. He’d pulled out his phone and was talking as he walked back into the office. Lucy looked at the time on her phone. It was still fifteen minutes before they were supposed to meet, but she decided to find out what was happening. If Paula needed help, she wanted to know. If Paula was insistent on going her own way, then Lucy decided there was no reason to have dinner. Their friendship would truly have changed.

Throwing open her door, she marched to the front door and rang the bell. It took a moment, but Paula opened it, her chin jerking back slightly as Lucy stood on the front step, her hands on her hips.

“What’s going on, Paula?” Without waiting for an invitation, she pushed her way inside and turned to face her.

“What do you mean?” Paula’s gaze shot from Lucy to outside the still open front door, down to the floor, and back up to Lucy’s face again.

“You handing over something to that man at the storage facility.”

A gasp followed by Paula’s eyes widening gave Lucy all the information she needed to know that something was going on.

“It’s… I was just… I have a storage unit there.”

“And you make payments through the fence and then argue with the man?”

“Um… I was in a hurry and didn’t want to take the time to go inside to pay.”

“You’re lying.”

Paula opened her mouth but said nothing before she took a step backward, closed the door, and leaned against it. She dragged in a heavy breath before letting it out, her shoulders slumping at the same time. “Why are you here, Lucy? Why are you really here?”

A low, sad tenor was in Paula’s voice. Lucy’s posture mimicked hers as her shoulders slumped and her purse plopped onto the floor. Lifting her hands to the side, palms up, she shrugged. “Truthfully? I suppose I’m here to see if our friendship was real or just one of convenience. The past couple of years, we’ve enjoyed each other’s company at work, but when we went out, it was usually to do something you wanted to do. We never really just sat around and talked. I hadn’t thought about that until recently. You wanted to go bar hopping, I’d go along, which in hindsight makes no sense. While we enjoyed some of the same things, that was never my scene. But I let you convince me that I needed to loosen up and be more fun when in reality fun for me was working on my house, something you never understood. I don’t think it was until that night at Moose’s and then when you ditched me in Canada that I truly understood that our friendship wasn’t based on a true togetherness.”

The silence filled the space of Paula’s small entryway, threatening to choke off the oxygen. She refused to look away, and finally saw evidence of some remorse when moisture gathered in Paula’s eyes and she blinked rapidly.

Scrunching her mouth to the side as her chin wobbled, Paula nodded slowly. “I was nervous to move to a new area, start a new job, not know anybody. When the principal first mentioned that I was going to get a mentor, I was sure she was going to give me to some old teacher who’d been around for decades. When she gave me to you, I thought I’d hit the jackpot. You’re well-liked by the other staff and kids and parents. You’re fun and energetic. And on top of that, you’re just really nice. But I wasn’t ready to settle down, still loving the life I had in college, and I looked at you like any other college friend I’d had. Someone to go to bars with. A wingman. Someone to talk about our sexcapades with.” She shook her head. “I was stupid. I should have realized a long time ago that that just wasn’t you. And that you were waiting for me to grow the fuck up.”

Those words were not what she expected to come out of Paula’s mouth. Pressing her lips together, she finally sighed. “My mother used to tell me that there were people who came into our lives at different times for different reasons. Some to stay for a long time and others more briefly. But they all had the potential to touch my life, help me learn, help me grow. I don’t regret the times we had together, Paula. And I’d really like to help you because I feel like you’re in trouble. If you’re not and don’t need me, then I’ll walk away and we can remain good, professional coworkers. But I’ve seen you change over the last month, and it doesn’t seem like a good change. Who you’re hanging out with, the dark circles under your eyes, and what I just saw outside.”

Paula lifted a hand and swiped under her nose, sniffing. “I just got myself in a bit of a mess, that’s all. But I’m taking care of it and will be fine. And while I appreciate your offer, what I’m dealing with needs to be handled by me and me alone. I don’t want you to get involved.”

“If you’re in trouble or danger, let’s get help,” Lucy pleaded.

Before Paula had a chance to respond, the rumble of a motorcycle was heard coming closer. Paula’s eyes widened, her head jerking toward the back of her townhouse. “Shit! He must’ve called Griz!”

Lucy grabbed Paula's shoulder. “What’s happening? What’s going on?”

“You’ve got to get out of here. You can’t be here when he comes. You’ve got to go!” Paula’s hand twisted the doorknob, but she peeked out the slender window first, a gasp fleeing her mouth. “Shit!”

Unable to see what Paula was looking at, Lucy cried out, “What?”

Paula grabbed Lucy’s hand and dragged her to a door under the staircase leading to the second floor. “Get into the basement! Whatever you do, whatever you hear, stay quiet! You can’t be found here!”

“Paula—”

“No, there’s no time! Listen, I didn’t have all the money to pay the guy at the storage facility so he called Griz to see what’s going on. It’s fine, I’ll take care of it. But if you’re found here, things could get ugly. And by ugly, I mean for both of us! So go down there, stay quiet, and let me deal with this!”

Lucy looked down into the dark basement, the stairs illuminated by a single bulb halfway down.

“Go! It’s the only way to keep you safe!” Paula’s eyes were filled with panic, that emotion finally kicking in with Lucy.

She heard the door shut behind her as she raced down the wooden stairs, her heartbeat pounding to the rhythm of her footsteps. Just as she neared the bottom, the light went out and she stumbled, barely managing to right herself before she splattered onto the concrete floor.

Dim daylight was still coming in through two small, dirty windows at the back of the basement wall near the ceiling, and she hurried over toward them. As her eyes acclimated to the light, she looked around. A few boxes sat in a corner, appearing to have been here for a long time, probably before Paula moved in. Movement shot along the wall toward the boxes, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to still the squeal that threatened to erupt at the sight of a mouse.

Voices were heard from above but she had no idea who was there or what was being said. Christ, what have I stumbled into? She considered going back up the stairs to listen at the door but quickly dismissed that notion. If the door opens, I have no chance of getting away.

Tiptoeing over to the windows, she looked to see if there was an escape route through them. They were small, the townhouse built before the regulations that determined the size of windows for a basement. She was sure she was petite enough to make it through if she could get them open, but there was nothing available for her to stand on other than the boxes that she knew were hiding mice.

Shoving her fears of rodents to the side, she pushed the box toward the back wall, wincing at the scraping sound it made on the concrete. Finally, standing on the box, she could just barely reach the window latch. She pushed and shoved but it wouldn’t budge. Blowing out a breath, she jumped as a shadow passed the window. Crouching down, she peered through the grime and thought it was the man that Paula had talked to from the storage facility. Moving down off the box very slowly, she moved into the shadows, out of sight.

Blowing out a long breath, she wondered what to try next. Hopefully, Griz will just leave, and Paula will let me know the coast is clear.

She tiptoed away from the window, creeping toward the bottom of the stairs. Indecision flooded her as the voices from upstairs grew louder. The memory of her purse dropping to the floor by the front door hit her, and she snapped her hand to her pocket, breathing a sigh of relief at the feel of her phone.

Pulling it out, she saw she’d missed five calls, all from John. Just then, a message came in.

Paula’s house under surveillance. On our way.

Sucking in a hasty breath, she glanced back up the stairs as though someone was going to catch her on the phone before she typed out a return message.

Griz upstairs with Paula. I’m hiding in basement. Man outside in back.

Another message came in.

Stay where you are. Police on their way. Love you… stay safe. Almost there.

She blinked at the words, her heart pounding, not sure what was hitting her the hardest—that he was almost here or that he loved her. Clutching the phone in her hands and pressing it tightly to her chest, she knew. He loves me. Any other man, that might be a throwaway phrase, but not John.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, bitch? You think you can just walk away from me? You fuckin’ owe me the rest of the money!”

“I gave it to him. I gave everything that’s been deposited to me. I swear, Griz, I can show you my bank statement. Two thousand dollars was put in, and that’s what I just gave him.”

“Five fuckin’ thousand dollars was supposed to been put in your account.”

“It wasn’t,” Paula cried.

Lucy winced at the sound of something crashing above her. Praying it was just a chair and not Paula herself, she tiptoed halfway up the stairs, not knowing how to help. John had said the police were on their way and she squeezed her eyes shut. Please, God, let them get here fast!

“No!” Paula screamed, and the sound of scuffling was heard, then all went quiet.

Her heart dropped to her stomach and Lucy raced up the stairs. It was rash to hurl toward a dangerous unknown, but she couldn’t stay in hiding while someone was being hurt. With her ear pressed to the door, she sucked in a breath as her hand landed on the knob.

It didn’t turn. I’m locked in? Jiggling the door, she felt it move then catch again. Dammit! Continuing to jerk the stuck door knob back and forth, it finally turned, and she flung the door open. Bolting from the basement, she screamed, seeing Paula on the floor, eyes closed and blood running from her nose. Dropping next to Paula, the air rushed out as she spied Paula’s eyes fluttering open.

“I’ll call an ambulance.” She jerked her phone from her pocket again, but the front and back doors were flung open at the same time, several uniformed police officers entering, weapons drawn.

“We need an ambulance!” she shouted. “The man who hurt her just left, but there’s another guy out there!”

One of the officers dropped to her side, immediately assisting Paula, saying, “We got the men.”

A growl at the front door sounded, and she looked up to see John storm in, jaw tight, eyes flashing as they landed on her. As he stalked forward, she leaped to her feet and rushed into his arms. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

“You fuckin’ weren’t okay. You were in a fuckin’ basement with a fuckin’ maniac drug dealer right fuckin’ above you.” His voice was still a growl, but a smile slipped over her face at his colorful although accurate description. His arms had banded tightly around her, lifting her slightly so their hearts beat next to each other.

She leaned back to peer into his eyes, the haunting specter of fear still visible. Cupping his face, she held him close. “I wasn’t okay, but now I’m in your arms, John, and we’re perfect.”