Albert Jones personally delivered the paperwork to us at the motel for our review. I was sitting at the little table in the corner of the room, flipping through the pages to look for any inaccuracies. But my mind wasn’t in it.

I was miserable, knowing that these simple documents would ensure capital gain for me and homelessness for Danny.

Danny.

I hadn’t spoken to him for days, and I was already losing my mind. Thomas had called him yesterday to let him know that his copy of the paperwork would be arriving shortly. Apparently, he had asked for me, wanted to speak with me –- about only God knew what -– but I had declined.

I’d laid it all out on the line, made an utter ass of myself, left myself exposed and vulnerable. All for him.

But he’d closed the door on me, turned me away. If I had agreed to speak with him yesterday, I couldn’t guarantee that I would have been able to keep a level head.

A line of text on the page caught my eye. I sat up straight, suddenly alert. “Shit,” I hissed. “Fucking shit.”

“What is it?” asked Thomas. He was sitting on his bed, watching the television again.

“By county law, members of signing Party A are permitted up to ninety days to remain on the property in order to make accommodation arrangements,” I recited.

“So? What’s the big deal?”

“I told Daniel he had two weeks to move.”

“So what?” asked Thomas with a shrug. “You made a mistake. You can’t be expected to know the real estate laws for every tiny county.”

“You don’t understand,” I muttered quickly, shaking my head. “This is going to make me look bad. Danny will probably think I was rushing him off his property.”

“Did you just call him Danny?” he snorted, eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Never mind that; he’s going to be pissed at me.”

As if on cue, the door to our motel room suddenly erupted with thunderous raps, rattling the very frame of the room. “You son of a bitch!” screamed Danny. “You open this fucking door right now, Jacob McCullough, or I swear to God I’ll kick it off its hinges!”

Thomas shot me a concerned look. “What the fuck is his problem?”

My heart threatening to explode, I turned the lock to the door and immediately stepped back as Danny barged in. He snatched at the collars of my dress shirt, grabbing hold of me and lifting me a good inch of the ground. He shook me like I weighed nothing, nostrils flared and brows furrowed. His cheeks were flushed, skin hot just like his temper.

“You son of a bitch,” he hissed at me. “You manipulative piece of shit!”

“Whoa, hey!” exclaimed Thomas, rushing over. “Calm the fuck down! You’re going to hurt him.”

I threw my hand out, signaling to him to stop.

“So what is it, Jacob?” roared Danny. “Was the plan to sweet-talk me and then fuck me, so I wouldn’t notice you rushing me off of my land?”

“Danny, let me explain–-” I started, but he cut me off almost immediately.

“No, you fucking listen to me,” he growled, seething. “You’re nothing but an empty suit who only cares about money. You city folk with your mightier-than-thou attitudes can kiss my horse’s ass.

“Why do I have to leave my home –- my life -– just because you want to build a –- what was it, a fucking subdivision? Why do I have to be the one to leave? Why can’t you look somewhere fucking else and leave me the fuck alone?”

“Danny, please, I didn’t–-”

“You said I had fourteen days. Fourteen fucking days. Do you have any idea how much stress I’ve been under? Turns out this whole fucking time you were counting on me to leave early, isn’t that right?”

“I made a mistake!” I yelled, shoving him as hard as I could. Danny took a step backwards in an attempt to regain his balance. His grip on my shirt didn’t loosen.

“Like fuck you made a mistake,” he grumbled. I had never seen him so angry. It killed me to see him like this. “You lied to me.”

“I swear,” I choked out. I felt so fucking pathetic, and there was absolutely no way I could convince Danny otherwise. “I honestly thought you had two weeks to leave. I thought I was doing you a favor by telling you.”

“You’re in real estate,” he argued. “You know the rules better than I do. I sincerely doubt that.”

Thomas tried to step in, grabbing Danny by the wrist. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Or what?” he spat.

“Or I’ll call the police.”

I was trembling, my arms and legs numb as waves of adrenaline and fear threatened to drown me. This wasn’t right. This was all so messed up.

I never meant to hurt him. Danny. Sweet Danny. Sweet, poor, deserved-better-than-this Danny.

Seeing him this upset broke my heart. But a small part of me was happy that he was here, as illogical as that was. At least I got to see him again. Him and his beautiful blue eyes, like endless skies on a warm summer’s day. But they were clouded over now, dark and threatening in a way I’d never thought possible.

Danny finally let go of me, breathing hard. He pulled out his copy of the paperwork from his back pocket, along with a blue ballpoint pen. Pressing the paper and pen against my chest, he flipped to the last page, signed his name, and wrote down the date, jabbing the pen hard against me.

He shoved the paper into my face, ink still wet. “There,” he sneered. “The property’s yours. I’ll be gone by tomorrow morning.”

Turning on his heel, he stomped out.

“Danny, wait!” I shouted after him. I didn’t want things to end like this. This was so, so wrong. “Please!”

He stopped at the doorframe. He didn’t bother to look at me, choosing to stare straight ahead. “I never want to see you again,” he stated coldly.

His words cut through me like a jagged knife. And just like that, he was gone, leaving me standing there like an idiot, in a stew of silence and despair.

And I cried.

For the first time in a long time, I cried. All I had now were these stupid papers and shattered fragments where my heart should have been. I collapsed, crumpled in on myself as I let the pain engulf me.

I deserved this.