Chapter 2

Thomas unlocked the door to the loft when he got home from work, tossed the keys on the entryway table and headed down the hall towards Angela’s room with the container of soup he’d stopped and bought for her on the way home. He knocked on the door lightly, in case she was sleeping. When she didn’t answer it, he turned the knob and cautiously stuck his head in the door. “Ang?” He could see clearly that she wasn’t on the bed and it didn’t look like it had been lain down on at all. He stepped further into the room and towards the bathroom. The door was ajar. “Angela?” He went over and knocked on the door, pushing it open at the same time. She wasn’t there either. “What the fuck?”

He went back out into the living room and then into the kitchen. There was no note and no sign of her. He threw the container of soup across the kitchen. It hit the refrigerator and the lid flew off sending broth and noodles everywhere as he yelled, “Fuck!” at the top of his lungs. After taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm himself back down, he went and got his phone and called her. As he listened to it ring and waited for her to pick up, he realized he could hear it ringing inside the loft, but also from down the hall. How the hell did he not see her if she was here? He made his way back down the hall with his phone still to his ear and followed the sound…to his room. What the fuck?

Thomas stopped outside his door and listened. The door was about half-way open and there was no mistaking where the ring was coming from. He pushed the door in with his hand and it bumped something and swung back forward. He stepped inside and looked down. Angela’s phone was lying behind the door…where it only could have ended up if she was inside his room, with the door closed. Fuck!

Thomas picked up the phone and looked around the room. His heart was racing in his chest and he could feel sweat beginning to form across his brow. What did she find? What could she find? Deep breaths, Thomas. Don’t fucking lose it. Think….He went to his nightstand where the drawer was slightly askew. That didn’t mean much since it never really completely closed anyways. With another deep breath he pulled it open. “Son of a bitch!” That was said aloud to the room. The escort cards were gone. She didn’t just find them, she took them. What the fuck did she plan on doing with them? He glanced around the rest of the room. There would have been nothing else for her to find there. He had been so careful…the escort cards didn’t mean shit. He’s a man, right? If she didn’t like knowing he was having sex that was her fucking problem…at least that was what he would tell her if she asked him about the cards. She had no right to go through his things and he was going to make sure she felt damned guilty about it.

Thomas looked over at his closet. He was stalling. He knew that if she’d found what was in there, she wouldn’t be back…unless it was with the police. He forced himself to go over and open the closet door. He stood there for several seconds looking around. Nothing looked out of place…so far. He took three steps back and reached up for the cord. It was there, where it should be. He pulled on it and the door fell open. He pulled himself up into his private room and once again, looked around. This room gave him peace. It was the one place where he truly felt like he could be himself and express his opinions. He closed his eyes and breathed it in. This was his haven…only his. It wasn’t meant for anyone else’s eyes. Opening them again, he could see that even the fresh coat of dust that came from the sun streaming through a skylight window was untouched. Angela hadn’t found his room…this time. He went back down through the closet and found his phone in his room. He pushed in a number and the voice on the other end said,

“Maintenance, this is Tim.”

“Hey Tim, this is Thomas. I need a favor…”

**

When Angela and Steve got back to the loft it was after seven o’clock. He got out of the car and prepared to walk her up. She pulled him in for a sweet kiss and said,

“Thank you so much for today. I feel so much better.”

He smiled and kissed her again. This kiss was more than sweet, it bordered on passionate. “You could always come home with me and we could wrap this night up right,” he said with a grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows. Angela would love nothing more than that. But, she had to deal with what she’d found out today sooner or later, and the longer she put it off, the worse it would get. She looked at Steve and said,

“I would love nothing more than to wake up with you tomorrow morning…but since I took half the day off today, I really need to go into work.”

“That’s fine, just bring your things and get ready at my place.”

“It’s already seven baby. By the time I get my stuff and we get to Long Beach and we make love…”

“It would be a long night for a woman who was ordered by her doctor to get more rest, right?”

“Yeah…kind of. I’m sorry.”

He pulled her in with his hands on her hips and pressed his forehead to hers. “Don’t be sorry. Just promise me that you’ll rest.”

“I will, I promise.” She really was exhausted now and she really hoped that she could keep that promise. As usual lately, it will depend on what Thomas was up to. She kissed him again and he watched her go inside the building. Her heart ached when he got back into the car. She really wanted to go with him. She really wanted this all to be over. With a heavy sigh of resignation, she made her way up to the loft. As soon as she walked in the door, Thomas stepped out of the kitchen. The look on his face made her want to turn around and walk back out.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“I was with Steve,” she said. “Don’t yell at me. I thought we talked about all of this already. I don’t need to check in with you when I go out.”

“I dropped you off after your doctor’s appointment, Angela. You were sick…supposedly. You couldn’t go back to work. I was worried about you when I got home and there was no sign of you.”

Not wanting to argue with him further she said, “You’re right, I should have called or something. Steve came by and I was feeling better so we went out and got some lunch and we took a walk, I think the fresh air did me good as well. But, I am sorry that I worried you.”

That seemed to relax him a little bit, but she could see that he was still visibly very tense. “So, you ate already?” he asked her.

“Yeah, I’m really tired now so I think I’ll just take a quick shower and go to bed. Are you mad at me?”

“No, Ang. I’m not mad. I was worried. You just don’t seem to understand how much I worry about you.”

She mumbled another, “I’m sorry,” although she wasn’t. She was halfway down the hall when he said,

“By the way, you left your phone in my room.” She stopped dead in her tracks. She felt a surge of terror rush through her. She hadn’t even noticed it missing. She’d been so relaxed and comfortable with Steve today that she hadn’t let herself think of anything but him. She may have just made a deadly mistake. She shivered and tried to convince herself there was nothing “deadly” about her old friend. That was becoming harder and harder for her to do, especially when she finally convinced herself to turn around and she saw the look on his face as he held out her phone. It was one of smug satisfaction. He knew she’d been snooping and there was no way she could deny it at this point. She forced a smile. It felt foreign on her face. Then with a shaky voice that betrayed her fear she said,

“It was in your room?”

He smiled too. His didn’t reach his eyes and only served to intensify her fear. “Yeah, behind the door.” He let her take the phone from his hand and then he said, “Do you mind telling me what you were doing in my room…with the door closed?”

Angela’s mind was racing. What should she say here? Should she try turning it back on him about the escort card? She was sure he’d had time to come up with an explanation for that…so it was probably a moot point. Damn it! With her heart slamming against the inside of her chest she said,

“I was doing laundry. I just went in to look for dirty clothes. I was talking to my mother and I must have dropped it off the top of the laundry basket and not even noticed.”

He smiled again, this one looked even more sinister. “That would explain it; I guess…if I didn’t know you were digging in my nightstand drawers.”

Shit! “I’m sorry, Thomas. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy. I honestly went in to look for dirty clothes and when I saw the drawer slightly open I was going to close it for you. But then I saw the cards…the one on top had my name on it…why is that?”

“I got a phone call from a real estate friend of mine the other day. I was considering helping you with your apartment search. She gave me some numbers for you to call. I was in the bedroom and grabbed one of the cards and started writing on it before I realized how inappropriate it would look to hand you a note on one of those.”

Plausible…but she wasn’t buying it. “You don’t want me to move. Why were you going to help me?”

“You just seem so stressed out lately, Ang. I honestly only want what’s best for you. I took down the numbers. It was right before you told me you found a place. I still have them if you’d like to see.”

She’s sure he did have them. Spending the day with Steve had given him all the time he needed to get things in order before she confronted him. “No, that’s okay. I believe you,” she lied. “Can I ask you about the cards though? Why would you even have those? There were a couple of other…questionable things in that drawer.”

He looked annoyed then as he said, “I’m an adult Angela. I’m a man. I have needs. I’ve never brought one here while you were home, so frankly, it’s none of your business, as is the rest of what is in that drawer. I don’t go snooping through your things or question you about your sex life.”

She hated to admit it, but he had a good point. She knew in her gut he was lying but at the moment, she didn’t want to argue with him. So she did what she knew would work with Thomas. She acted like she was remorseful as she said, “You’re right. I’m sorry. I won’t pry into your private life again.”

He didn’t look like he believed her even a little bit, but he smiled nonetheless and said, “Thank you. You should get some rest now. You look exhausted.”

She nodded and turned back towards her room. On the way past his she noticed the doorknob was silver…the rest of the knobs in the loft were burnished copper…as his had been only hours ago. This knob had a matching deadbolt right above it. Thomas had put a lock on his door. Fuck! Now she really needed to see what was in that room…but how? She pretended not to notice and continued into her bedroom. She closed the door and leaned up against it with her heart racing. What the hell has she gotten herself into? She was so tempted to just wait until he fell asleep and leave. Steve would be there in minutes if she called him…so would Joanne. If she had half a brain, she’d get the hell out now…but then she might never know all that he’d been up to. She put her hands across her belly. It was time to finally admit to herself what she was worried most about. The drugs in her system…waking up sore…getting pregnant in spite of being vigilant with her birth control…before she told Steve she was pregnant, she had to know the truth. She took another deep breath and headed into the bathroom. Maybe a long soak in the tub would clear her head and help her decide what to do.