Chapter 54

Following my gaze, Vince turned toward around to look. Together, we watched Trey walk toward us, lugging the two slightly mangled suitcases with him. When Trey reached Jake's door, he turned to Vince and said, "Man, you must really want your ass kicked."

Vince looked only mildly amused. "By you?"

"Hell no," Trey said. "By Jake."

"I'll take my chances," Vince said.

"Whatever," Trey said. "It's your funeral." He looked toward me. "Hey, I brought up your suitcases."

I glanced down to study them. "Yeah, thanks. I can see that. But I thought they were missing. Did they just turn up?"

Trey gave me a puzzled look. "Well, they turned up in the storage closet downstairs, if that's what you mean. I figured Jake forgot to bring them up, so here they are."

I stared at them. So they weren't lost? Or stolen? Had Jake hidden them away on purpose? I shook off the distraction and turned back to Vince. "Anyway," I told him, "thanks for stopping by, but I think it's time for you to leave."

Trey spoke up. "Yeah. Run, while you still can."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh shut up." I turned back to Vince. "But you really do need to leave."

"Alright," Vince said, "I can take a hint." He turned away and began walking toward the same elevator that had just delivered Trey. When he almost reached it, he turned to call over his shoulder, "Call me when you change your mind."

"I won't," I said.

Trey, still lugging those suitcases, elbowed his way past me into the penthouse. "Jake's gonna be so pissed," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because he hates that guy. You shouldn't have let him in."

"I didn't let him in," I said. "In fact, I hardly opened the door."

"Next time," Trey said, "hit him with some mace. Keep him from coming back."

"I'll think about it." Eager to chance the subject, I asked, "So, were you just in the neighborhood?"

"Nah, I was working downstairs. At Jake's office."

At the memory of what Jake and I had done in that office, I felt my face grow warm. "Oh. That's nice," I said.

"Yeah, I'd better head back," Trey said. "But if Vince stops by again? You know what you should do?"

I gave him a look. "Aside from the mace?"

"Yeah. Aside from that. You should tell him to fuck off."

I laughed. "Why would I do that?"

"Because," Trey said, "that's what Jake would do."

"Except I'm not Jake," I reminded him.

"Yeah," Trey said, "but he'd still like that."

"Uh, thanks for letting me know."

"No problem."

After Trey left, I sank down on the floor and opened the beat-up suitcases. All my stuff in there, just like I remembered, including the piles of panties, still covered in floor-crud. Shuddering, I shut both cases and tried not to think about it.

Whenever Jake returned, this was definitely worth a discussion. I just didn't know what kind of discussion we'd be having. I had a pretty strong hunch that the suitcases were never lost in the first place. What I didn't know was whether Jake's deception was a good thing or a bad thing.

It was sweet and scary all at the same time. I had to smile. Kind of like Jake.

I left the cases out in the open and returned to my phone, intending to resume my job search. I was surprised to see I had a missed call, along with a new voicemail, both from the same unfamiliar number.  Checking my phone, I realized that I'd forgotten to turn on my ringer this morning.

I'd need to do better, especially now that I was looking for a job. Thinking of Vince's offer, I felt myself smile at the total absurdity. Half-distracted, I scrolled to the new voicemail and hit play. As soon as I began to listen, my smile faded.

The message was from Maddie, and she sounded half-crazed. "Listen up, Anna, or Luna, or whatever the fuck your name is," she said. "I don't know what shit you're into, but I sure as hell don’t appreciate you dragging me into it."

Listening, my eyebrows furrowed. What on Earth was she talking about?

As the message continued, the less I understood. "You know what happened last night?" she said. "Someone broke into our fucking apartment. They trashed the place. They ripped up Monica's – or should I say your – room." Her voice broke. "Everything's fucking destroyed, even the furniture, and I'm sure as hell not paying for it."

What?

"And one other thing," she said, "the next time you wanna steal someone's boyfriend, you might want to make sure the guy's dick isn't still wet from fucking your roommate. Whore."

When the message ended, I yanked the phone away from my ear and stared down at the screen. My hands were trembling. The message felt like pure poison. I wanted it gone – gone from my phone and gone from my memories.

Maddie had been a crappy roommate. And if Jake was right, she was a lot worse than that. Still, there were things in that message, ugly things, that I couldn't quite deny. The last thing, in particular, made me feel just a little bit sick.

With a shaky finger, I reached out to erase the thing. And then I hesitated. There were parts of that message I didn't fully understand. But I had a sickening feeling that a certain someone just might.

Had Jake known that would happen? And if he did, why hadn't he warned Maddie? Obviously, he liked her well enough to have sex with her. But he didn't like her enough to warn her of potential danger? The thought was so cold, it gave me a shiver.

And on an infinitely more personal note, one question kept returning over and over. Why was I here, really?

Was all of this one big favor? Was it Jake's way of keeping me safe and distracted all at the same time?

I tried to convince myself I was being stupid. I told myself that Jake really did want me here. And as far as Maddie's message, it meant nothing. She was unhinged, that's all.

But no matter how hard I tried, my worst fears came crashing back again and again.

Sometime soon, it would be me in Bianca's – or worse – Maddie's shoes. I'd be kicked to the curb and treated with cold contempt. Except, unlike them, I'd also be homeless and unemployed. Even the clothes on my back weren't even mine.

I glanced at my dented suitcases filled with cast-off clothing. Suddenly, I felt cheap and ridiculous. What was I doing here? Playing house? Living out an adolescent fantasy? Pretending I was something I wasn't?

I was still trying to sort it out when I heard a key card in the door. I looked up just in time to see the door fly open. And there he stood, Jake, looking royally pissed off.