HOW TO RUIN YOUR LIFE (LGBTQ+)

26

"I'm gonna talk him out of it," Joe said firmly.

    "What'd you say, dad?" Mike called from the kitchen table where he was eating a bowl of noodles.

    Joe stood in his bedroom, staring at the wall, thoughts racing through his head like they had been all day. He'd been thinking and thinking and thinking all day...and while he did want Asa to beat Jayce's ass, he didn't want Asa to get her ass beaten, or for things to potentially get out of hand. And with Asa, that probability was sky high.

    But where the hell was he supposed to start? Persia didn't even know where Jayce was, and she was his wife. There was a whole city laid out.

How the hell was Jayce planning on finding Asa anyway?

-

Asa walked cooly up to the window of the SUV, bracing her hand against the car roof as the window rolled down, revealing Jonah, one of Max's most trusted men, and the one who had taken Carl away after the ransom money was paid.

He happened to be Max's cousin too.

    He stared at her through sunglasses, his face completely devoid of emotion. "Asa. Izzy was here, was she not?"

    Asa blinked. "She was here, yeah."

    Jonah nodded. "And, where did she go?"

    I shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?'

    Jonah sighed, getting out of the car, slamming the door behind him. "Talk."

    We ended up walking toward my house, into the living room, where we sat on the couches together before I spoke.

    "She came here, told me that the package wouldn't be paid for. The package was terminated-"

    "Where is it?"

    "The river. I can show you where I tossed it-"

    "No need. And Izzy?"

    I guess I didn't need to worry about providing 'evidence'.

    I sighed, leaning back, wiping my hand down my face in exasperation. "She was asking me to run away with her, and leave Max. She said she hated him and he was keeping us apart."

    Jonah scoffed, shaking his head.

    "I told her no, and to fuck off. She stormed out of the house and left."

    Jonah sighed, reaching up to rub his eye under his glasses. "Shit. Max won't like this."

    So far, so good.

    He stood up, dusting off his suit. "And your phone? Why hasn't it been working?"

    I looked up at him from my relaxed position on the couch. "Izzy threw it across the room in her anger at me, and it busted. I tossed it out after she left."

    "Alright," Jonah said. "Thanks for the work. I'll be going now." He walked himself out the door, and I watched him get into the SUV and speed away, finally at peace.

    What did it mean to own my own house and property, but have no privacy whatsoever? It was practically useless this way.

    I shook my head in annoyance, then stood. It was time to go out on the town. Persia and Joe had warned me about Jayce, and there was a good chance I could run into him and get the altercation over with. It was killing two birds with one stone.

I was nervous to leave Cleo on her own, but my friends had expectations, and I'd rather go to meet them then for them to come to my house when I was on such thin ice already.