The Wrong Side of Heaven

Chapter 17

Guilt keeps me awake the entire night. Devin is sound asleep beside me. I glance over at the alarm clock. It's almost three o'clock in the morning. Carefully slipping out of bed, I put my clothes back on and grab my phone and keys. I leave his house without bothering to look back. The drive is silent and peaceful. My mind is finally at ease - for now at least. Perhaps because I'm too tired to think. Deep down I know I'd be sound asleep if it were Jay I was laying beside. I park the Maserati in front of the house and sit in it for a long moment. I don't even have the energy to walk inside at this point. The day has been mentally draining and Devin left me exhausted. Sighing, I climb out of the car and head inside.

The house is quiet and most of the lights are off. There's a dim glow coming from one of the doors down the hallway. I quietly make my way towards it, realizing it's Jay's office as I near it. When I turn to walk away, I realize that it could be someone else who doesn't belong in there. It would be my job to figure out what they were doing. Sighing, I turn back around and peek into the open door. Jay is sitting in his chair behind his desk. His head is leaned back and Kim is standing beside him, kissing him softly. For the first time ever, I find myself a bit annoyed at the sight. It has never bothered me until now. How can he kiss me just to come home and go back to kissing her? Maybe it really was just a meaningless kiss to him and I'm reading too much into it. I knock softly, gaining both of their attention. Jay's eyebrows furrow slightly as he stares at me. "Sorry to interrupt. Do you have a minute?"

"I was just leaving," Kim says as she grabs her keys.

She gives me a small smile as she exits the room. Jay leans forward as he gestures to the chair on the opposite side of his desk but I decide not to enter the room any further. "Why are you awake still?" I ask, staying put in the doorway.

"I couldn't sleep. How about you?"

I couldn't either but I'm not about to admit that to him. "Did you pay off my parent's mortgage?"

He sighs, leaning back in his chair. "I did a few weeks ago. I'm not in the mood to argue about it."

"Why?"

He looks very tired. I find myself wishing we could go back a week so we could fall asleep beside each other in the tree house again. "Your mother is a very kind woman and she made quite the impression on me while you were in the hospital. She deserves it."

She does. Apparently he spoke with my mom more than I realized. I'm also too tired to argue about it so I say the only think I can think of. "Thank you."

He nods once and I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. I want to talk about what happened but I can't bring myself to do it. His chair rolls back as if he's about to stand but I turn and quickly walk away. There's no telling what would happen if we were in close proximity right now.

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Todays work consists of fixing a few of Jay's scheduling conflicts along with trips to the grocery store, the dry cleaner and the post office. Jay is making me work for my money today but I have no complaints. This is the most carefree relaxed job imaginable. My only complaint being the boss will kiss you then pretend nothing ever happened. It's been days and neither of us has brought it up. He let me know he shouldn't need me for the rest of the day so I decided to put my bikini on and make myself a margarita. I lounge on the back patio with my laptop as I search for a car but nothing really catches my eye. I have no idea what kind of vehicle I want. I figured the right one would jump out at me when I came across it. Jay allows me to use the Maserati whenever I need but I need to make another step towards independence. That includes having my own vehicle and maybe one day my own house. Kim steps outside wearing a black bikini with gold straps. Her long hair is up in a messy bun and big sunglasses hide her eyes. I give her a polite smile before returning to my search. "Want to join me for a swim?"