The Beginning of the End - Chapter 40

When we finally pulled up to our new "home," I had managed to wipe away my tears and focus on unloading the car with Kevin. He hadn’t even noticed me silently crying in the car as we drove the last few blocks. Apparently he had a lot on his mind as well.
 

Schmauser made a beeline under the bed, and I wished I was small enough to join him. I was suddenly so tired of everything, tired of my "adventure" in Reno, tired of partying, tired of life. I dragged in a couple of bags, and was just about to collapse on the bed…
 

"Kevin?" I asked, staring at the queen sized bed. "Isn’t something missing here?"
           

The bed was stripped clean. Thankfully, the mattress seemed relatively new, and devoid of any remnants of past users, but there was not a stitch of linen to be found.
           

"Oh, yeah, Ken warned me about that. Wait – I took the sheets from our old place."

He ambled back in carrying everything from our old bed, right down to the pillows and cheesy bedspread. With a flourish, he tossed them on the mattress where they landed with a "whoomph." I heard Schmauser complain at the intrusion.
 

"Don’t you think they might be a little upset that you took those?" I inquired tiredly.
 

"Ah, who cares?" Kevin shrugged. "They probably have a ton more. Ken told me bedding wasn’t included – towels, either. I hope you don’t need to shower, I forgot to grab those," he added sheepishly.
           

Honestly, all I really wanted was to go to sleep. For a long, long time. The whole experience had left me exhausted. But first I needed to make up the bed. As soon as I had the last blanket laid down, Kevin collapsed on the bed with a sigh.
           

"Babe, that was really messed up," he said.
           

I laid myself next to him, and snuggled up as he put his arm around me. "I know," I murmured. "I missed you."
           

"I missed you, too."
           

As we laid there, savoring the silence, we both jumped at the sound of a knock at the door.
           

I looked at Kevin with fear. "You don’t think they followed us or had us followed, do you?"
           

His eyes were glued to the door. "I’m not sure," he said quietly. "I thought we got out ok, and I was promised my back was covered..."
           

"Hey, just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood," a girl’s voice called from the other side of the door.
           

I stared at Kevin in confusion. "Do they have girls working with them?" I whispered.
           

"Not that I know of," he responded, looking as baffled as I felt.
           

"You aren't asleep already, are you?" the voice asked. "Cause I can see the lights still on..."
           

I cautiously walked to the door and opened it a crack. Standing there was a girl about my age, hands on her hips, looking annoyed. I couldn't help staring.
           

"So, you inviting me in or what?" she asked.
           

Startled, I pulled the door open wider and motioned for her to come in. She surveyed our room, and her eyes settled on the bed. She sucked her teeth and laughed.
           

"You got those from another motel, didn't you?" she accused, motioning at the linens.
           

"So what if we did?" Kevin replied defensively.

 "Hey, I don't care," she said, shrugging. "I just recognized them." She turned to me and stuck out a surprisingly well-manicured hand. "Name's Tanya. Nice to meetcha."
           

I shook her hand with a smile. "Dasi," I said, "and that's Kevin." It had been a while since I had a "real" girlfriend, I had lost touch with Shelley and it seemed my only female friend lately was the State's Attorney. Tanya had a friendly smile and a strong grip, and judging by her unexpected "welcome-to-the-neighborhood" visit, a pretty strong personality as well. I liked her already.
           

Kevin seemed more skeptical. "You live here yourself?"
           

She gave him a once-over. "Yeah, so?"
           

He shrugged. "No reason. So no boyfriend, nothing?"
           

"He split. A while ago. Why are you asking so many questions? You five-oh?" she asked suspiciously.
           

I laughed out loud at her query as to us being cops. Even Kevin cracked a smile.
           

"Hardly," I answered, still giggling. "Actually, he just got out of-"
           

Kevin cut me off. "Work. I just got out of work. And we needed a new place to crash." He glared at me.
           

I felt like a child who had just been reprimanded. "Yeah, the last place wasn't working," I added meekly.
           

Tanya nodded. "Whatever. It's cool." She continued to scrutinize the room. "Soooooo..." she began, testing the waters. "You guys party?"
           

I felt my stomach lurch. Suddenly I wasn't tired anymore, and it seemed like a hit would make everything better again, especially with a new friend. I pushed back all my earlier fears and worries and looked at Kevin with a question in my eyes.
           

"Depends," Kevin answered cautiously. "If you're supplying..."
           

She chained the door and reached into her bra, pulling out a baggie that was gloriously familiar.

"I got the favors if you're up for a party," she said smugly. "Like I said, welcome to the neighborhood."
           

Kevin magically produced a pipe and lighter. "Welcome, indeed."
           

And the three of us spent what was left of the night, and a good part of the morning as well, partying on Tanya's dime.
           

"You know, you're a hell of a neighbor," Kevin managed as she squinted in the sunlight as she opened the door to leave.
           

"Yeah, thanks," I added, still feeling the buzz, but suddenly feeling pretty tired, too.
           

She smiled and turned around. "No problem," she said. "Hey, dasi, we'll have to do a girl's night out sometime, kay?"
           

"Definitely," I answered.
           

She nodded, still smiling my way, like she knew something Kevin didn't. The problem was, neither did I. And my new friend Tanya had secrets of her own that I would find out in a horrible way.