Page 58 of Fight or Flight
“Whe-?” A knock on the door stops me from questioning her.
“Are you expecting more company?” Claire asks and stands up.
“No,” I shake my head and go to answer the door, aware that Claire is hot on my heels. I smirk to myself because this curiosity thing is such a Claire thing.
But then my lips downturn when I open the door and see Sandra standing there, looking like a freshly divorced cougar ready to get her revenge on her unfaithful husband as she goes out clubbing. With Claire’s presence, I completely forgot about the visit.
“Hi, Aidan,” she coos, and without waiting for an invitation, walks past me, her boobs rubbing on my arm purposefully in the process.
I close the door after her and eye her, unable to hide my displeasure with the fact that of all the times she’s checking on me, she had to choose today to look like an escort.
I throw an apologetic look toward Claire, but it goes unnoticed as she’s busy eyeing the woman coldly before she crosses her arms.
“Claire, this is my parole officer, Sandra,” I’m quick to inform as the two women have some weird nonverbal conversation with each other.
“Is that so?” Claire asks with her eyebrow raising to dangerous levels.
“Hi, I’m Sandra,” the older woman extends her hand for Claire to shake with a friendly smile in place.
After a pregnant pause, when I already started to think this would turn even more awkward, Claire uncrosses her arms and quickly shakes the woman’s hand.
“Nice to meet you,” she says in a tone that indicates that it’s anything but nice indeed, and Sandra chuckles before focusing on me.
“You didn’t forget about me, did you?” Sandra asks, and I want to groan at her choice of words.
“No, Sandra. I didn’t forget about being on parole. And yes, I was expecting your visit. I just didn’t know you’d show up so late and...” I wave at her dress, thinking her outfit speaks for itself.
The woman whirls around and says, “You like?”
I want to shake the woman, but all I do is glare at her before mouthing sorry to Claire, who, now to my surprise, looks close to amused.
“So, anyway. Who’s your friend? I didn’t know you were seeing anyone?” Sandra questions over her shoulder as she walks to the living room. “You know I also need to keep watch on whom you’re associating with, right?”
“Claire is... an old friend of mine,” I reply, getting annoyed with Sandra as she starts snooping around the place.
“Really?” She lifts her head from one of the drawers she’s rummaging through. “So you know each other from school or... ?”
“Yup.” I say, just as Claire says, “Not exactly.”
We share a look, and I try to convey the message to Claire not to say anything because I know Sandra is like a dog with a bone. She’s not going to let it go.
“Actually, we used to be together before Aidan went to prison,” Claire says with a shrug, and Sandra snaps to attention, forgetting about pretending to search the place.
“Oh, that sounds like an incredible story. Young love, full of passion, ripped apart by the circumstances,” Sandra says excitedly and struts over to Claire on her high heels. “Tell me, does the passion between you two last the test of time? Was it even better than before when you first rejoined?”
I almost choke on my saliva at that and start coughing. What the fuck is wrong with this woman?
“Don’t know yet. I guess we’ll have to see,” Claire responds without missing a bit.
Wait? What? Does she mean what I think she means, or is she only saying that to mess with Sandra?
“Oh. I get it. You’ll have to tell me how it went then. With details. I looove love.”
“Sure thing,” Claire chirps.
“If, for some reason, you can’t get the fire going anymore, don’t hesitate to call for me. Aidan has my number. For me, three isn’t a crowd; it’s a magic number. Anyway, I won’t disturb your time any longer. It’s a Friday night, and I’m dressed to impress, so I’ll see you both around,” Sandra smiles happily and then stops before leaving. “Oh, Aidan. Be sure to stop by my office next week. I have some paperwork for you to fill out. Okay, byeee.”
“Bye, Sandra,” Claire calls with a wave.