Tears filled his eyes as memories of the previous night came to him.
“Don’t think about them,” he said to himself.
He washed each dish and saucepan clean before drying them.
Once he was done, Mitch moved straight toward his bedroom. He’d not slept in his bed all night. Leah had been in his arms. He’d felt her soft curves against him and had thought he’d never have to be alone at night.
The way she reacted this morning, he knew that was never going to happen.
He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling for several hours. The desire to move wasn’t with him. He needed to clear his head, leaving the apartment wasn’t an option. If Leah came home before Chase got a chance to turn up, he wanted someone to be there for her.
Reaching over the bed, he grabbed his phone. The only other person he knew to talk to was his father. In all the years his father had known about his and Chase’s feelings for Leah, he’d understood.
Mitch dialled the number, waiting for his father to answer. It was early on a Saturday morning, and his mother usually went to yoga class, leaving his dad home on his own.
“Hello,” his father answered.
“Hi, Dad, it’s me.”
“Mitch, it’s so good to hear from you. What’s up?”
“What do you mean what’s up?” Mitch asked, feeling defensive.
“Son, it’s a Saturday morning. You, Chase, and Leah are usually doing something, why are you calling me? Is everything all right?”
As his father continued to ask him questions, Mitch stared at the photo he kept of their graduation. It had been a day filled with a lot of laughs and celebrations. They were all going to the same college with their futures ahead of them.
“I’ve done something awful, Dad,” he said.
Silence came over the line.
“Do you want to talk about it?” his father asked.
Mitch stared at the photo then allowed the night’s memories to come back to him in a flood. “I need to talk to someone.”
“I’m listening.”
Chapter Five
Leah walked down to the laundrette. It was several streets away from their apartment. The cost was good, and the quality of the shop was wonderful. She nodded her head to the owner before dumping the sacks of clothes onto the bench in front of the washing machine. Leah paid for the detergent then began sorting through the bags making piles of light, dark, and white clothing.
Her mother had taught her how to wash her clothes so she didn’t ruin any of her stuff. There really was a secret to it. She placed the whites into the washing machine, poured the detergent inside, put her money into the coin slots and closed the door.
She took a seat opposite the washing machine. Other days she’d bring a book to read as the washing was sorted through. Her rush out of the apartment meant she’d left empty-handed. She folded her hands under her breasts, keeping her hair down. Covering the bites on her neck was essential. For the next week or so at work she’d be covering her love bites with some scarves. She hoped no one noticed. There would be no easy way of explaining them.
The washing machine kept spinning ‘round, and Leah watched it do the cycle again and again. The rest of the patrons continued to work through their washing as she just stared at the washing machine. The constant turning reminded her of herself. The feeling of being pushed ‘round and ‘round felt familiar to her.
If only she could remember what happened the night before. Her body showed all the signs of lovemaking, and the guys had even admitted to them making love. She wanted to remember every little detail. What had they done? What had they said?
Was there something important she was missing?
She was never drinking alcohol again.
A woman sat next to her, and Leah ignored her, watching her washing machine. Her cell phone buzzed inside her pocket. She pulled it out to see her mother had left her a message about the barbeque. Leah didn’t even know if she was going to make it now. For the first time in their friendship, Leah felt uncertain.
Her phone buzzed again as the washing machine finished. She answered the call from her mother as she emptied the clothes into the basket.
“Leah, what’s wrong?” her mother said.
“Nothing. Can I call you back? I’m doing the washing.”
“Again. Why don’t you buy a washing machine for that place or better yet, start looking for a house to share.”
“It is a little early for that, Mom.”
Leah rested the cell phone between her shoulder and ear as she moved to the spinner. She paid the money then went back to the washing to load up the machine.
“Are you going to keep those men waiting forever?”
She’d confessed her feelings to her mother a few years back, swearing her to secrecy.