Super Avenged: Only Human

“What are you doing?” Jimmy sighed as he walked into our bedroom a few days later. I didn’t immediately answer, still focusing on my task.

I stood in front of our closet, pulling my clothes off of the hangers and dropping them haphazardly into my suitcase. Our anger at each other had relaxed to a gentle simmer. We were no longer calling each other bitches and whores every minute of the day, and I had begun to care again when he got hurt. We weren’t all lovey dovey with each other again, but we were getting there, slowly but surely.

“I am going back home,” I answered matter-of-factly. See, we’re improving. I answered a question without calling him a mean name. That’s improvement in my book.

“Why?” Jimmy asked patiently.

“I miss our apartment,” I said, dragging my last article of clothing out of the closet and dumping it into my suitcase. I dropped to my knees in front of the suitcase and began to fold my clothes neatly so I could fit more in there. I still had some clothes in our dresser, too. Hey, I’m a girl. What did you expect?

“Miya—” Jimmy began, but I cut him off.

“Don’t ‘Miya’ me, Jimmy,” I snapped impatiently, folding up a pair of jeans. “I miss my own studio. I miss Central Park. I miss sleeping in my own bed. I don’t like living here, and I would be much happier living back at my own place. You can stay here if you want or whatever, but I refuse to.”

I rose back to my feet and walked over to the dresser. The dresser contained mostly Jimmy’s clothes, but I’d put some stuff in there too. I grabbed an armful of camisoles that I’d stored in one of the drawers and traipsed back across the room to dump them into my suitcase. Jimmy remained silent, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. I couldn’t believe my luck. Maybe, just maybe, Jimmy wasn’t going to fight this and I could just drive on home without his interference.

Nope, I spoke too soon.

As I walked past Jimmy to go grab my hygienic stuff from the bathroom, he seized my upper arm and squeezed gently. I let out a breath and looked up at him. He frowned down at me, and I could see concern and worry etched deep into his ice blue eyes.

“Miya, you know I can’t let you go back home,” Jimmy told me, his voice soft and persuasive. God, I hated when he talked with that voice. He could convince me to streak through Central Park on Christmas Eve with that voice. “That Carson guy could attack again, easier than I think you realize.”

Detective Kinsey had called Jimmy a couple of days earlier. They’d gotten a match on the fingerprints. Some dude named David Carson was the one who’d attacked me. He had a decent criminal record, including assault and battery and even a charge of attempted murder that had been dropped. Neither of those things made me feel better, not at all. When the police went to his home to arrest him, he was no where to be found. A warrant was sent out for his arrest, but they hadn’t found him yet.

“Oh, I realize how easy it would be for him to attack again,” I told Jimmy with a confident nod. I was preparing myself to not give in to his voice. “But at least he would attack me in a familiar place.”

“That’s no excuse,” Jimmy’s voice went stern for one moment as he frowned deeper, except it was the sort of frown you get from your father when you’ve done something naughty. “You’re staying here, Miya.” And in an instant, he went back to that persuasive voice.

“I hate this house,” I grumbled, looking away from Jimmy’s face. He released my arm; we both knew I wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m too used to living with just you. Now, it’s like male overload, and I don’t like it one bit.”

“I’m sorry, Miya,” Jimmy apologized, pulling me gently into a hug. I wrapped my arms back around him, burying my face into his chest. Yes, I know, just three days before I was calling him a bastard and whore and all sorts of mean things, but sometimes, a girl just needs a hug. And damn, I really needed a hug.

“It’s not your fault,” I mumbled, my voice muffled by the cotton of Jimmy’s shirt. Jimmy rubbed his hand up and down my back, and I began to realize how much I missed this sort of simple affection.

“Soon, we’ll catch that bastard,” Jimmy assured me. “And then we’ll move right back home. We just have to be patient.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. Jimmy pushed a kiss to the top of my head before pulling away.

“I’ll help you unpack again,” he told me. We walked over to my suitcase and began to unload it again.