Manage Me

Jack had been gone for a good two hours now, and I had a sneaking suspicion that something was wrong. His exit had been too hasty and he had looked thoroughly freaked out. I sighed as I flipped off the vacuum cleaner. My hand reached up to trace the tattoo behind my ear again. Something about that had set him off, but there was no possible way he would know what it meant. Lily was the only person who even knew I had it. Well, other than Jack now.

Oh my God, that’s it.

I nearly screamed at myself. That night with Jack, Lily had piled all my hair on the left side of my head. My right ear would have been completely visible. He would have seen the tattoo.

God damnit! Fuck!

He must have realized who I was when he saw it. And then he had taken off because he knew. It felt like all of the air had been sucked from my lungs. He didn’t want me. He knew I had sex with him, and now he wanted nothing to do with me. I bit my lip to keep from crying.

Suck it up, Katie. You knew it would come to this. One more day. Just deal with it.

I took a deep breath and then blew it out in a huff. I wiped my arm across my forehead as I placed the vacuum back into the closet. The upstairs was officially clean. All that I had left to do was finish up outside and then do the final details like clean the windows and dust. The doorbell rang and I flitted down the stairs to answer it. A guy stood on the other side, chewing on a lip ring.

“Oh, uh, hi? I’m sorry, who are you?” He asked, confused.

“I’m Katie. I’m just Ja – Mr. Barakat’s maid. He’s not in right now, can I help you?” He gave me a quizzical look.

“I’m looking for Jack. It’s important.”

I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do in this situation. I didn’t know when Jack was going to be home or even who this guy was. He looked desperate though, and not completely crazy. So I stood to the side and ushered him in.

“Thanks, I’ll text him.” He smiled. I nodded.

“I have to get back to work.” He shrugged and wandered into the living room.

“Oh my God!” He yelled. I jumped as he came running back at me. “What have you done to it?!”

“I-I just c-cleaned it…” I stuttered, stiff with terror.

“You’re a goddess!” He cried, pulling me off of my feet and into a hug. I squeaked. “Holy shit, you’re a fucking miracle worker! How long have you been working here?”

“Since Monday.” I coughed slightly as he set me back down on the floor. His eyes widened.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I slowly shook my head. I was seriously reconsidering letting this guy in the house. My original assessment of his mental health had obviously been wrong.

“You really are a goddess.” He breathed. “I’m Matt.”

I nearly groaned. Another Matt in my life? Really? At least this didn’t seem to be a total douche bag. No. He was just insane.

“Right. Okay, well I really need to get back to work.” I mumbled, taking a few steps back. “Look, J – Mr. Barakat has been gone for almost two and a half hours now. He might not be coming back, so maybe you should try again later?”

“Nah.” He smiled at me and held up his phone. “He’s on his way home right now.”

I sighed quietly to myself. I couldn’t deny the flutter in my chest when I heard he was on his way home, but I squashed it quickly, remembering the look on his face earlier. I had scared him off. He didn’t want anything to do with me. I nodded, trying not to look upset or hopeful, both clashing emotions running rampant through my body.

“I’ll just leave you here then.” I took off up the stairs before he could respond.

My heart was racing as I sat down on the freshly vacuumed carpet. I didn’t want to face Jack. With a deep breath I stood shakily and made my way back downstairs.

“Uhm, Matt?” I peeped. He looked over at me. “I have to go. Would you tell him I left? And I’ll be back tomorrow at the same time?”

Coward.

“Sure.” He grinned. “Anything for my new favorite person.” I disregarded the remark.

“Thanks. Oh, and will you also tell him I’ll make up the time tomorrow?” He nodded.

I slipped out the door and sprinted to my car. My nose was stinging the way it always did before I cried, but I clamped my jaw shut and refused the tears. He wasn’t worth it. And I wasn’t going to sit in my car like some pathetic cry baby for the second time today.
As I drove away from the house I caught a fleeting glance of what looked like Jack in a car headed the opposite direction. The driver looked absolutely ecstatic though, so I knew it couldn’t be him. Wherever he was, I was betting on him being pissed.

My phone vibrated in my lap and I looked at it just long enough to see it was an unknown number before rejecting the call. It went off again not even five seconds later and I hung up again, my face screwing up in annoyance. The third time it went off I snapped it open just long enough for the person to think I had answered before slamming it shut without saying a word. After that, I turned it off and tossed it in the back seat.

I didn’t bother grabbing my phone as I parked and headed towards my apartment. Just as I went to unlock the door, I realized I was going to need to have my phone if I wanted to call Kade tonight. With a quiet curse I returned to my car and grabbed it.

Mom probably won’t even answer. I thought bitterly.

I left the phone off as I showered and changed. It was way too early to call, so I began stress baking. By the time 9:30 rolled around I had an apartment full of brownies, cookies, cupcakes and an apple pie. My phone blew up with several more missed calls from the unknown number and a few texts and calls from Lily as well. I sent her a quick text telling her my phone had been dead and I was headed to bed before dialing my mother’s phone. It rang twice.

“This is Martha. Leave a message and I’ll call you back.”

I sighed heavily, not entirely surprised but upset nonetheless, and turned my phone off again. I buried myself in my blankets and squeezed my eyes shut. All I wanted was for this day to be over. Tomorrow would be the last time I had to see Jack Barakat ever again. I would just push through it and act as if nothing was different.

One more day. I reassured myself and finally drifted to sleep.