Burn Me Away

Before the night was over but after receiving a tour of the house, he'd decided that he'd go ahead and give her the extra house key that Jen had left and the security codes for the basement/rehearsal space he kept. She stood across from him at the kitchen counter as he fished around in the drawer where he'd hastily tossed that key when he was cleaning. Finally, he found it. He flipped it through his fingers a few times and stared at it. His blue orbs focosing intently on the 'J' he'd drawn inside the little heart with a red sharpie before he'd given his ex that key almost a year ago now. With a heavy sigh, he slid it across the counter to Courtnee.

"Here's an extra key." He told her shortly. "Just in case you need it or get locked out or something when I'm not here."

She spied the initial that adorned the front of the key but didn't say anything about it. After all, she was just a stranger to him and he sure as hell probably wouldn't take kindly to a nosey houseguest. He noticed the way she looked at the key as she held it and cleared his throat, "It belonged to an old roommate."

"I didnt ask...." She trailed off shyly.

"I know. I could tell you were curious."

She just about to say something else when a tiny little voice interrupted them from the doorway.
"Mommy?"

She turned her head quickly towards the toddler, "Yes, baby? You okay?" The little girl ran toward her mom who scooped her up without a thought.

"Mmmhmmm." she rubbed her eyes causing Corey to laugh a little. "I'm hungwee."

"I was getting ready to order some pizza before Craig showed up earlier. You like pizza?" He asked them.

"Who are you?" The pint-size girl asked with conviction.

"Baby, this is Uncle Craig's friend Corey. We're going to stay here at his house for a little bit."

"Why is your hair long like a girl?" She asked him outright.

"Maddie!" Her mother admonished.

"It's okay." He nodded. "I guess I just like it long. Makes me feel pretty."

"Like a princess?!" She asked with excitement.

"Uhh, yeah." He smiled and blinked his eyes rapidly. "Like a princess.......Now, pizza?"

A little over a half an hour later the delivery boy brought their food to the door. after paying him and setting the boxes on the coffee table, he immediately grabbed three slices.

"It's all yours." He told the two girls quietly and with a slight smile before climbing the steps to his room.

He lay in bed with his pizza, notebook, pen, and acoustic guitar in a desperate attempt to try and write something new. A song, poem, anything really. After cramming down that last slice of pizza and still not having any luck, he decided he'd just strum on his guitar for a while stopping intermittenly to take a swig of the whiskey that sat on his nightstand.

After tucking her daughter back into bed, Courtnee settled into the second bedroom for the night. Her thoughts were racing at a million miles an hour it seemed. She hoped the authorities would catch up to Jack quick so that she and Maddie could get back to having a normal life. Then she wondered, what if they never caught up to him. Jack was slick and had friends in every police station within a 100 mile radius it seemed. As thoughts of always being on the run and hidded, plagued her mind and kept her from much needed sleep, she could hear something coming from down the hall. It was hard to make out at first but soon she recognized the sounds of an acoustic guitar echoing against the walls as they crept down the hallway. "It must be Corey." She thought to herself as her eyes suddenly became heavy and a yawn escaped her lips as she tried to listen closer at what he was playing.