Author's Note: I usually avoid making these notes at the beginning if I can, but I believe it is warranted in this case. This chapter is longer than usual because it has the potential to be more emotional than my typical chapters, and I wanted to give those moments space to breathe.
There is some mention and discussion of past sexual trauma and abuse that may upset some readers. I do not depict the scene, but the discussion may be heavy for sensitive readers. I wanted to give you that head's up so I don't surprise anyone with it.
Don't let that discourage you, though. There's plenty of spice and story here. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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Arthur drove home after saying goodbye to the girls at the hotel on Sunday morning. He unloaded his luggage, packed several boxes, and loaded them into his car.
He put seven small boxes of books in his backseat and trunk. Packing the old books from his apartment's second bedroom was easier than Arthur expected. If he didn't need them for his current classes, they were free to go. The first box he'd loaded had been too heavy, even for him. He switched to smaller boxes, and while they remained heavy, they were much easier to lift and move.
Then he turned his attention to Kat's car. Katelyn had vomited over the backseat after her misadventure on the mechanical bull. They'd cleaned up what they could, but the acidic bile soaked into the carpet still stank when Arthur slid into the driver's seat. The key he borrowed from Selene let him drive it to the shop, and he paid extra for the finishing and double-checking the tires. Wincing, he handed over his credit card.
Katelyn agreed to pay for the damage. Arthur wouldn't let her do that. Even if it made him even more fiscally irresponsible. This weekend had been terrible for his wallet. Spoiling one girlfriend was manageable, but five or six? He didn't need to be a business major to realize his savings were vanishing. Being one meant he understood the long-term consequences of his shrinking capital.
The rate at which he burned through his cash had to stop, or he had to earn more. Sighing, he checked the phone number Diane had given him and texted her. One night's work had gotten him a week's pay through fees and tips. He realized he could no longer afford to ignore that revenue source. Besides, it'd been fun, dancing on stage and having everyone go wild. Not that he needed the ego boost.
Arthur: Hey, it's Arthur, aka Tommy Sins. lol. You mentioned you might have work for me?
He texted with his mom while he waited and pulled out his laptop to work on homework.
Arthur: Hey, mom! Let me know how it's going. I love you!
Neither his mother nor Diane responded right away, so he spent most of his time working on homework while he waited. The work on Kat's car was thorough but expensive, and they returned the car to its spot before long. Now, the interior smelled of shampoo and air freshener. A mountainous improvement compared to the alcohol-tinged bile aroma.
His mother texted him after he got into the car and prepared to drive away. Ignoring his earlier greeting, she opened with a question that made him scoff.
Mom: Did you get into a fight at school?
Arthur sighed and typed out the story. Then he decided against it and erased it.
Arty: No, two guys tried to fight me, but they were misguided and we resolved it peacefully.
Mom: Proud of you.
Arthur smiled. His mother's pride wasn't difficult to achieve, but the love and respect of his mother still made him feel good about himself. There wasn't much he wouldn't do to see her happy, but that was true for most women in his life.
He drove Kat's car to their complex, parked it in the spot where it had been, and returned to his apartment. He ate an early lunch and read for class.
After some time, he checked his watch and realized he probably had only a few minutes before the girls finished their brunch. He got into his car and started driving. The text from Rani came through on his drive.
Queenie: Ready when you are for our homework date. Can you come and pick me up? The others are staying here and watching football.
He was about to respond with a voice-to-text response when his mother called, and he answered it.
"Hello?" Arthur asked.
"Hey!" His mom said with enthusiasm.
"Hey, everything okay?" Arthur asked. A small part of him worried over the girls, Lynn, and his mother having brunch together.
"Everything's great." His mom said. "The girls are fantastic, honey. Mindy's cute as a button, Selene's shy but alright. Kat and Katelyn are quiet, too, but they have good heads on their shoulders. Kelly is wonderful, but she and Lynn despise each other. You're going to have your hands full, keeping them apart. And Rani is a hoot."
Arthur laughed. Rani was a hoot. Selene's shyness struck him as odd, but she might not have been able to get a word in edgewise with everyone else there.
"Great." Arthur said. "I'm on my way to pick Rani up for our date, and I've got the first load of books to move in from my study."
"Perfect." His mom said. He could hear the smile in her voice.
"Was everything okay between the girls and Lynn?" Arthur asked, trying to restrain the worry in his voice.
"They went at it a couple times." His mother admitted. "But no drinks thrown. Apparently, Lynn didn't understand the nature of your relationship with the girls, so we had to lay it out for her."
"Ah." Arthur said, unsure how to respond. "How did she take that?"
"Not well." His mother said. "I think she's upset that there's no chance for you two, but she's dealing with it. She tried to make up with them. It mollified some of them but I think Kelly still hates her."
"Yeah." Arthur said, nodding, though his mother couldn't see it. His relationship with six other women was not the only, or most significant, reason he and Lynn would never get together.
"Is there anything specific she did that you want to tell me?" His mom asked, her voice more subdued than the gregarious tone she'd had before.
"Why? Did Lynn say something?" Arthur asked.
"No, but some things Kelly said..." His mother hesitated. "Nevermind. It's okay. I know you don't want to talk about it. I'm just... I'm here if you need me. Okay?"
"I know." Arthur said, turning onto another street. "Thanks, Mom."
"You got it." His mom said. "I'm just a phone call or text away."
"Thanks." Arthur said again. "I should be there soon. Tell the girls I'm on my way?"
"Sure." His mom said. "I'll see you when you get here."
"See you soon." Arthur agreed.
"Love you!" His mom's eager tone returned.
"Love you too!" Arthur said and ended the call.
Arthur turned onto the forested road leading to his parent's house, soon to be his home. The rest of the drive was peaceful, and Arthur enjoyed it. He refused to contemplate any topics that might sour his mood. So, instead, he sang along to the musical version of an ancient Greek romantic tragedy. The soundtrack to Hadestown blasted through his car's speakers.
Arthur pulled through the open gate and rolled along the narrow driveway toward the house. The autumn leaves in the branches and on the ground coated everything in orange, red, and yellow tones. They made Arthur nostalgic for jumping into large piles of leaves as a small child. Maybe he'd rake a pile together, even though, as an adult, he'd learned the danger of ticks. That was the worst part of adulthood, knowing enough about Lyme disease to ruin his fun.
He parked behind Mindy's car in the roundabout and stepped out. His eyes swept the exterior. He saw Kat wave to him from the family room's bay window seat, and he waved back, smiling. That smile faded when he spotted someone coming his way from the side yard.
Lynn Barrera strode toward him with her head low, to his surprise. She wore leggings and a modest turtleneck sweater. The black leggings were a second skin, climbing her shapely calves, luscious thighs, and wide, circular hips. Her turtleneck covered her from the top of her thighs to the middle of her throat. The sweater was modest but tight enough to show the jostling of the expansive breasts she stuffed into it. She moved toward him as though nervous rather than sultry, a change in tactic from the day before.
Arthur hesitated, wanting to run into the house, but he kept the hood of his car between them. Lynn stopped far enough away to not cause him to flee. She held her arms before her, showing her hands were empty in a sign of peace. It reminded Arthur of someone approaching an animal who might bolt.
"Hey, Arthur." Lynn said, soft enough that he had to lean forward to hear her. "I wanted to apologize again. For high school, yesterday, last night, and for everything."
Arthur noticed her usually perfect and artisanally applied makeup had slight streaks and smudges around her eyes. As if she'd been crying.
Lynn wiped her face, smearing her makeup further. "The girls told me what's going on. They told me about your poly relationship and that they're each dating you. It doesn't make any sense to me but to each their own, right? I'm glad you're happy. You were always a romantic, and now you have multiple romances."
Arthur looked around, hoping to spot anyone who might come to his rescue. He looked at the window where Kat sat. Unfortunately, she was looking into the house, not the driveway. He desperately wished she would turn and see him.
"You are happy, right? With Kelly and the others?" Lynn asked. "You care for them, and they care about you more than each other?"
"Uh... yeah." Arthur said, offering nothing more to the conversation.
"Selene said you told her to return my clothes, so thank you for that." Lynn said. "I don't know if you helped plan Selene's prank, but you'll be happy to hear plenty of people were in the hotel lobby when I left last night. And I was naked, not just in my underwear."
Arthur didn't respond. He glanced at Kat again, hoping for a sign that rescue was coming. Otherwise, he'd have to calculate how to best enter the house without giving Lynn the chance to move into his path. He saw no trajectory other than running into the grounds surrounding the house, losing her somewhere in the trees, and circling back. Kat's back was still to him. She was talking to someone else in the family room.
"Arthur." Lynn said, lifting her eyes to meet his and finding him looking anywhere but her. "I'm sorry for tackling you yesterday."
"Oh. It's..." He started to tell her it was okay out of reflex, but he didn't finish his sentence. "Why did you tackle me?" He couldn't think of a reason.
"I don't know." Lynn said, sniffling. "I was being playful and got carried away. I didn't think about--I wasn't thinking. That's all. I miss you, and I miss us. I miss my best friend, and I know I fucked everything up and only have myself to blame."
If she hesitated to give Arthur a chance to deny it or comfort her, it was an opportunity he allowed to pass. He remained silent.
"I know you hate me and don't forgive me." Lynn said. "I get it. What I did to you still haunts me, and I--" She paused, wiping as the tears flowed. "I really am, so sorry."
Arthur wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't. He wanted to hear these words years ago, though he would have preferred they be unnecessary. As it was, his instinctual desire to comfort a crying woman fled him because this woman was Lynn. He'd comforted a total stranger in an elevator last night, and every reactionary instinct in him wanted to offer Lynn the same embrace, but she was Lynn. She was crying, sure, but he'd seen that plenty. She was apologizing, sure, but he'd heard that before. It changed nothing. He wouldn't fall for her tricks again.
"Okay." Arthur said.
"Okay?" Lynn asked, surprised.
"I heard what you said." Arthur said. "That's all I mean."
"Oh." Lynn said, sagging where she stood.
