Starting Over

Molly's Day Off

My deep slumber was interrupted by a pounding on the front door that I ignored. "Open up!" called the official-sounding voice. The doorbell dinged next, causing me to groan and push myself up from the bed, knowing more rest was futile. I glanced at my phone: 7:41am. Ugh, only 4 hours of sleep.

Why the fuck is Izaak waking me up?

Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled to the front door and swung it open, still half asleep. Izaak stood there in a suit, much more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed than me, leaning against the door frame. His expression was serious as he gazed down at me. "Can I come in?"

"Really?" I stepped to the side so he could pass, yawning. "Why so early? It's my day off."

Izaak strolled past me as I closed the door and locked the dead bolt. "I dropped the girls off at the airport," he said, turning towards me and eyebrows raising.

"I know. You made Violet promise to be ready at 'six a.m. sharp' and she griped about it all night." I shuffled back to my room, plopping on my bed.

He pulled out something from his pocket, which I immediately recognized as the vape pen I'd given Chloe. My eyes widened and heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, my body was awake.

"Does this belong to you?"

"Yeah, ha, I was wondering where that went," I said, reaching for it.

"No, you weren't," he said, holding it away.

I flopped back onto the bed, looking up at him with a puppy face I knew wouldn't work.

His head shook, staring at me in disapproval. "You gave this to Chloe."

Chewing on my lower lip, I didn't respond right away, wondering how to answer this with the least amount of problems. "Why do you assume it was me?"

"Oh, Esperanza took a good spanking in the truck this morning after claiming it was hers."

"And then she ratted me out, huh?" After all, she had threatened to tattle...

"Of course not. She would take a bullet for you without a second thought, and there was no time to extract a confession." He shook his head in disappointment as I realized that I'd just told on myself. "What were you thinking, kiddo? I didn't expect you to be the bad influence."

I hung my head, feeling the tears coming on. "Sorry..."

He gave me a fierce stare, then handed me back the pen. "Don't give her drugs again. Next time I will not ask nicely."

The sternness made me gulp, and I squirmed like a little girl whose guardian had just caught her in the act. "Are you gonna.... You know?"

Izaak's eyebrows raised. Since Adam and I had been together, he hadn't tried to spank me, respecting my commitment. "Do I need to?"

My shoulders lifted in a shrug, and my friend gently sighed, lifting my chin to lock eyes. We didn't require many words to understand each other.

"I have work to do tonight..."

"Me too." My voice was a mumble, heart speeding up as I remembered how Gabe and Toby expected me to spend my time off.

"I'll message you when I'm home."

I nodded, and he kissed my forehead, releasing my chin. We skipped the small talk, though he expressed another verbal warning to not badly influence Chloe, ruffling my hair as he exited the apartment. Our friendship gave me warm fuzzies and instant "little" vibes.

Laying back on the bed, I reached for my phone and vape pen, beginning my ritual of texting while smoking.

Adam: Miss you tons. Hope to see you soon 💚