Read Online Love Thy Neighbor by Janna Dellwood - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Janna Dellwood
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2:02—she
walked downstairs.
Eggs, toast, sausage, and orange juice were her breakfast this
afternoon. Sometimes it was Special K. Sometimes it was oatmeal and a
banana. Sometimes it was nothing until closer to evening, when the
hunger really struck. She had no reason to stay on a health kick, so
who cared if she packed on the pounds? Who did she have to impress?
Men were ancient history as of today. The make-up in the bathroom was
useless now, too. She had nowhere to go, so why keep it? I'll just
throw that crap away later when I'm not so tired.
After eating, she went to the living room and sat on the couch. The
mushed cushions, old and worn, groaned under her body weight. Her
hand reached for the remote on the floor, but stopped an inch away
before touching it. What was the point of watching TV? Enjoyable,
yes. Constructive? No. I don't deserve to be entertained. I don't
deserve any of the pleasures of life. Instead, she just loafed
around, staring at her despondent-looking reflection in the blank
screen, letting time elapse. In her eyes, she looked like a dead
young woman cursed to live about her years as a vampire, who needed
blood to thrive but was damned to a world where blood wasn't in
supply. Nobody could help her, because everyone was scared of her,
and she couldn't do anything to help herself, because her powers were
wasting away. The only thing she could do? Live out her days this
way, in silence, wallowing in her own self-pity.
An hour passed.
Then another.
Her gathering stack of thoughts gave way to a headache, and her
depressed feelings produced a bigger hole in her heart.
Before the tears came, she finally turned on the TV to distract
herself from the torment she was causing herself.
Judge Judy filled the bright, colorful screen as it clicked on. The
brazen old woman was busy insulting the defendant, a tall, burly man
dressed in a three-piece suit. “Put your listening ears on,
Sir. How many times do I have to tell you that you have to pay Ms.
Parker for her services?!”
He licked his lips and sneered. “I'm listening, Your Honor, but
everything she said over the phone was nothing what I expected or
wanted. Why should I have to pay for something that's been falsely
advertised?”
Judy Judy smacked her desk. “Because, it's what you agreed to.
See this paper? You signed it. You signed the contract—“
“ Yeah,
I did, but—“
“ I'm
speaking! When you sign a contract, you're supposed to read it first.
It says here, here, and here, exactly what the terms of agreement
are. Everything you object to is bologna. Yes, it may not have been
what you expected or wanted at first, based on the ad. But it's here
in the contract! You signed it! Uncross your arms.”
The man's eyes narrowed and his sneer turned into a long sigh. “I
don't believe this. This is— bullcrap.”
“ Too
bad! You have to pay Ms. Parker for her services, Mr. Baron .”
Janna felt a solid wave of realization and uncertainty crash into her
as Judge Judy spoke the name. Whoa.
Janna quickly turned off the TV.
Coincidence , she told herself. It's a coincidence that I
turned on the TV, right when that name was spoken. That's all. Dumb
luck. Chance. It means nothing.
Deeper down, however, the doubt struggled to reach the surface to
tell her she was wrong.
So here she sat, in silence, but far from content.
***
Janna fell asleep not long after that, and awoke four hours later to
the sound of two closing car doors outside. Probably Baron and his
sister...
Oh, who cares?
She really didn't want to care. She tried not to, but couldn't help
herself. It poked at her, over and over.
Forget him. Forget him. Forget him!
You're weak. You're attached already, so that makes you weak, Jan.
Or am I weak because I'm denying all my emotions?
Subconsciously, she stood up on her tingly, drowsy legs and glided to
the window in the dark. With her left hand, she pulled back the
curtain. With her right, she pulled down a slat from the blinds.
walked downstairs.
Eggs, toast, sausage, and orange juice were her breakfast this
afternoon. Sometimes it was Special K. Sometimes it was oatmeal and a
banana. Sometimes it was nothing until closer to evening, when the
hunger really struck. She had no reason to stay on a health kick, so
who cared if she packed on the pounds? Who did she have to impress?
Men were ancient history as of today. The make-up in the bathroom was
useless now, too. She had nowhere to go, so why keep it? I'll just
throw that crap away later when I'm not so tired.
After eating, she went to the living room and sat on the couch. The
mushed cushions, old and worn, groaned under her body weight. Her
hand reached for the remote on the floor, but stopped an inch away
before touching it. What was the point of watching TV? Enjoyable,
yes. Constructive? No. I don't deserve to be entertained. I don't
deserve any of the pleasures of life. Instead, she just loafed
around, staring at her despondent-looking reflection in the blank
screen, letting time elapse. In her eyes, she looked like a dead
young woman cursed to live about her years as a vampire, who needed
blood to thrive but was damned to a world where blood wasn't in
supply. Nobody could help her, because everyone was scared of her,
and she couldn't do anything to help herself, because her powers were
wasting away. The only thing she could do? Live out her days this
way, in silence, wallowing in her own self-pity.
An hour passed.
Then another.
Her gathering stack of thoughts gave way to a headache, and her
depressed feelings produced a bigger hole in her heart.
Before the tears came, she finally turned on the TV to distract
herself from the torment she was causing herself.
Judge Judy filled the bright, colorful screen as it clicked on. The
brazen old woman was busy insulting the defendant, a tall, burly man
dressed in a three-piece suit. “Put your listening ears on,
Sir. How many times do I have to tell you that you have to pay Ms.
Parker for her services?!”
He licked his lips and sneered. “I'm listening, Your Honor, but
everything she said over the phone was nothing what I expected or
wanted. Why should I have to pay for something that's been falsely
advertised?”
Judy Judy smacked her desk. “Because, it's what you agreed to.
See this paper? You signed it. You signed the contract—“
“ Yeah,
I did, but—“
“ I'm
speaking! When you sign a contract, you're supposed to read it first.
It says here, here, and here, exactly what the terms of agreement
are. Everything you object to is bologna. Yes, it may not have been
what you expected or wanted at first, based on the ad. But it's here
in the contract! You signed it! Uncross your arms.”
The man's eyes narrowed and his sneer turned into a long sigh. “I
don't believe this. This is— bullcrap.”
“ Too
bad! You have to pay Ms. Parker for her services, Mr. Baron .”
Janna felt a solid wave of realization and uncertainty crash into her
as Judge Judy spoke the name. Whoa.
Janna quickly turned off the TV.
Coincidence , she told herself. It's a coincidence that I
turned on the TV, right when that name was spoken. That's all. Dumb
luck. Chance. It means nothing.
Deeper down, however, the doubt struggled to reach the surface to
tell her she was wrong.
So here she sat, in silence, but far from content.
***
Janna fell asleep not long after that, and awoke four hours later to
the sound of two closing car doors outside. Probably Baron and his
sister...
Oh, who cares?
She really didn't want to care. She tried not to, but couldn't help
herself. It poked at her, over and over.
Forget him. Forget him. Forget him!
You're weak. You're attached already, so that makes you weak, Jan.
Or am I weak because I'm denying all my emotions?
Subconsciously, she stood up on her tingly, drowsy legs and glided to
the window in the dark. With her left hand, she pulled back the
curtain. With her right, she pulled down a slat from the blinds.
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