“That’s why I sit in this hallway at night,” he hiccups. “Can’t fuck with her if they’re too busy fucking with the drunk guy.”
“You’re too kind, Billy,” I say with a smile. “Go sleep in your bed. I have Marc here to protect me.”
“I do like my bed more than the floor. The rats bite,” he frowns before peeling himself off the floor. “Night, Rave.”
“Night,” I say as I unlock my door and force it open. The door gets stuck sometimes, so you have to get aggressive with it.
“Is he a good guy?” Marc asks.
“He is,” I say. “He’s a wounded veteran. When he got back, he couldn’t get a job because of PTSD. He tries though. If he’s sober, he ends up having flashbacks. He wants to get cleaned up and get therapy, but the VA isn’t exactly helpful. I go and check on him every night before I go to bed to make sure he hasn’t had too much to drink. When he does, I make sure he’s on his side, so he doesn’t throw up and choke on it.”
“Damn... he seems to care about you,” Marc says before there is a knock at the door. He turns to open it.
“I’m not expecting anyone. You really shouldn’t open that,” I warn.
“I ordered dinner,” he says as he pulls the handle. “Thank you so much.” Marc hands the kid who is no older than maybe fourteen a fifty as a tip and he’s wide eyed.
“Uh. Sir... I think you gave me too much,” he says.
“No, it’s all yours,” Marc says. “Have a good night.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I say before my stomach growls loudly.
“Your stomach says differently,” Marc smirks. “You like Chinese, right?”
“I do,” I admit. “Let me go change and I’ll come sit.”
“Don’t be too long. Food will get cold,” he says.
I go to my bedroom and change into spandex shorts and an oversized T-shirt. It feels nice to not have a bra on. Normally I would wear a tank top but it’s freezing in this apartment and my nipples will show.
When I go back to the living room, Marc is standing in front of the thermostat. “Why is your heat off?” he asks as he glances at me, then back to the little white box.
“Because that costs money. “You’re lucky I have the lights on for you,” I say. He goes to turn the heat on, but I try to stop him. “Aht. Unless you’re paying my bills, you don’t get to touch my heater. I have blankets.”
Marc looks me dead in the eyes as he flips the thermostat on, as if he is daring me to argue with him. “Go sit so we can eat.”
I sigh heavily and grab my blanket from the back of the armchair before sitting cross legged on the couch. When I cover my legs, he hands me a container of food. “Now I know where Sable gets it from,” I frown at him.
“Which I’m sure is why she doesn’t know you live in poverty,” he says as he sits beside me with his own container of food. He looks over at me and frowns when he sees I am scarfing my food down. “When’s the last time you ate?”
“I don’t want to tell you,” I laugh.
“I assure you... nothing about this is funny,” he scolds me. “When did you eat last, Raven?”
“Uh... two days ago,” I say. “I was supposed to meet Dad for lunch today, but I cancelled because I didn’t have the money.”
“Slow down so you don’t get sick, please,” he says. I nod and slow down. I am silently eating my food as I watch Marc do the same as he does something on his phone.
“What are you doing?” I ask as I stand. “You done?”
“Yes. Thank you,” he says, and I take his empty container. “Come back and sit when you’re done, and I’ll tell you." I toss the trash before turning off all the lights but the lamp beside the couch that I use for reading. I stop in front of the thermostat and Marc glares at me. “Sit. Your power was paid, so don’t touch that.”
“You annoy me,” I say bluntly. “That wasn’t a request for you to pay my power bill.”
“Fine. You want to thank me for the groceries, dinner, and power?” he asks as he stands.
“Y-Yes,” I stammer. He steps to the side before pointing for me to come over and stand in front of him. When I get closer, he pulls me to him before turning me to face the couch as he stands behind me.