Jealousy Junction by Cathryn Grant (rosie project .txt) 📗

me at all, or I’d just assumed that because I was able to see him.

My heart pounded so hard I was gasping for air. I couldn’t tell if it was the same man, but of course, it had to be. The odds of two different strangers invading my tranquility on the same day were impossible to calculate.

I picked up the glass and hurried to the kitchen. I put it down and ran up the stairs. I rushed into the bedroom and shook Jerry until he woke.

I spoke in a whisper as if I expected the man outside might hear me. Maybe I just didn’t want Jerry to hear the hysteria that I knew was in my voice. A whisper softened the shrill edges. “The…I didn’t tell you what happened today. A man followed me on my way to work. I was scared but then decided maybe I over-reacted. But now, he’s…there’s someone out there, across the street, staring at the house, looking up at the window.”

He gave me a puzzled look.

“I know it probably sounds like nothing, but he’s…I went into the living room and—“

“Why?”

“Why?”

“Why did you go into the living room?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I was drinking a glass of water. What does that matter? He’s across the street, and when I looked out, he was staring right at me.”

“That’s weird. Come back to bed.”

“I don’t want to. I want…” I had no idea what I wanted. “Should I call the police?”

“Naw. Come on, probably just some dude going for a walk. He couldn’t sleep either.” He laughed.

“It’s not funny.”

He sat up. “Okay. I’m sorry. You sound really freaked out.”

“I am.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Can you come look?”

He climbed out of bed, pulled on his jeans, and followed me down the stairs. We went into the living room and walked up to the window. The man was gone.

“I wasn’t sleepwalking,” I said. Now there was still a shrill tone of panic in my voice. “I saw him. I was standing here drinking water. I ate a brownie. I wasn’t half asleep.”

“Okay. It’s not that I don’t believe you. But maybe he really was out for a walk.”

“What’s going on?” At the sound of Tanya’s sleep-filled voice, Jerry and I turned.

I told her about the man. She hurried up beside me and grabbed my hand. She lifted it toward her belly and held onto it with both of hers, squeezing tight. It made me feel better. It was silly, but it seemed as if she shared my fear.

We stood there for several minutes. Jerry kept assuring me it was nothing. Tanya didn’t say much, just held tightly to my hand. It was nice to have someone feel what I felt— a sister. A warm flood of emotion filled me, washing away some of my fear. But I still felt anxious. I still felt exposed and not as safe in my home as I had just twenty-four hours earlier.

Chapter 7

The following evening I came home with two bags of groceries, planning to make a feast of soft-shell tacos, spicy rice, and pinto beans with garlic and cilantro. I’d bought a six-pack of Mexican beer, which I knew Jerry would like. Relationships require compromise, and he’d tried quite a few different wines since we’d been together; it was my turn to experiment more with beer.

I put down the bags and unlocked the front door. When I stepped inside, I heard Tanya and Jerry laughing upstairs. It sounded like they were in the TV room, playing a video game.

I climbed the stairs and went to the kitchen first, putting the cold things in the fridge. I left the rest of the ingredients sitting on the counter and went to the doorway of the TV room.

Sure enough, they were side-by-side on the couch. Two bottles of IPA beer sat on the table, four bottle caps scattered around, telling me this party had been going on for a while. A party that looked like it was teetering on the verge of something more than politely entertaining a houseguest. I immediately regretted the thought, but I couldn’t help it. Sometimes your eyes take in a scene, and your gut responds with the simplest interpretation. It’s hard, maybe impossible, to fight against that visceral response.

“Hi,” I said, hoping I sounded easy and disinterested and not jumping to paranoid conclusions. A liar through and through. It upset me, but I was determined to let things unfold despite what my gut was feeling. My relationship with Jerry was new enough that I didn’t think a fit of jealousy would help us move forward. And despite everything, over all the years, I still loved my sister. I wanted us to be friends; I wanted to be close, to keep what was left of our original family together.

Neither one looked at me, their attention glued to the screen as they chased each other around in their avatar bodies, defending a massively intricate castle. “Whose game?”

“Something I used to play with Jake,” Tanya said. “I knew Jerry would love it, and I was right.”

I’d had no idea Jerry played video games. The subject had never come up. “I bought stuff for tacos,” I said.

“Sounds awesome.” Tanya still didn’t look at me, and I felt a rush of anger, recalling all the hours of loving labor I’d provided to care for my father, while she waltzed through the kitchen on her way out the door after her brief visits, not even seeming to notice the clusters of glasses and dirty plates yet to be loaded into the dishwasher, the pans soaking in the sink.

I turned away from the doorway. The moment my back was toward them, I heard Tanya giggle softly. I whirled back around, expecting to see a smug or mocking look on her face. Instead, she was staring at the screen, and Jerry was looking at me. His expression was blank, but he didn’t stop looking when my gaze met his. Neither did he smile. He didn’t wink or look contrite