TAINTED LOVE ▸ BILLY RUSSO

chapter three - date

We walk into the restaurant and Billy asked for a table. We were sitting in one of the corners of the room and he kept looking at me. When the waitress came, we both ordered our food.

"So... what's the occasion?" I ask him, breaking the silence.

"I just felt like taking you to dinner." He frowns at me a bit and I look surprised at him. "What?"

"Nothing." I smile. "You just don't seem like the type of guy to invite girls to dinner, if you know what I mean."

"You don't seem like the type to actually show up."

"I'm not."I reply and he smirks, looking away for a second.

"Guess I'm special then."

"I guess you are."

The dinner went well, after a while the food was on the table as we kept talking. He would ask questions about me and I would lie over and over again. This is work. I kept reminding myself every time he smiled in my direction. I needed to remain cold. At least cold enough to put a gun to his head and pull the trigger.

Billy's phone rings and he walks outside to pick it up. As soon as he does this, I get a text from Eve.

"Juliet's in trouble. Keep your boy toy busy." I read.

I look in Billy's direction and I could tell his posture had changed. When he walks inside, he looks off.

"Everything okay?" I ask him and he hesitates to lie to me but eventually does, letting out a yes from under his breath, bringing his food to his mouth. "I was thinking..."

"About?"

"What you said. That you wanted to come to my house." I say not really knowing where to take this. "Maybe we should go there after dinner."

He doesn't reply right away, trying to ponder was the best option would be. After a while, he finally replies. "Alright,"

Well, fuck this.

I had no house to take him to. Sure I could call my mother and tell her to get out of her house but she thought I was dead.

"Call me." I text Eve.

She calls me right away and I fake surprise, walking outside to ansewr the phone, not sure if leaving Billy to think about bailing on his boss would be a good idea.

"Hey," I greet her. "go to my mother's and get her out of the house. I told Billy I would take him to my house and I can't take him to the theater." I explain.

"Stacy, I-I can't. Rawlins caught Juliet in a lie. She told him she was somewhere but her GPS told otherwise. I'm trying to fix it but they're good, Stace." She shutters and I lick my lips nervously.

"Okay. Okay. Help Juliet, I'll... I'll find a way." I tell her hanging up.

I scroll down on my contacts and finally find the one I'm looking for. Mom. I block the caller ID and open the app Eve put on my phone to mask my voice. I hadn't talked to my mother in forever, not that I minded, she's a bitch, but still.

I hit the button and a few seconds after her voice sounded.

"Hello?"

"Hi, am I talking with Anna Quinn?" I say hoping that Eve's app worked, by her response I knew it did. "It's from the bank. We found something on your account, you need to pass by immediately."

"Is there's something wrong?" She asks and I swallow hard.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I'm not allowed to speak of such topics by phone. You really need to pass by." I tell her hoping that would work.

"Okay," She says annoyed. "I'll be there in thirty minutes." She hangs up and I breathe out.

The bank wasn't close to her house, so I wasn't worried if she would go back and find us there. When I died, she turned my room into another guest's room, so I was sure there would be space for us to be. I never got rid of the keys, hoping that one day it would go back to normal. I got rid of that hope a few years later, but I still keep the keys.

I look at my side, hearing the door opening, and see Billy. He had paid for dinner and had now his arm around my waist.

We get in his car, and I tell him the way. We arrive to the big building and get on the elevator that took us to the last floor.

"It's my mother's house." I tell him. "Mine went to shit a time ago."

He doesn't ask for details, knowing that I wouldn't reply.

I turn the key and open the door, hoping that she wasn't there. She wasn't.

The house looked different from what I remembered, it was whiter. It smelled like money. Robbing really does make money.

"Why didn't you want me here?"

"My mother's not the best." I look at Billy, taking him to my old bedroom.

"At least you have a mother. Mine left me to die." He confesses and I give him a sad smile, not knowing what to reply.

"I'm sorry." I say shorty, feeling weird by being here.

"This your room?" He asks when I open the door.

It was all white, no other color and it was as empty as a room could be.

"My mother must have cleaned up." I come up with a lie and he chuckles, bringing his hands to my waist.

Soon enough, we're on the sheets. I didn't feel comfortable doing that there, but it would give me away to tell him that I didn't want to have sex in my own house.

Every time I gave myself time to forget why I was with him, it felt right. Us. Of course, it would all go away when I remembered that this could only end with one of us dead.