Transaction

Aftercare

A few days pass without any contact with Devon besides me saying I'm busy, which I am. Also, the entire $100 he sent me. When I received the notification I practically screamed in excitement. That's an insane amount of extra cash, and I felt good making it.

Then it's Thursday again, my day off of work. I send Ozzy and Charlie on their way and drop off Luna and Jasper. Then it's straight to Devon's.

I knock on the door and he quickly pulls me inside. He pulls me towards him as he closes the door behind me and kisses my lips. I kiss back, gladly. He leads me towards the couch and motions for me to sit. I do, and he sits next to me. "Hi, Aiden." His smooth voice says while he lifts my chin up with a finger.

"Hi, Devon."

I'm excited for what comes next. More kissing? Touching? God, part of me really wants to see him naked. Instead, he simply asks, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"What?" I ask, confused.

"A movie."

"Why?"

He chuckles. "Not everything can be fun times, we need relaxing times as well. Don't you remember our deal? It's aftercare time."

"Oh, yeah. I guess."

He led me to the couch and turned on the TV. We scrolled until we found a romantic comedy neither of us had watched. He clicked it on and I snuggled into him. The movie was a little boring, but I felt totally safe and relaxed. I could tell he was watching me out of the corner of his eye. He kissed the top of my head, causing me to giggle. God, I haven't giggled in ages. I could feel myself about to drift off into sleep. "Wake me up in an hour."

"Okay." Devon whispered.

I closed my eyes and let sleep take me. When I woke, it was to Devon talking on the phone.

"Don't get mad, he's just sleeping." Devon said softly into the flip phone. I noticed it was my phone, but I was too sleepy to care.

Then he said something that made me snap awake. A thing that shot me off of the couch and made me snatch the phone out of his hands.

"Charlie says your mom's home."

Once the phone was to my ear, I asked, "Charlie, is she already there or on her way?"

"Already here. She's taking a smoke break outside. Please come home."

"I'm on my way."

Charlie hung up the phone and Devon drove me back to the house. We didn't kiss goodbye once we got there, I just hopped out and ran to the doorstep. I didn't see her outside, which meant she was with the kids. I opened the door.

Her long gray hair and too pale skin made her look weak and old. She looked weathered and sick. Her eyes, the same shade of blue as mine, met my eyes.

"Aiden! Welcome home!"

"Hi, Mom!" I smiled at her.

I had the keep the charade up for the kids. Jasper, Luna, and even Ozzy still loved her. "What brings you home?" I ask, trying not to sound passive aggressive.

Luna gives hug arms to Mom and gets picked up. Mom hugs her tight and places a kiss on her cheek. "I just wanted to see my babies!"

I scanned the living room. Ozzy was watching us, Jasper moved to hide behind my leg, Luna was in Mom's arms, and Charlie was nowhere to be seen. I picked Jasper up. He whispered "Who's that?" into my ear. I felt a lump form in my throat.