Behind Close Doors

Chapter Three

BY THE TIME SCHOOL ENDED, I was actually looking forward to completing my shift at the shop. Delivering pizzas was what I did best, and driving around the city helped take my mind off things, which is exactly what I needed after the kind of day I had.

When I reached my house, I went upstairs to change into a black shirt that spelled out Adrian's in cursive on the back and styled my hair into a ponytail before putting on my baseball cap. Once I was dressed in the rest of my work gear, I took the delivery car and drove down to my Dad's pizzeria.

As soon as I entered the space, Lester, one of the bus boys who also worked at the shop, informed me that four deliveries were ready to be sent out and left the addresses attached to the boxes. I thanked him and placed the pizza boxes into our thermal delivery bag and carried the containers of baked ziti, Caesar salad, and spaghetti and meatballs in a separate bag alongside the bottles of soda.

I decided to make the deliveries in order of proximity. The addresses that were farther away from the restaurant, I visited first, and the ones that were closer, I went to last. Within twenty five minutes, I was on the road driving to my third destination, which was a few houses ahead of the last.

I recognized this current address because I had made deliveries to Harry's house before but was quite surprised to stumble across Alice Sexton banging on his front door. I debated on whether I should wait to see if someone answered her first before going up to the property or just hide behind the bushes and watch the scenario unfold. Deciding it wouldn't be completely awful to indulge in the drama that was to come, I chose the second option.

From my position behind the bushes, it was difficult to physically make out Harry's and Alice's face, but I was thankful that they made their presence known through the volume of their voices.

"Alice, what the hell are you doing here? I thought I made it clear in school that I had no interest in 'trying to work things out' between us," Harry hissed, his tone furious. "Go back home."

"For goodness sake, Harry! How many times do I have to apologize before you hear me out? I was intoxicated and completely stoned when Tommy and I slept together. I wasn't in my right mind," Alice tried to reason with him, "People make mistakes, and I've made a terrible one, but I love you and only you, Harry."

"So...what you are telling me is that Tommy took advantage of you in your drunken state?" Harry asked, his eyebrows pressing together in a frown. "Is that what you're saying?"

After those words were out in the open, Alice immediately bursted into tears and nodded her head feverishly. "I-I didn't want to tell you that because I felt so disgusted with myself afterwards, Harry. I just want to forget about it, so can you and I p-please move on and be okay again?" She hiccuped, giving Harry a pleading look. "Please?"

Harry released a deep breath before welcoming Alice into his arms and hugging her body tightly against his chest, rubbing circles into her back. "Fück, I'll kick his arse if I have to. He'll pay for what he did to you," I heard Harry mutter, but Alice didn't reply. She just continued to sob quietly into his shirt while he brought her inside.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked several times before asking myself, "Holy shit, did that really just happen?" After pinching my arm twice, I walked up the stone pathway leading to the Twist's property with a box of pizza in one hand and a liter of soda tucked underneath my arm. Somehow, I managed to ring the doorbell and was thankful when someone other than Harry or Alice answered the door.

"Delivery," I uttered in a monotone voice while presenting the box of pizza and liter of sprite.

"Florence is that you? It's me, Robin!" The man whom I already knew was Mr. Twist exclaimed. "Why the long face?" He asked cloyingly, reminding me that frowns were bad for business.

"It's been a long day, y'know?" I lied as I forced a smile. "I'll survive though."

"Atta, girl. You know, I haven't seen your father in quite awhile. Please tell him I will make a trip down to check on the shop sometime next week."

I nodded and replied by saying, "Okay, by the way that will be $19.75."

"Wait a minute. Don't I get a discount?" Mr. Twist chuckled, raising his eyebrows hopefully. My eyes widened because my dad had never mentioned giving discounts to customers before, and I couldn't decipher whether or not Robin was serious or joking until he said, "Just kidding, darling. Business is just business. No special treatment," and handed me a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change."

A quarter tip, nice.

"Thanks, Mr. Twist. Have a good night," I told him before walking back to my car.

As I started the car engine again, I got this strange feeling that I was being watched, so I gambled on my intuition and glanced out of my car window to see Harry standing in the doorway of his home. He had his arms crossed over his broad chest and his bottom lip trapped between his teeth. The sight of him standing there alone looking so alluring was enough to cause my heart to jackrabbit against my chest, and I prayed to God he didn't notice my face flush.

Just when I thought he was about to make his first attempt of socialization and wave at me, Harry got called back into his house by Alice and dragged in for a steamy, sensual kiss. Their lips molding together was the last thing I saw before the door abruptly shut, and I drove off to make my last delivery.

It was about 2 am in the morning when I realized I couldn't fall asleep and got out of my bed to retrieve a cold glass of water from downstairs. I heard my father snoring softly in his room as I descended the stairs and couldn't help but giggle at the sound. I remember how my mother would constantly tease Dad for his snoring over breakfast and call him Porky because the noises he made resembled those of a pig.

She always found a way to make everyone laugh and forget about the cancer even if it was just for a short while, and I think that's what I admired most about my mother. God bless her soul.

I grabbed a tall glass from the dish rack and put it underneath the filter we had built into our fridge. With the press of a button, I let the liquid slowly fill my cup until it reached the rim, which is when I pulled it away.

Enjoying its nurturing effect on my dry throat, I took my precious time draining the contents of my cup and made my way into the living room to watch some late night television.

Scrolling through the channels for something interesting to watch, I was surprised to see my favorite childhood movie airing this late on Disney channel. The memories of Neverland themed birthday parties came rushing back when I saw Peter Pan in Wendy's bedroom window, and it made me miss my mother even more.

She worked so hard to make sure I always had a good time and enjoyed myself on my birthday, but I was disappointed that I never got to return the favor.

If only we had more time.

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Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading this story. First, I would like to say that I'm well aware rape is a very serious issue (and I don't treat it lightly at all), and the lines of consent can appear to be muddled when intoxication is involved. Just know that if you are intoxicated, you cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse, and that it's NEVER your fault. If you have experienced this, please don't keep it to yourself.

On another note, if you liked this chapter, feel free to vote. I'm always looking for feedback, so don't be shy about commenting. I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

I really should be doing my AP World History notes right now, but I can't seem to get off wattpad #senioritis is real.

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Kaylandia