The Ties That Bind Us: (The Ties Duet Part One) Danda K. (dark academia books to read TXT) 📖

take a deep breath and gather the words I want to spew at the irate woman causing a scene on the other side of the door.

She’s relentlessly knocking now, and I’ve already had enough of her bullshit. I swing the door open and come face to face with the witch. I’m ready to curse her out, but I’m forced to hesitate because she’s not alone.

Wait...

Thirty-three

Jaxon

It’s crazy here today. Somehow every delivery we were expecting is wrong.

The truck drivers unloaded before they checked with us to confirm, and now our store is filled with hair salon items. Shampoos, conditioners, dyes, gloves, and a whole bunch of other shit that anyone in their right mind would question delivering to a 7-Eleven.

Sayeed showed up over an hour ago, and I’ve heard him arguing with this company over the phone for thirty minutes. Not only are they insisting we ordered it all, but they also want us to pay for it. The delivery guys stand around, useless, as we’re down important products that we need to be refilled.

I walk over to where the delivery guys are huddled by the door. “Let me see the original invoice you guys got for this order.”

The two jackasses just look at each other, reminding me of Harry and Marv from the movie Home Alone. The taller one shrugs. “We don’t have the original, just the copy we get from the warehouse.” I rip it from his hands, rolling my eyes. All of these hair products are listed under our account. Someone obviously dropped the ball on their end, leaving us with the headache.

“Let me ask you guys a question.” I point to the paper. “You can see what these products are, right? You can read, no?”

The meatball gives me a look and curls his lip.

“Okay, so wouldn’t you find it weird that everything on this list is professional hair styling products?” The tall one rips the paper back out of my hand.

“Listen, it’s not our job to question what customers order. We just deliver. You don’t like it? Take it up with the company.”

I swear to God; some people are just too lazy for their own good.

At this point, Sayeed approaches and tells the two idiots that everything was sorted out and to call their dispatch so they can confirm. Tweedledee and Tweedledum huff and puff, throw their arms up in the air and head back to their truck with some boxes.

“Sometimes, it really concerns me the level of stupid people can reach.” Sayeed shakes his head as he picks up some boxes to give them a hand to the truck. Just as I’m about to stop him and tell him to let them do it themselves, my phone rings.

Morgan has called multiple times in the last hour, but it was way too chaotic for me to pick up. Now that the dust has settled, I answer his call.

“The fuck, man? You’re blowin’ up my phone like a jealous girlfriend. You good?”

“Oh, asshole, I’m great. It’s you who’s not. If you would’ve answered my first three hundred calls, you’d know this.” Unease settles in my stomach.

“What’s up?”

“You told me to let you know if I found out what Gelissa’s up to, yeah?” He pauses. “Well, here I am!”

“Get on with it Morgan, I don’t have all fucking day.” His need for dramatics is even more annoying now than ever.

What the hell did this girl do?

“She showed up at my house, mouthing off your address. She said she got it from Gunner somehow. I don’t even know how the fuck he had it. I think she came here to tell me so it’d get back to you.”

Motherfucker. I left Williamsburg right after I was released from the hospital. Gunner owed me money for a previous fight, but I said fuck it and took the hit.

At that point, I just wanted to start over fresh.

After a couple weeks of settling into my place, he reached out, apologizing about what happened, and telling me he’d double my money for hardships. I told him to mail it to my friend’s house, and I guess he assumed it was where I stayed. I didn’t think he’d ever come looking for me, and Gelissa was already off with Roland not giving a fuck if I was even breathing, so I figured why not? Take the money and get some furniture. Now I wish I told him to go fuck himself.

“Fuck!” I whisper-yell into the phone. “Did she say what the fuck she wanted? What’s she up to?!”

“That’s the thing, bro. She told me she’s going straight to your house right after mine, and that was over an hour ago. I’ve been trying to call you this whole fucking time to warn you.”

A wave of panic hits me. Cameron’s home today, and I have no idea how the fuck she’ll react to my ex, to Gelissa, knocking on our door. Who knows what the fuck kind of lies she’ll tell her, and I know damn well that Cameron will fall right into the trap.

My heart’s racing a hundred miles per minute, and I need to get home. NOW. With any luck, maybe the snake didn’t show up yet. Maybe I can get there first.

“I gotta go, Morgan. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Wait, bro...there’s something else you need to know!” he screams into the phone right before I hang up.

Nothing else matters right now other than Cameron and how this could send her into a tailspin, destroying all the progress I’ve made with her.

Especially if Gelissa tells her she’s been calling. FUUUUCK. I should’ve given Cam the heads up about what was happening, but I was afraid she’d stop trusting me and suspect I wanted something with Gelissa.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda, asshole. 

If I lose this girl over my deranged ex-girlfriend and some miscommunication, I won’t survive it. I won’t survive this life without Cameron.

I grab all my shit and announce to Sayeed that an emergency came up and I have to run home. He looks