13

Spencer Cypress

I must have woken up sometime around noon. My mouth was dry, my hair was feeling oily, and for some reason, my hand was wet.

"Did I..." I checked my groin. No, I didn't wet myself. Instead, I turned and saw Juniper smiling at me while licking my arm.

"Uh," I said. Graham walked into the living room and shooed Juniper away.

"Morning!" Graham happily told me.

"Graham? You're," I groaned as I sat up. "You're still here?" I asked him.

"I cleaned up a bit outside and made you something to eat. I hope you don't mind that I used your kitchen." He said.

"No, no. It's fine. Thank you for that." I realized I had been wrapped in a blanket. My feet touched the carpeted floor as I fully sat on the couch. I looked around the living room and felt that post-party haze.

"Get freshened up. I want to tell you something important." Graham told me.

I went to the bathroom and showered. I think I knew what he wanted to tell me. He wanted to apologize for venting to me last night. But I'll make sure to let him know that it isn't something he should apologize for.

The bed where he had slept had been made. The blankets were folded, and I saw in the trash that Graham had used a lint roller to clean up Juniper's fur.

I joined Graham at the kitchen table. He made a spread for me to eat.

"Sorry about last night, Spencer. I know I told you something and basically vented without permission." Graham said.

"Don't feel sorry for that. You trusted me with something that had been hurting you for a long time." I replied. I grabbed the syrup and poured a bit on his pancakes. "Are you feeling better now?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Much better." He said.

Then it fell silent. I looked at my food. My cup of coffee had almond milk in it. That alone assured me that I had someone I could cherish.

"Is she still with him?" I asked.

"Yeah." Graham replied.

"Sorry, I know this must be uncomfortable for you, so I'll stop."

He slammed his utensils down. "Ask me. I'm tired of constantly having to run from this. I know that sooner or later, I will have to confront this."

"You don't have to tell me everything." I told him.

"Just ask me. This is how I can work to move on, by coming face-to-face with what happened." Graham said. He certainly looked determined. And I want to help him as much as I can.

"How did your parents react to it?" I asked.

"Clancy, my brother, was always the favorite. So, when that happened, they took his side. I protested and refused to come to family events. My parents then threatened to cut me off if I didn't make up with my brother.

"I refused. So, they stopped paying my tuition. Which meant I had to drop out. I used the bit of money I had to rent a house far away from them. Luckily, Mrs. Alder, the woman who owned this house before you, was nice enough to let me rent the house across from hers."

I got up and sat next to Graham.

"You're so strong for facing that, Graham. I wish I could be like you." I said. I wiped a loose tear from his face.

"I only had my sister to guide me."

I kissed Graham's face. "For what it's worth, your ex lost a catch." I told him. This seemed to make a smile on his face.

"I haven't spoken to my parents or brother in several years. And my sister is in low contact with them."

"I hope you at least punched your brother in the face."

"Actually, I did. I even broke his nose. If I'm being honest, when I caught them, I felt rage and wanted him to be as ugly so my ex would see that she made a terrible choice." Graham explained.

Graham was brave enough to tell me about his past. He was strong and pushed through those dark memories. And I should follow that example. I want to be strong like him because I admire him.

"I want to tell you the reason why I moved to Apple Valley." I said.

"You shouldn't have to do that." Graham replied.

"No, I want to." I sternly said.

He sat closer to me and became quiet. This was his way of telling me that I had the floor.

"Uh, just know that I know what I did was wrong. But I am working to repay what I did. Before coming here, I used to be a secretary for a man named Fergus Manchineel. At first, our relationship was strictly professional. But then, it started to change.

"It started with him completing me, then taking me out to fancy dinners. He bought me gifts and then we started a full blown relationship. But we kept it lowkey because he was married, which I know makes me a scumbag.

"Then, earlier this year, we went on a trip to Reno because he had something to take care of. He got drunk and tried to force himself on me, but I panicked and ended up throwing him off a second floor balcony. He broke his legs and had to be hospitalized.

"Afterwards, I was of course fired and blacklisted. However, I knew that what my boss did was wrong. So, I filed a lawsuit against him. But Fergus, being a man with a lot of privilege, used his connection. Suddenly, I was being stopped by the police and started to be visited by Scientologists."

I chuckled a bit at that.

"Per the advice of my lawyer and the few friends I had left, I moved away from LA and came here, where luckily there was an empty house at a low cost. That's why I'm here. Because I'm fighting for my life." I explained.

Graham had been holding my hand as I told my story.

"You went through all that? I'm sorry, Spencer." He told me.

"But things are starting to look up. Remember when you took me to Bakersfield? It was to meet a woman who was also a victim of my boss. She agreed to join me and filed a lawsuit against our former boss."

"So then what about your parents? Is that asking too much?" Graham asked. It was nice hearing him be wary about knowing more.

"My relationship with my parents is... complicated to say the least. I grew up with them looking down at me and picking at everything I did. If I got a B in class or came in second place, I was called a failure.

"When they found out about what I had been doing and the fact that I threw my boss off a balcony, they got angry and haven't spoken to me. I'm pretty sure they've actually been helping my boss to blame everything on me." I explained.

"I guess we both have our issues we're suffering from." Graham said in a light hearted mood.

"I know you'll see me in a different way. I had an affair with a married man and knew." I looked down at my lap.

The words my parents told me came back to me. I remembered all their horrible words they called me. The slurs and remarks that attacked my character. I knew what I did was wrong. It's something that I regret.

"You did some horrible things, Spencer. But that doesn't make you a horrible person." Graham told me.

"Still, I feel guilty. And I'm still not out of the woods yet. I've filed a lawsuit and it's starting to look up, but my ex-boss has tons of resources. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle."

Graham held out his fork that had food on it. I ate it and he smiled and rubbed my head.

"I believe that good things will happen, Spencer." He said.

"Yeah, well, I don't know about that." I muttered.

"You trust me, right?" He asked. I nodded in reply. "So, trust me when I say that things will get better. It did for me. Which means your turn is coming soon."

The pessimistic part of me wants to keep believing that all of this will blow over and that I will end up in a ditch. But Graham's words have given me hope that maybe all this won't end in misery.

"You're right. I know that I will win this." I said, a bit more hopeful. I kissed Graham on the lips aggressively. He was caught off guard. I managed to steal a piece of strawberry from his mouth and eat it.

"Meanie." He said. I wiped my lips.

"Oh, Graham. You are such an adorable man." I awed. I stood up and walked to the living room and began to type on my laptop.

"Uh, what are you doing?" He asked.

I looked up. "I'm going to work twice as hard from now on. If I want to actually win this case, then I must not waste a single minute of lollygagging." I replied.

"Is spending time with me is lollygagging?" Graham asked. I looked at him and saw him looking at me with puppy eyes.

I patted the spot next to me on the couch.

"That's not what I meant, Graham. I'll still make time for you. As my boyfriend, you're my top priority. Why don't you come over here, bring your breakfast, and join me?" I said.

"Boyfriend..." I heard Graham mutter to himself.

Graham was quick to bring his plate of food and sit next to me. While I typed away and reexamined many documents, he ate his food and watched me, occasionally giving me food.

I guess what my boyfriend reminded me today was that the both of us are people that thought we were done with love. Only for it to find us once again and lead us into each other's arms.