The trouble with Debbie

chapter 7

Kieron woke up a little while later, still fully dressed and still above the quilt. The tv had gone on standby and the room was dark. He got up and went to the bathroom. As he washed his hands, he checked his watch.

1.23am. He quietly made his way down stairs to the kitchen to make a drink for himself. He sat down at the table and looked at his phone, glowing in the darkness of the room. 'what am I doing here?' he thought to himself, 'this woman must think I'm some weirdo or she must think I'm trying to get in her bed.'

He rubbed his face in frustration at how he must seem according to Debbie. "I'll make sure she reports this guy," he spoke to himself, "then I'll back off. I like her but, it's not like I can make a move now." with that decided, he finished his juice and put the glass in the dishwasher. He was about to head back upstairs when he heard a strange scratching sound. He was immediately alerted to the front door. He stood dead still and silent as he looked on. The security lock was on so he wasn't worried about it opening but it was concerning enough that someone was trying. He wondered what he should do and looked around for some kind of defence. He spotted a hammer hanging by the coat pegs and grabbed it, gripping tight. He glanced up the stairs, if he woke Debbie, she'd panic. The noise at the door got louder and started to sound like breaking wood.

"s**t!" he exclaimed to himself, the realisation looming on him that he may have to fight somebody very soon. The sounds suddenly stopped and the place was silent again. He breathed a sigh of relief, maybe an attempt to rob and they gave up? He relaxed just slightly and was about to try to get a peak at the assailant when the there was a loud crash and the door flew open.

Keiron maintained his grip on the hammer and readied himself to strike. The intruder stumbled in and looked up at Keiron standing there with his hammer in hand.

"You?!" Keiron frowned.

"You?!" Matt fumed, "what the f**k are you doing here?"

Keiron was confused by the question. How could this guy break in and ask what he's doing here? If he didn't think this was a serious situation before, he definitely did now. He can't let this guy any further in the house.

Debbie was woken up by a loud crash. She sat upright in her bed and reached for her phone. It was almost 2am. She crept around her room and got dressed. She reached behind her headboard and pulled out her baseball bat. There were two things her dad told her when she moved out as a young adult. 1. Keep a good quality hammer near your front door. 2. Keep a bat in easy reach of your bed.

She held the bat hard and moved to the window to see what she could see. Only her car was on the drive way. She tiptoed to the bedroom door and pressed her ear to the wooden panels. She could hear voices. Burglars? What about Keiron? She was about to unlock the door when she recognised a voice.

"Where is she?" Matts voice travelled up the stairs.

"for f**k sake!" she groaned to herself. Matt has officially lost the plot. He's breaking in now? For someone who barely had time to do anything but hook up, he sure had a lot of time for stalking and breaking in during the night. What the hell was this? She could hear Keiron trying to reason with him. 'it's not fair to leave him with Matt. I better go down there.' she thought. She took a deep breath and unlocked her door. She gripped her bat as tight as she could and slowly made her way down the stairs.

"You need to leave," Keiron warned Matt, "this isn't going to end in your favour. She doesn't want you. You had your chance. What was it? Two years? Two years hooking up when it suited you and now it's done. Let it go. Leave her alone. I'm here now." Keiron patted his chest with his hammerless hand. Matt just looked at him, a crowbar in his hand. It's true. They had a good run, two years hooking up and having great s*x. But why should that end now? Because he asked for a threesome? Because he had been sleeping with someone else? So what? She apparently has a boyfriend. Maybe it was just hooking up but he liked her. She was pretty, funny. He thought about her at work and always loved talking to her on the phone. He thought maybe if they could do this one thing together, then they could take things to the next stage. Be together. Be exclusive. Maybe. He certainly didn't want anyone else to take her! Debbie had to be his. He didn't plan for things to go this way, but what else could he do? When she walked away from him she always came back. But this time, she didn't. She really walked away. Now this guy has turned up and thinks he can make a claim after all this time! No chance.

"Look, I don't know who the f**k you are but I just want to talk to Debbie." Matt sighed.

"You're stalking her, leaving notes on her door and breaking in at 2am!" Keiron laughed.

"This is what I've had to resort to!" Matt shouted, "You've left me no choice. She won't respond to my messages, she won't answer my calls. I just want to spend time with her like we were before. How could things change so much in a few days?"

Debbie listened at the top of the stairs. She had heard enough. She slowly walked down to the two men and their stand off at the front door.