Nookie's Secret (Nookie 2) (Nookie Series) Read Free Page A

car but she thought about how long she been walking. The car moved forward about to pull off. Joy ran a little. The driver noticed, waited for Joy to come to the car. Joy went to the open window and looked in.
    Inside was a middle age woman, with a warm smile. Joy was surprised and relieved that it wasn’t a guy. It clamed her nerves and Joy got in and relaxed in the seat.
    “So where you headed?” the woman asked.
    “I was hoping to get back to Philadelphia.”
    “Oh, I headed that way. That’s not that far. What’s your name?”
    “Joy.”
    “Joy. I like that. I’m Brenda. So where in Philly are you going?”
    “It doesn’t matter. You can drop me at a bus stop.”
    “No, I’ll take you where you got to go. It’s getting late and the streets aren’t safe. I don’t mind driving. I actually enjoy it. I just came from Harrah’s casino.”
    “Oh.” Joy not really paying attention.
    “Yeah. I lost my rent money but I had a good time.”
    “Damn.” Joy looked out the window. The road seemed familiar. “Is this Roosevelt Boulevard?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I‘m headed to Frankford. I don’t know how I’m going to tell my daughter I lost seven hundred dollars.”
    Joy shook her head. A little irritated with the lady talking about the money she lost.
    “I only live right over there in Frankford, you can spend the night. I have an extra room.” She hesitated, and then said, “It is kind of late.”
    “Umm.” Joy didn’t know what to say. She thought that maybe it was a hint that she was too tired. “Okay.” She didn’t like the idea of staying at her house. She figured she could handle her if it came down to it.
    “Good.”
    They rode the rest of the way in silence. Five minutes later they arrived at a three-story building. Brenda parked and led Joy through the building. Joy was nervous because the hallway was dark. She flicked a switch and everything lit up. Right in front of them was a staircase but Brenda led them to a door on the right.
    Opening the door, she let Joy go first. Joy stepped in and looked around. It was clean but cluttered with too much furniture and stacks of opened mail.
    “The bathroom is right there to your left and where you’ll be sleeping is back here.”
    She led Joy to the back of the apartment where there was two bedrooms. She opened the door. Joy quickly looked in and noticed a made bed and television.
    “Thank you so much for letting me stay here tonight.”
    “No problem. Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight.”
    Brenda walked back towards the living room. Her bedroom must have been the door Joy noticed to the right when she walked in. Joy went in the room and shut the door behind her. Sadness swept over her. Here was someone else, helping her. Tears swelled in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Her throat burned and she had to swallow to wet her throat and relieve the sensation.
    She took her shoes off and lay across the bed. Joy felt lost. She thought of Kevin but she realized that she didn’t think about him as much any more. Maybe she didn’t care about him after all. She wanted to feel loved but when she may have had it with Kevin, she messed it up.
    And when Shawn showed her that he cared about her she had him robbed and murdered. She blinked to get rid of the image of his dead body in the bathtub with a bullet hole in his head. For the first time, she thought about the murder. She thought about Shawn’s little boy who would grow up without a father and it hit her. She was destroying the love of the people that Shawn, Josh and Dre loved and those who loved them. In some sick way she was showing them her pain.
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Joy opened her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time. She knew at least an hour passed and still she was unable to sleep. Her body felt exhausted and she hardly wanted to move. She needed to leave. She had something on her mind and she had to handle it.
    She reached in her bag and began counting the money. There were