An unwanted guest

"This is ridiculous!" Aubrey yelled, slamming the papers onto the table. You had already had your freak-out moment and now it was her turn. It had been two years since you had to think about anything to do with Jake. You were content with the thought that he was rotting away in prison. But, somehow, he was out now on "good behavior." Even worse, the judge had ordered him to complete some rehabilitation course and had assigned him to the two of you. That meant he'd be staying with you for the foreseeable future.

Your two years of marriage were going to be interrupted by that asshole! "We're going to fight this!" Aubrey's voice was even louder, her face red with anger.

"I tried, but it's oddly ironclad. He definitely pulled a lot of strings to get here. He's gotta be planning something. But we can prepare. He's bound to pull some shit and when he does, we can get him thrown right back into prison. This time, he'll stay there." You were resolute; sure, you were a bit worried, but you had to stay strong, especially with your wife absolutely panicking.

She looked to you with a mixture of resignation and hope. "I'm glad to see you're at least taking this well. This will be the hardest on you," she sat down next to you and gave you a kiss on the cheek. "If he even lays a finger on you, prison will be the last of his concerns."

You couldn't help but laugh at her bravado. You knew she meant it, too. For now, though, you needed to prepare for your guest.

The two of you had bought a very nice house together, so you had a few spare rooms to throw him in. The day finally came when he arrived, ankle bracelet and all. You reluctantly opened the door to find him and his parole officer.

She pushed him forward with a very impatient look on her face. "Hey! You don't have to be so rough," Jake complained, turning back to look at the officer.

She ignored him and showed off her bags, "Officer Jaymes with the NYPD. I've had the absolute joy of being assigned to watch this asshat. I'll be coming by for weekly parole check-ins. You'll give me an update on how he's been behaving, anything he's done to warrant punishment, etc. I also have a lock on his ankle bracelet, so if he leaves a certain perimeter without you notifying me first, we'll be on him." She handed you her card, "I've already got your info, but if you have anything to report, give me a call here."

She turned and walked off in a bit of a huff. You guessed you could add her to the long list of people who hated Jake. He didn't have much in the way of belongings— just a duffel bag. He kept his head down, though. This was clearly embarrassing for him, but you were not-so-secretly relishing in it. "Come on," you said, motioning for him to follow. He quietly did so as you led him to his room. "You'll be helping out with chores and keeping your room clean. I'm not expecting much from you, but I won't hesitate to call that cop on you."

"Yea, I got it," he threw his bag on the bed and joined it, laying down. "It definitely beats the prison beds, that's for sure."