Chapter 5 #2
Me: We need to talk about Duncan’s soon to be former roommates.
When I walked into the apartment, they quickly hid something but I didn’t get a good look at what.
They’re having a get-together, and the place is trashed out there, which okay.
Maybe they will clean it. I think there is one of their friends that might end up being an issue for Duncan.
He’s not a roommate but seems to be here a lot from what Duncan has said.
“Everything all right?”
I quickly slid my phone back into my pocket and shook my head. “Not really,” I told him. “I’m not a fan of this arrangement or situation.”
Duncan nodded. “I can understand that. We can talk more about it later if you want. But I’m basically ready.”
I looked around and found it sad that the room looked pretty much the same. “You’re ready?” I glanced again. “You have all you want for now?”
Duncan shrugged. “I have all of my things right here,” he said.
He placed a backpack in the basket with the other things.
The bag looked to be almost full, which was a relief.
It seemed that Duncan either had many more clothes that needed to be folded, or he’d filled it with other things while I wasn’t looking.
“All right. If you’re sure you’re ready, go ahead and go down to the truck through the front. I’ll walk you out and make sure nobody bothers you. Then I’ll come back and move the dresser back in place and go down the outside way.”
“No,” Duncan said. “You go that way. The window is small, and you’ll struggle to fit through.”
I glanced at it, and he was probably right.
I could get through if I absolutely needed to, but if I was being honest, it was better that he go out the window.
I placed the bag on top of the basket and picked up everything.
My heart ached at the meager belongings that my mate had.
Maybe he had more things stored in his car.
It was possible that he didn’t have a lot of things because he moved often.
I didn’t know at the moment, but I was going to discuss that with him later on as well.
I nodded, took the basket with the things in it, and walked out the door.
Duncan closed it quietly behind me, and only after I heard him move the dresser back in front of it did I take off for the front door.
I growled at the others, and I had no doubt that they heard me because the music had been shut off, and everyone was standing around, staring toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms.
“He still owes rent. He can’t just move out.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll be talking to the leasing office tomorrow about him moving out.
Expect to hear from me and my brothers if there are any issues,” I warned them.
I would be sending an off-hours email later, or Silver would, so we had the advantage of documenting our time earlier with our intentions before any of them could get to the office and possibly try to make things more difficult for Duncan.
It wasn’t that I had any sort of connections with leasing offices or the like. But after doing what I did for as long as I had, I knew from just being in the apartment for a few minutes that things weren’t quite as they should be.
I didn’t think there were issues from the office’s side of things, but that would be sorted tomorrow.
Right now, my first concern was getting Duncan moved into my place.
Well, what would be our place going forward.
I left the apartment without another word, and when I got to the ground floor and the building’s breezeway entrance, I saw Duncan walking around the side of the building toward me.
When he saw me, the immediate relief on his face had me worried.
“I’m fine,” I told him. “Did you think they would try something?”
“There are a lot more of them than there are you.”
I chuckled. “True. They turned off the music, thankfully, and I might have used that to my advantage and growled at them.”
Duncan’s eyes widened. “You growled at them?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. My gorilla saw them as a possible threat to our mate, and I absolutely growled at them. It won’t be the last time that I growl at someone when you’re around, Duncan.
” We were at the truck, and he opened the back door for me.
I set the basket on the seat, and when Duncan handed me the larger bag he’d taken, I placed it on the floor in front of it.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before I stepped back and closed the door.
“Up you go,” I told him after opening the front door for him.
Once Duncan was inside, I closed that door and rounded the front.
I glanced back at the building, happy that my mate was with me and would no longer need to be there, but immensely sad since he obviously didn’t have a whole lot of things.
“I’ll take you to your car, and then you can follow me back to the house, all right?” I said after climbing in and starting the truck.
“Yeah, sure.”
I glanced over at Duncan because we were still in the parking lot, and there was plenty of time to look his way. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He sighed. “My car is going to look so out of place at your house.”
I smiled over at him. “It’s all right. There are all types of vehicles in our neighborhood,” I told him. This was actually true. Granted, his car was probably one of the rougher-looking ones I’d seen, but if I had my way, it wouldn’t take long for him to be in something newer.
I left the apartment complex, and it didn’t take long to be pulling into the fast-food place where I’d picked him up. “I’ll wait for you, and you can follow me to the house,” I told him.
Duncan nodded, and after he slid from the truck and into his car, I waited for him to start it and get everything situated.
I got the thumbs-up from him, and after I backed out of the spot and pulled forward a bit, he quickly followed.
It took only twenty-five minutes to get back to the house, and after I parked in the driveway, I quickly slid from the truck.
Duncan pulled up at the curb, but I waved him up to park beside me.
“Are you sure?” Duncan asked after rolling the window down.
I nodded, but internally, I sighed. Baby steps. It was all new, and the first step had been accomplished. My mate was here at the house with me. That was the first obstacle.
I put the bag in the basket, and after pulling everything out of the back seat of the truck, I used my shoulder to close the door.
I smiled as Duncan pulled a few things out of the back cargo area of his car.
A quick look showed a few more things, and although it still wasn’t a lot, it was more than he’d had in just his room.
“Welcome home,” I said with a smile before I started walking toward the open garage door.
“Yeah. That’s…that might take a bit.”
I nodded, but Duncan was walking beside me, so that was reassuring.
“I can understand that. We’re taking things at your pace.
Right now, you can move into one of the upstairs bedrooms if that’s what’s most comfortable for you.
There are no expectations of any sort other than to be respectful.
” Duncan opened the door connecting to the house, and I nodded at him.
“And please don’t trash the place. Not that I think you would,” I added.
The room he shared with Mark seemed neatly organized.
“I won’t do that,” Duncan said.
“Can you push the button on the wall there?” I indicated the garage door button, and when Duncan pushed it, the door started closing. He then opened the interior door, and I let him step in first. We were immediately in the laundry room, and Duncan looked at me with wide eyes.
“It’ll be so nice to not have to go to the laundromat to do laundry.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Yeah. Did the apartment not have a washer and dryer?” I knew some did, but some didn’t. “Or even one at the complex?”
“They did, but there were only two washers and two dryers for each building, and with ten units in each building, they were always busy. And I mean always.”
I was so thankful for the house and the fact that I never had to live in an apartment like that.
“Well, you can do laundry any time of the day or night now,” I told him.
Since the door to the laundry room was almost always left open, I walked on through, and we were in the kitchen.
“This is obviously the kitchen. It’s open twenty-four seven, and you are welcome to anything in it.
Let me set this stuff down, and you can do the same, and then I can give you a tour.
” My gorilla was immensely pleased with the fact that our mate was here, and I couldn’t help but agree.
Duncan’s life was about to change, and I hoped that he felt that it was for the better because I had every intention of spoiling him as much as he absolutely would allow.