17. Sina
Ghost shot off the bed, fur puffed, a low warning rumble vibrating from his tiny chest.
“Who is at your door?” Nik’s voice sharpened a fraction over the phone.
“I—I don’t know."
Another knock. Louder.
“Maintenance!” a male voice called.
Oh God. It was Timothy. I closed my eyes and dropped my forehead into my hand. Of course he’d pick today.
Nik was silent on the other end of the line, but I could feel the tension in that silence.
Ghost was pacing now, claws clicking on the floor, little growls slipping out of him.
I scrambled out of bed. “Shit! Okay, hold on Tim.” then to Nik. “I have to get the door. I’ll talk to you later..”
“ Sina , put the fox outside.”
“Excuse me? How did you know—”
“Now.”
My eyes snapped to Ghost. He froze mid-step, staring at me like he understood every word.
“I can’t just toss him outside!” I whisper-shouted. “It’s freezing!”
“Do you want your landlord to see him?”
I frowned. “Damn it, you’re right. The no pet policy.”
Another hard knock.
“Sina, I know you’re in there! Open up woman. I ain't got all day.”
Ghost looked at the door, then back at me.
I grabbed my favorite maroon hoodie and shoved my arms through it. It fell to my mid-thigh.
“I’m sorry,” I told Ghost softly. “You gotta go outside for a minute, baby. ”
He took one step back.
“Don’t give me that look,” I pleaded, scooping him up. He squirmed, tiny huffs of protest. “You know I can’t have animals here. If Tim sees you, we’re both screwed.”
I hurried to the sliding window and cracked it open. A blade of icy air cut through the room.
Ghost made an offended sound.
“I know, I know, don’t hate me.” I kissed the top of his fuzzy head. “Just until he leaves. I’ll wrap you in a blanket.”
I grabbed a throw, bundled him like an angry, judgmental burrito, and set him gently on the fire escape. His eyes narrowed at me.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
I shut the window just as Timothy knocked again.
“COMING!” I yelled as I haphazardly threw my hair in a ponytail all while holding the phone to my ear. Not an easy feat.
“Nik, I gotta go.”
“No.”
I paused, hand on the lock.
“What the fuck do you mean, no?”
I’m getting angry now.
“Do not hang up this phone, Sina.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off.
“Your heart rate hasn’t gone down since he knocked . You’re afraid of the male on the other side of that door. I won’t let you deal with him alone.”
My mouth went dry.
Heart rate? Male? Who the hell talked like that?
I wanted to correct him and say he was hearing my breathing, not my heart. Because ya I’ll admit I was panting kinda hard. But if I was honest, he wasn't wrong, the man gave me the fucking creeps. I chewed my lip for a moment as I crossed the small space to the front door.
“Tell me you won’t hang up.”
I let out a shaky breath.
“Okay. I won’t hang up.”
“Good girl.”
I gasped in surprise. Heat crept up my neck before I could stop it. I focused hard on the chain lock instead, fingers clumsy as I twisted it open, nearly tripping over the threshold in my distraction and almost colliding with a waiting Timothy.
A low, knowing chuckle brushed through the phone.
“I heard that too.”
My cheeks flamed hotter. God damn him. This man was infuriating.
“Morning, Sina,” Timothy said, his eyes dragging down my body in a way that made my stomach twist. He stood there with a toolbox and a slimy smile that made my skin crawl. “Heard you’ve been asking for me.”
Eww. What a creepy as fuck way to say that.
I gagged a little when I spotted the flowers peeking out of his bag. Oh hell no. This man better not try asking me out again. I’d already said no half a dozen times.
“What’s with the flowers?” I glared at the offensive yellow tulips with suspicion. A sense of dread settled in my chest.
“Oh right, almost forgot.” He pulled them free and shoved them into my arms as he walked past me. “Your boyfriend dropped these off early this morning.”
“Boyfriend?” Nik and I said at the same time.
I ignored Nik and raised a brow at Timothy, waiting for an explanation as he set his bag down near the water heater closet .
Timothy shrugged. “How am I supposed to know about your love life, Sin? You’ve shot me down so many times I assumed it was because you had a man.”
I glanced down at the yellow tulips in my hands and my stomach dipped. There was a small white card tucked between the leaves. I told myself not to open it.
My heart was in my throat as I tore it open.
Couldn’t stay away.
— K
The room tilted. No. No no no. My vision tunneled, pulse slamming into my throat.
K… as in Keith?
My fingers went numb around the card. He found me. Logan used to say things like that. Always right before things got bad.
Can’t stop thinking about you.
You’re always on my mind.
I’ll never let you go.
They sounded sweet on the surface, but there was always something possessive underneath.
My lungs forgot how to work.
Behind me, Timothy kept talking, oblivious. I didn’t hear him. I couldn’t focus on anything except the room spinning.
Nik went very, very quiet. I glanced down at the screen to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. It hadn’t. I knew he was listening, and somehow I knew he could sense my panic too.
My fingers tightened around the stems of the flowers still crushed awkwardly in my hand. With shaking fingers, I set the flowers and the note down on the counter and turned to face Timothy .
He grimaced. “Ugh, this furnace is busted. Gonna have to order a replacement part.”
He kicked it lightly with the toe of his boot.
“More like the whole unit. That thing’s prehistoric,” I swallowed past the lump in my throat, frowning at the ancient piece of junk, all while trying to avoid the ominous flowers on my counter.
Timothy huffed a laugh, oblivious. “Yeah, well, not much I can do, gorgeous. A new unit is too expensive.”
The way he said it made my skin crawl. Between him and the flowers, it was like I’d just been dipped in something oily and couldn’t wash it off.
“Ew. Don’t call me that.”
He just grinned wider.
“Okay then,” I said, stepping back and moving toward the door. “If we’re done here…”
I held it open, pointedly. I needed to be alone before I completely spiraled. And that meant getting off the phone too.
Timothy didn’t move. Instead, he stepped closer.
“Come on, Sin. Let me take you out sometime.”
His hand brushed my arm. My whole body went rigid.
Nik finally spoke. “Put him on the phone. Do it now.”
Timothy’s fingers were still on my sleeve.
“I—he wants to talk to you,” I said awkwardly, holding the phone out. “My… boyfriend .”
The word tasted weird, but I was desperate enough to get Tim out of my apartment.
Timothy scoffed, but took the phone anyway. “Yeah? This is Tim—”
I couldn’t hear what Nik said. I could hear his tone. Low. Calm. Controlled. But I couldn’t make out the words.
Whatever he said …
Timothy’s face drained of color.
His posture changed first, shoulders folding inward, chin dipping. Then his eyes went wide.
“Y—yes,” he stammered into the phone. “ Sir ,” he added quickly. His hand started shaking. “Oh—of course. I understand.”
He handed the phone back to me with both hands like it might explode.
“S-sorry for the trouble, Sina,” he muttered, not making eye contact. “I’ll be in touch about the replacement heater.”
“Replacement?” I called after him, confused. But he was already fleeing down the hallway, footsteps too fast, toolbox banging against his leg.
I thought that was too expensive? What the hell was that about?
I blinked at the empty hallway.
“What did you say to him?”
“It doesn’t matter. He won’t be bothering you again."
I leaned back against the door slowly. “What does that mean? Why did he look like you threatened him, Nik?”
When he didn’t respond, I glanced down at my phone. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”
Silence.
I groaned in frustration. “Seriously? We can’t talk about this?”
“No.”
“Nik!”
“What did I tell you about calling me—”
“If you say sir one more time, I’m going to fucking lose my shit.”
He chuckled softly. “You don’t sound scared anymore, so for now I’ll allow you to be a brat.”
I rolled my eyes. Infuriating asshole. He was right, though. Yelling at him had stopped my panic attack.
“You will be at group today. ”
“Oh, I will? And what makes you so sure?”
“I’m sending a car for you. Be ready by noon.”
“Are you even listening to me? I’m not coming. And why the hell would I need a car? I can take a bus.”
“No buses go to the island.”
I blinked. “Wait… Ash Island?”
“Yes, Sina. To my home.”
My stomach flipped. “You live on the island?”
“I own it.”
My mouth fell open. What the actual hell.
Who was this guy?
My fingers tightened around the phone. “Nik—”
“Don’t be late.”
“Infuriating asshole,” I muttered under my breath.
He chuckled, low and dark. I prayed he couldn’t tell just how much his laugh affected me.
“You can tell me all about how irritating I am in person. See you soon. Sina.”
The call ended, leaving the apartment eerily quiet.
Silence pressed in, thick and heavy. I stood there for a second, phone still clutched in my hand, heart thudding hard but slower now.
I hated that something in my chest had unclenched anyway.
Like my brain, which had been sprinting in circles all morning, finally ran into a wall solid enough to lean on.
I could not believe I was about to listen to his bossy ass and go to his house.
This was starting to sound less like therapy and more like walking straight into the lion’s den.
Ghost .
I hurried to the window and shoved it open, cold air biting at my face. The blanket I’d wrapped him in lay crumpled on the chair where I’d left him.
“Ghost, baby?” My voice came out thin as I leaned over the railing, scanning the alley below.
Did he think I abandoned him?
A sick twist of guilt tightened in my chest. I’d shoved him out here in the cold and now—
“Great,” I muttered, throat tight. “Just… great .”
I stared down at the empty alley, half-expecting to see a flash of white fur darting between the dumpsters.
Nothing .
He was just… gone .