Chapter 26
A few days later, Asher and I found the perfect apartment. It’s better than the one we’re in now, but Asher’s agreed to take the lion’s share of the rent because he ‘had to have this one’.
I was content to try and stay closer to our old one–and therefore in the same price bracket–but Asher wanted an upgrade.
He’s a good guy. The best actually. Understanding and noble, without ever trying to be.
The apartment isn’t huge, but it’s decently sized.
The front door opens to a big living room with the kitchen, well, kitchenette really.
There’s a small hallway with a bathroom that’s a million times cleaner than the one we have now.
And the bedrooms. Oh my god, the bedrooms are huge.
At least big enough for a queen sized bed.
There’s a master bedroom that’s a bit bigger than the other, but it has a walk-in closet.
So naturally, I pushed Asher to take that one. It’s only fair.
Besides, I don’t know if maybe Rox and I might be able to move in together soon.
Look, a man can hope, alright?
But realistically, I know we’re stuck finding a place to rest our heads in places we can afford at the moment. Roxie’s settled at Harriet’s and is able to afford the deeply discounted rent, and I don’t need to leave Asher’s just yet. I’m content to let our lives unfold.
I climb the small staircase next to Harriet’s diner, knocking on the door at the top. Roxie started cosmetology school a little while ago, and she’s working at the shop, and she’s picking up shifts at the diner. So, I’m here to check on her. Make sure she’s eating, sleeping and hydrating.
Let’s be real, Roxie’s going to run on empty to make sure she’s pushing forward. And that’s where I gladly am stepping in. I love her, and I’m going to make sure she’s taken care of.
The door creaks open slowly, the darkness surrounding her as she peaks out with one eye closed.
“Ty?” She asks, voice hoarse with sleep.
“Hey, baby,” I say softly, slipping in around her and closing the door behind us.
Harriet’s is nice, homey, and warm. There’s plants everywhere, a well-loved afghan over every sitting surface.
The only thing is that Harriet burns these incense sticks that make my nose scrunch up.
Roxie doesn’t mind it though. It’s safe, it’s clean, and it’s with someone who genuinely cares for her, so I can’t complain.
I wouldn’t dare complain in front of Harriet. I might get food privileges revoked.
Not worth it. I’ll deal with the hippy incense.
“What are you doing here?” she asks groggily, taking my hand and leading me towards her room. Harriet already had the whole room furnished so luckily, Roxie didn’t need to buy anything with the limited funds she has.
“I know you’ve been working so hard and I wanted to check on you before our shift.”
“Oh fuck, I forgot,” she glances at her watch and groans.
“I got like three hours of sleep last night.” She sighs, running her hands through her hair and my eyebrows pull together.
She walks through the threshold of her room and stalls, turning slowly like she fucking knows what she’s just let slip pissed me off.
“What?”
Roxie sighs heavily, dropping her shoulders and tilting her head. It’d be a cute look if I wasn’t so on edge.
“I… I helped out late at the diner.”
“The diner closes at ten.” I stand in the doorway, blocking her exit and therefore her only way of getting out of this conversation.
“Then I had to go into the school to work a little,” she says with a shrug. My jaw sets to the side as I inhale through my nose.
“Why didn’t you call me? Text me? I would’ve walked with you, taken the bike.” I step closer to her, terrified that she was all alone…at night…by herself…a month and a half after being attacked…
Is she trying to get killed?
“I would’ve sat by that front door and let you do your thing while making sure you were protected,” I growl, looming over her. “Do you not remember what just fucking happened? How there are people after you? Do I need to remind you how horrible it was?”
Fire sparks in Roxie’s eyes as I scold her and I see her fully wake up.
“I’m more than capable of taking care of myself, Ty.” Her hands go to her hips like the stubborn little hellfire she is, but I stand my ground.
“Are you? You were in an empty building, late at night without telling anyone where you were. Did you at least tell Harriet? Did you have your phone on–the one I got you? Did you lock the door behind you? Did you think about any of that?” I snap, my chest rising in anger.
Her jaw set to the side and her nostrils flare.
She didn’t. She didn’t take any fucking precautions.
“You’re not my dad, Ty. You don’t get to try and control my every move,” she snaps at me and my jaw drops.
That little shit.
“I’m not your dad, but I am your Daddy and it’s my job to make sure you’re safe.” I point a finger at her, stepping so close my finger pushes against her sternum. “And you seem to be hell-fucking-bent on making my job as difficult as humanly possible.”
Roxie’s head tilts to the side as she slaps my hand away.
“I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah?” I ask rhetorically, gripping her chin with my thumb and lifting her downcast eyes so I can see her eyes, making her stare at me as she lies. “That’s not being called into question, baby, but what I am now wondering is why you’re pushing against me so much.”
Her eyes widen just slightly before she narrows them.
“I just don’t need you to come in here, criticising me before I’ve had any fucking caffeine.”
“Hmm,” I narrow my eyes as I watch her squirm slightly. She’s lying.
Why?
“What?” She raises her eyebrows, daring me to call her out.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She turns to walk away, but as she does, I grab her hand to keep her near me, and see it.
Her knuckles are red and bruised.
“What is this from?” I ask, my tone soft in a false sense of calm.
“Nothing,” she says quickly as she rips her hand from mine and holds it behind her back. She’s shutting down, I can see it.
If I keep pushing her, she’s going to completely cut me off and that… That’s not something I ever want. I just want to support her, to keep her safe, to keep her happy and free. I sigh heavily, dropping my hands to my sides and letting her retreat.
“Roxie, why are you lying to me?”
Her face scrunches up in pain–pain that I immediately want to take from her–and she shakes her head softly.
“I don’t want to. Please, just…” She looks away, swallowing down whatever she was going to say and I ache to know what it was. “Please, trust me when I say, I’m doing what I need to do for us. Okay? For us.”
My immediate gut reaction is to beg her to tell me what she’s doing, planning, hiding behind her eyes. But, I trust her. I trust her and I trust her intentions.
“Are you safe?” I ask softly, needing to know before I can think normally again.
“As safe as I can be.”
My fingers curl into my palms at that and I can feel the muscle in my jaw pop as I clench my teeth.
“And you won’t let me help you?”
“I have to do this on my own. But I promise you, I’m… I promise you that I’m not jeopardizing our future.”
My heart stutters a little at her mentioning our future. Not because she doesn’t talk like that normally, but because she wants one. With me.
“Can I help, please, Roxie?” I’m not above dropping to my knees and asking her with every weapon at my disposal.
But she just shakes her head no. Roxie reaches up with her reddened, hurt hand and brushes her fingers against my cheek.
I grab her forearm, holding her in place so she stays holding me, and she smiles sadly.
“Trust me. This will…” She drops eye contact for a moment before forcing a smile to her face.
It’s as fake as those hollow words she tried to spew earlier.
“It’ll be over soon and for good.” Before I can ask her exactly what that means, Roxie steps closer and jumps into my arms. I catch her easily, both hands gripping and holding her thighs as they wrap around me.
“I’m so tired of us having to fight to survive. I want us to thrive. To be free. To be together,” I whisper against her temple. I want it so badly I ache.
Rox is quiet, so silent it makes everything inside me stand at attention. Something is up. Before I can open my mouth to ask, she starts talking.
“Kiss me. I’ve missed you and we only have another hour or so before we need to be at the shop. I can think of so many things we can do in an hour and none of them involve clothes.”
She doesn’t need to tell me twice. I lean in, kissing her deeply and walking her towards the bed. Laying her back onto the bed, while my hands rip those flimsy sleep shorts off and find her bare underneath.
“Oh god,” I moan before leaning down to take her.
But in the back of my mind, I know something big is coming and I need to be ready.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Asher asks me as I watch Harriet’s diner from around the corner. “Isn’t she going to get mad if she sees you spying on her?”
Jesus fucking Christ, could he be any louder?
“Lower your voice, hermano,” I hiss, swatting at the air by his head. “Yes, I’m very aware that if Roxie sees me spying on her, she’s going to probably challenge me to a fight I will gladly lose for her.”
“Then why are we doing this? You think she’s cheating?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I trust her, I do, but right now, I can’t help but feel like she’s in danger again. She’s hiding something from me.”
“She is allowed privacy, you know,” Asher rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as he stares at me in disapproval.
“That’s not… Fuck,” I swear under my breath. Fuck it. “I’m not trying to encroach on her privacy. I’m trying to keep her safe.”
“Maybe you should’ve just chipped her.” Asher shrugs and I turn to face him, eyebrows risen because you know, that’s not a bad idea. “No! No, Ty, you cannot chip Roxie.”