20. Juliet
20
JULIET
E astpoint is the exact same as I remember it from the few times I visited with my dad. Tall archways, spiked towers, and an almost antique grace that I’ve only ever seen replicated in European cities. Eastpoint is like its own world, one that I worry I might no longer belong in.
Lex’s beat up SUV sticks out like a sore thumb as we drive closer and closer to the university. My face is pressed as close to the window without it actually touching as possible, and the guys are relatively quiet. Once lunch was over, the rest of the trip had flown by with an ease that I didn’t even realize I’d missed until it was back.
I beat back the urge to worry about what will happen when we return to Silverwood whenever it rears its ugly head. Just because I’ve got the weekend settled out doesn’t mean I’m not still homeless when I get back. I know I have to figure something out, but for now, I’m content to pretend that I’m nothing more than a potential college student visiting her hopeful future.
The song on the radio changes and 21st Century Vampire by Huddy comes on as Lex turns down a road and speeds through a yellow light. More buildings fly by. Clean, expensive pillared homes and white-brick boutiques and shops. Eastpoint is the kind of place I’m more accustomed to. It reminds me of my old neighborhood in Silverwood. The difference is that Eastpoint seems to have a more casual air compared to the stuck-up snootiness that the northside of Silverwood presented. It’s nice.
The SUV heads away from the university part of the city and towards downtown. When the vehicle slows several minutes later and comes to a crawling stop, I glance up and frown. I’d expected a cheap hotel. Maybe even a run-down apartment set up as one of those “check in yourself” short-term rental places. Not… a club.
The neon sign situated above the flat brick face of the industrial building is turned off, but even without the illumination, I can still read it. Hellfire . I sit up as the SUV pulls up and Lex parks.
“What are we doing here?” I ask.
Nolan casts a look over his shoulder. “There’s an apartment above the club,” he answers. “We’ll be staying there for the weekend.”
I’m hesitant to get out, but the guys all don’t seem to notice as they clamber out of the vehicle and begin stretching. Left with little in the way of options, I follow. Lex circles the vehicle until he gets to the back and lifts up the hatch on the SUV’s trunk.
There’s no sign of broken glass left in the bed from the night that I’d lost my shit and shattered his window. A small pulse of shame coats the back of my throat as he reaches in and hands me first my backpack and then my duffle. I take both and turn away.
The rest of them had packed far lighter, a backpack each. Then again, none of them held everything they owned in two bags. I wonder if this weekend might be a good opportunity to see if I could bargain to get my other shit back from Nolan’s. The thought has barely taken root when the man in question marches past me and heads for the building. As one, the rest of us trail him.
Instead of going to the front door, however, Nolan takes a gravel path around the side of the building to what looks like a kitchen exit with a black metal door and no windows. I only notice the intercom box next to the door a split second before Nolan presses the button and waits.
Crackling comes over the line, followed by a deep and gruff male voice with a twinge of a southern accent. “What the fuck—Nolan?” A whirring noise draws my attention up and explains how the man knows who’s standing outside. A high-tech camera is mounted above the door. The bulbous head of it swivels side to side as I assume the man over the intercom directs it from inside. “Oh, shit, what time is it?” he barks. Then before Nolan can reply, the man continues. “Sorry, I was sleeping. Gimme a sec and I’ll let y’all in.”
Nolan doesn’t have to say a word, and within seconds, there’s a loud beep and a lock disengaging. Lex reaches forward and pulls the metal door open, holding it wide. Nolan enters first, then Gio, and me. Lex offers me a small smile as I pass him and I give him one of my own.
The longer I spend with them without the tinge of anger marring my senses, the more guilty I feel over my past actions. Did I have my reasons? Yes. Abso-fucking-lutely, I did. Now, though, I’m wondering if they were justifiable.
Shaking my head at those thoughts, I trail the others into the darkened interior of what looks like a nightclub. Not that I couldn’t have guessed as much from the plain exterior of the building, but the inside is even more obvious. Dark wash bar counters on either side of a massive room that hosts a flat, wide tiled dance floor. Lights hang from beams overhead, illuminating the emptiness of the open space.
I tighten my grip on both of my bags as Lex comes up next to me. “You okay?”
“Fine,” I say despite my uneasiness.
A man appears in the mouth of a hallway, looking slightly rumpled as if he just fell out of bed. His hair is dark and swiped back from his face, a face that has a rather odd birthmark that covers the lower half of his jaw and descends down his neck.
“Zeke.” Nolan greets the man and hands his bag to Gio.
“Jesus fuck, Nolan, you couldn’t warn me when y’all’d be here?” Zeke asks as he reaches out and claps Nolan on the back as he draws near. I hang back, a little relieved that Lex does the same as I watch the two of them.
Zeke is tall and broad, though not as big as Lex, he’s on par with both Nolan and Gio. His jeans are worn but well-fitting and the plain black t-shirt boasts the club’s name scrawled in the same font as the sign out front.
“It’s well after noon, dude,” Nolan replies. “Let me guess, the club life got you staying up?”
“You know it.” Zeke finally lifts his gaze from Nolan and scans the rest of us, pausing when he lands on me. His eyes widen and then shoot back to Nolan. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing your girlfriend.”
I wrinkle my nose, but decide that it’s safe enough to let Zeke keep thinking that. I don’t know him and something tells me that not being claimed here might not be such a great thing. Nolan snorts, but doesn’t deny Zeke’s words either. Instead, he changes the subject entirely.
“Are we staying here or did you have other digs for us while we’re in town?” he asks.
My brow creases. Hadn’t he said that we were staying here? Did he not know that for sure? I cast a glance up at Lex to see if he has any idea, but he isn’t looking at me. No. His attention is squarely fixed on the man known as Zeke.
“You’re staying here,” Zeke says, rubbing a hand through his already shaggy looking hair. “I have a place a few blocks away, but I knew y’all would be in town sometime soon so I thought I’d stay to be here when you got in. Didn’t actually mean to fall asleep. Here, follow me.”
Zeke turns and leads the rest of us back towards the mouth of the hallway. Lex reaches down for my hand and I don’t resist. His fingers close around mine, offering warmth in the otherwise chilly interior of the building. As we draw closer to the opening, I realize that it’s not a hallway, but a staircase set a few feet back and out of the direct line of sight of the club.
The four of us—five including Zeke—make our way up the stairs to a second floor that’s far more comfortable than the club space below. We come out to a long hall, and Zeke turns us all to a door that leads into a small apartment.
“There are only two rooms,” Zeke admits, “so you’ll have to bunk up.”
I step into the tiny living and dining room combo, noting the galley kitchen to the side and the three doors across the way. Two of the doors hang open, one revealing a quaint bathroom with a single sink and stand-up shower and the other open to a bedroom with little more than a queen-sized bed, side table, and lamp.
“The couch doesn’t pull out, but it’s comfortable so long as it’s only a few nights,” Zeke continues gesturing to the worn looking brown suede couch set in front of a rather large flat screen television.
“Thanks, man,” Nolan says. “We appreciate you putting us up like this.”
Zeke shrugs. “Anything for you, cuz,” he replies. My eyes sharpen on him at that. Cuz? As in cousin?
My attention flickers between Nolan and Zeke with renewed interest. Before I can really examine both of them together, though, Zeke leans over the couch and picks up a jacket and tosses it on.
“I’m gonna head home for another few hours of shut eye,” he announces. “I’ll be in later tonight, but the opener comes in close to five. I’ll send the code to the side door to your phone so you can come and go as you need. Most employees know about the apartment, but they don’t generally wander up here for any reason. If you need anything else, just shoot me a text.”
“Let me walk you out,” Nolan says, turning back to the hall. I shuffle out of the way, bumping into Lex and dropping his hand as I do. When Nolan’s red-brown eyes meet mine, he smirks. “Behave, Princess,” he warns. Then he’s gone, disappearing into the hall with Zeke.
I arch my eyebrow and look between Lex and Gio. “Was that … Nolan’s actual cousin?”
Gio shrugs. “Yeah, on his mom’s side.”
“And he… owns this place?”
Gio snorts and tosses both his and Nolan’s backpacks onto the couch before collapsing next to them. “No,” he says. “He just manages it.”
With that, Gio grabs up the remote and flicks on the TV until a sports station blasts through the apartment. I leave him and Lex and wander through the rest of the apartment, peering into the two open doors before heading to the only closed one. I find it’s similar to the first except instead of one queen bed, there are two twin mattresses on either side of a short dresser.
The kitchen is much the same with only a few pots and pans and dishes that appear as if they were pulled straight from a department store’s website and never used. No food in the fridge except a quart of yogurt, a carton of orange juice, and a bag of apples. This place is definitely bachelor pad material. It’s clear that no one actually lives here. There are no knick-knacks or pictures placed anywhere. Just the bare necessities.
I walk back towards the living room as the front door opens and Nolan steps back inside. “Alright,” he announces. “Room situation—Juliet—you’re there—” He gestures to the open door with the rumpled queen-sized bed. “The rest of us will flip for the couch.”
“Fuck that!” Gio says standing. “I’m staying with Prep Girl.”
Nolan rolls his eyes. “Sure you are, buddy. Keep telling yourself that.”
Gio turns to face me and plants his hands on his hips. I arch an eyebrow, wondering how he’ll get his way this time. I should’ve known better. His lips twitch into a smirk. “I’ll take my third wish now, Miss Genie.”