24. Cassie
CASSIE
By the time we get to the apartment, the boxes are already loaded inside. The guys moved me out so fast that there wasn’t time to label things, but the boxes are lined up along the hallway, and I’m actually looking forward to unpacking.
The apartment itself is perfect for me.
I’m on the second floor. When the entry door opens, there’s a long hall that stretches from one end of the apartment to the other.
To the right is the bedroom, which already has a queen-sized bed, dresser, and vanity set up.
Behind that is the bathroom, and it’s actually a pretty big one.
Across the hall is an arched opening to the living room, which already has a beige sofa and white fluffy rug on the floor, as well as a huge TV with empty bookcases on either side.
This whole area has an open floor plan with a dining room table with four chairs, a very nice kitchen with an island, and appliances already installed.
“This is like… move-in ready,” I say, looking around in awe.
“It’s not fully furnished, but I had a few things delivered already. I didn’t think you’d move in today, but I did plan on getting you here eventually.”
I smile up at him. “My mastermind.”
He smiles back, catching me around the waist and pulling me in front of him. “Do you like it?”
“I love it. Thank you for letting me stay here. It will be so nice to have my own space. I wanted to move out this summer, but I’m only part-time at work, and they don’t have the hours to give me full-time.
Even if they did, I’m not sure I could swing the rent, bills, and groceries without a roommate, which…
I would not be able to get in Holbrook, so I was kind of stuck. ”
“Well, consider yourself unstuck. This is only temporary anyway, but it’ll do for now.”
I nod, certainly not looking a gift horse in the mouth. “Of course. How long can I stay here with my current payment plan? Do you need to rent it out to a paying customer at a certain time, or…?”
“That’s not what I meant. Your payment plan is indefinite, but I’m going to college in the fall, so I’ll be moving in August.”
“Oh.” My heart sinks. “Right. Of course you are. That makes sense. You’ll probably want to rent it out when you move away so you have extra income. Plus, it might be difficult to deliver all those kisses when you’re in… where are you moving?”
“Boston.”
I nod, my eyes widening. “Right. Boston. That’s not super close.”
He smirks, cradling my jaw in one of his hands. “Not super close, no.”
I remember when I used to look forward to college.
The idea of him going hadn’t occurred to me amid all the lunacy, but I find I don’t love it.
Good for him, of course, but here we are starting a relationship that he talks about like we have a future, and the reality is he’s moving in less than two months.
“But I’m sure we can find a place at least as nice as this one,” he says, lightly teasing.
My gaze jumps to his. “We?”
He brushes my hair back, grazing the shell of my ear in the process. “You’re coming with me, aren’t you? Don’t tell me you’re too attached to Holbrook to leave.”
He knows I’m not attached to Holbrook, but he also knows… “I told you I didn’t apply to any colleges. I didn’t make plans.”
“Well, I have plans,” he tells me. “We’ll make some for you, too.”
“It’s too late to apply anywhere for fall admission. You want me just hanging around for a year working in Boston’s version of Chuck’s Chicken Shack and warming your bed?”
“The ‘warming my bed’ part sounds nice. I don’t know about the chicken shack.
You don’t have to work at all if you don’t want to.
I have plenty of monthly income to cover us, but if you do want to work, maybe something that makes more sense.
You can afford to be choosy. Professional girlfriend is on the table if you want it. ”
“Oh yeah?” I smile faintly. “What’s the application process like?”
“Very problematic.”
I grin, letting him walk me back toward the couch. “I bet it is.”
“The good news is, we’re only considering one candidate. Even if you don’t try very hard, I bet you’ll land the gig.”
“Mm, I’m used to being an overachiever. Not trying very hard isn’t really my thing.”
He holds my chin in place and leans down. “I like the sound of that,” he murmurs against my lips.
I wind my arms around his neck, holding on to him as he eases me back. I drop first, then he sits on the couch beside me.
“You should stay here tonight,” I say, enticingly. “We could go to the grocery store, and I could get some stuff to make you dinner. I’ll need to stock the fridge anyway.”
“I like that idea.”
“Yeah? Good.” I lean in, kissing him, my fingers sliding into his hair. “This will allow me to get a start on paying that rent, too. What’d we agree on, 150 kisses a month?”
He feigns consideration. “I think it was 200. All expenses included, after all.”
___
I’ve never gone shopping and not needed to look at price tags before, but when Tor takes me out, he decides we should do some apartment shopping before we get groceries, and the man does not look at one single price tag.
My bathroom is empty but for the toiletries I brought, so I need a few washcloths and towels, a bath rug, some hand soap—stuff like that.
Tor picks up his own toiletries to keep at my place for when he sleeps over, and I get cleaning supplies so I can keep the place nice.
My unit doesn’t have its own washer and dryer, but there is a laundry room on the first floor, so I get the supplies I’ll need for that, too.
He buys me dishes and utensils, pots and pans, and the cutest pair of pink gingham oven mitts. I get pillows and a soft blanket to keep on the couch. He picks out a bouquet of pink and red roses and a nice vase for the dining table.
I’m a little surprised when he takes me to the luggage section and asks which suitcase I want. All my stuff is in boxes, so it’s a little late for a suitcase, but I pick out a purple one anyway, and then he buys me a luggage tag to go with it.
Finally, we get to the grocery shopping. I pick up some popcorn because we’ve discussed watching a movie later, then I buy just the essentials to make meals for the next few days.
Once I get paid on Friday, I’ll be able to buy some more stuff myself. I know he would cover it, but he’s done so much for me already.
It’s kind of exciting to know that when I wake up tomorrow, I’ll be on my own—I mean, Tor will probably be there since I invited him to sleep over, but there will be no other presence weighing me down. Every decision I make will be mine. I’ll be completely responsible for myself.
I open the knife block he bought me as soon as we get home so I can use my new sponge and dish soap to clean what I need for dinner prep.
It also occurs to me that I don’t have scissors, but the knife block came with a pair of cooking scissors, so I use those to cut the flower stems before arranging them in the vase and putting them on my dining room table.
I can’t believe I have my own place to decorate. This is great.
I’m smiling and happy as I start prepping the chicken. Tor comes in from taking out the trash for me. He bought me a garbage can for the kitchen, but he didn’t want to fill it with all the packaging from the stuff we bought tonight.
“You need any help over there?” he asks, walking around the island.
I flash him a smile. “Nope, I’ve got it. Thank you, though.”
He comes up behind me anyway, crowding me, but I don’t mind. His hand slides along my face, and I don’t realize he’s inspecting me until he asks, “How’s that feeling?”
“It’s fine,” I tell him. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“I think you should block her number,” he tells me. “I know you haven’t heard from her tonight, but she’s embarrassed. She’ll pop up again.”
The mention of my mother makes me a little uneasy. “I appreciate you stepping in tonight,” I say carefully. “And I probably will block her number for a while, but just to be clear, I don’t want you to…”
“Do any psycho shit?”
I crack a surprised half-smile. “Yeah.”
“I’ll leave her alone as long as she leaves you alone.”
I glance at him over my shoulder. “Just promise you won’t do anything there without talking to me.”
He leans down, kissing the ball of that same shoulder. “I promise.”
He’s close enough that I have to steal a little kiss. I have a debt to pay, after all.
He smiles as he pulls back and leaves me to my cooking, and I know it’s probably a little twisted to feel so content considering what we were just discussing, but I decide not to care.
There may be people in the world Tor’s a danger to, but I’m not one of them. The only way I’ve seen people wind up between his crosshairs so far is by coming after me.
Finally, there’s someone who cares about keeping me safe in a world where people have absolutely no hesitation wounding or sacrificing me. It took a lot to make me defend myself the way I did against Tim, and I would never defend myself so fervently from typical mistreatment, but I believe he will.
For the past year, people have had no problem fucking with me, but I think going forward, they may want to reconsider.