Chapter 5
Elle
Whenever Sarah had talked about her father, she had always said what a great guy he was. How kind he was, how funny, how giving. The man I had met in the kitchen wasn’t any of those things.
I could understand why he might have been shocked by seeing me in his kitchen.
Sarah was a wonderful person but she wasn’t good with details.
I was sure she had forgotten to tell her father I was moving in that night.
Still, he knew I was going to be moving in.
Was it such a shock to see me? He had met me before.
He knew I was coming. Did he have to be rude about it?
Sarah had assured me that her father was fine with me staying with him.
By his reaction he wasn’t. I had meant it when I said I wasn’t going to stay where I wasn’t wanted.
I didn’t like the idea of having to find a place to stay.
I had thought all of that was behind me.
I had been so optimistic that things were going to work out.
I should have known that it wasn’t. It wasn’t like I had the best of luck the last couple of months.
I had thought that was changing, apparently, I was wrong.
Just like I had been wrong about Mr. Harrison and his generosity.
It wasn’t like I had a boyfriend that I could call and stay with.
I hadn’t even allowed myself the option of being with a guy since I started school.
I didn’t want the distraction. Now, I wish I had.
If I had, I might have been able to stay with them.
It had worked for Sarah. Well, her boyfriend was a saint and loved her.
I couldn’t even get a guy to call me for a second date, much less be okay with me moving in with him.
Not that I had ever needed or wanted a man to take care of me.
I had always been independent. I had hardly dated in high school.
In college I had been with a few guys but I knew as soon as it started it wasn’t going to last. I had been too interested, involved, focused on my MBA that men were the last thing on my mind.
Which didn’t make sense to me why I was thinking about them now.
In all the months that I had been couch surfing, I had never once thought about finding some guy to take me in.
It wasn’t who I was. It wasn’t who I wanted to be.
I had seen too many friends have their lives ruined by some guy. I wasn’t going to let it happen to me.
Yet, all it took was a few minutes with Mr. Harrison for me to be singing a different tune. And I had no idea why. Well. I did, I just didn’t want to think about it. It had been months, even years, since I had been so instantly attracted to a man the way I was him.
Having him standing in front of me in the kitchen, in his three-piece suit and his green eyes glaring at me in anger, was very sexy.
I was immediately attracted to him. My attraction to a guy had always been immediate.
I either liked a guy and wanted to be with them or I didn’t.
It was never something that could grow over time.
I had tried that once with one guy, at Sarah’s insistence, it had gone horribly.
It was why I hadn’t wanted to date; I hadn’t found anyone that I had that spark or connection with.
I didn’t see the point of wasting mine or their time.
Yet, I felt something towards Sarah’s father, and it was unnerving.
It didn’t help matters or make me feel any better about the situation when he yelled at me as soon as he saw me.
I had been unsure about staying with him to begin with.
I knew Sarah could put a spin on things.
I had no idea she had put such a spin that she lied to me. He looked absolutely livid.
After seeing his reaction, I knew I couldn’t stay there. I had meant it when I said I wasn’t going to stay where I wasn’t wanted. I had found places to stay before, I would find it again. If I had to go back to live with my parents, I would. It sucked but it would be better than being around him.
I blinked away my tears as I threw my stuff in my bag. It wasn’t like I had much but I had been so excited about having an actual chest of drawers. I looked longingly at the bed. I had been looking forward to sleeping in it, but that wasn’t going to be.
Looking at my phone, I figured I could still make the last train to my parents’ place.
It would put me back there after midnight and I would have to be back at the station around five am to make it back to school on time.
It wasn’t ideal but it was better than where I was.
I could stay there for a while until I could find another arrangement.
I hated to think of all the time I would miss studying and sleeping but what other choice did I have?
I didn’t want to drop out but I was wondering if that might be the only solution.
I could talk to my professors. Maybe they would let me defer or even take the classes via Zoom or something.
Worst case scenario, I could stop taking classes for a semester, get a job so that I could afford a place to stay and move into the city.
The idea of putting off my education and then my career only made me cry again.
I let out a frustrated moan and zipped my bag shut.
I hated crying. It wouldn’t make the situation better; it certainly wouldn’t solve it.
I had a solution for the time being. It wasn’t what I wanted but I would deal.
It wasn’t the end of the world. I just wish I had never thought this was going to work out.
It was harder having the belief and security of a good place to stay and having it taken away than not having it all.
I had let my guard down; I had let myself hope, and now I knew that was not the way it was going to be.
The situation reminded me that I only had myself to count on. I should never have allowed Sarah to convince me to do this. I should have realized it was too good to be true and never gotten my hopes up. In the end, I had no one to blame but myself that it hadn’t worked out.
Myself and Sarah’s father, the jerk.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and threw open the door. I let out a shock cry when I saw Mr. Harrison standing in front of me. He looked as surprised as I was and dropped his hand down at his side.
He took in my bag and then my face. I could feel myself blushing as I knew I must look like a mess. With my crying I was sure my mascara had run and there was no way to hide it. I dropped my head down and said, “Don’t worry. I’m leaving,” and brushed past him.
I was next to him when he reached out and put his hand out to stop me.
I tensed up at the feel of his hand on me.
Heat immediately filled me and I was annoyed that my body was still attracted to him, even after everything he had done to me.
I wanted to jerk my arm out of his but instead I turned my head and looked at him.
“Don’t go,” he said. The words came out as a whisper and it felt like a plea.
I looked into his green eyes, I could see the regret there, and something else I couldn’t place.
The regret was more evident and I could tell he felt badly about what he did.
He didn’t want me to go. My annoyance left when I saw how he looked at me.
It still didn’t take away all of it and I glared at him and asked, “Why?”
He let out a soft chuckle. “I deserve that. I’m sorry. I was a jerk. Can we please start over? Hello, I’m Gabe.”