Chapter 35
Ender
I t's bright, too bright for my eyes to adjust, so I throw my arm over my face before rolling away from the giant window that takes up half of the room. Next time we buy an apartment, I'm going to personally ensure my room is as dark as possible.
I try going back to sleep, but all I see is her. Knowing she slept in Nix’s bed last night only makes things worse. Why, out of all people, did it have to be her that he turned up here with?
I'm a selfish asshole, and I want her for myself. Maybe in time she will remember what the two of us had. I scoff. If her memories come back, it's more likely that she will remember how much of a dick I was and end up pissed at me all over again.
Dave rattles around in his cage, catching my attention.
I’m already wide awake, might as well see what he’s up to.
Once I roll out of bed, only to find him running in his little spinning wheel.
He seems so happy, carefree even. He stops, nibbling at his paws for a moment before glancing up at me.
I also have everything I could ever need, and she’s in the other room.
“Sorry, little guy. I need to see her.” I breathe out, deciding not to play with him this morning .
Cooking seems to be something that she’s impressed by. Even though it’s a little later in the morning, maybe I can make her brunch. Surely, that will be a step in the right direction. At the very least, it will make her smile.
Once dressed, I stride out of the room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen. It's eerily quiet, which is something I’d normally love, but not today. One glance around tells me nobody is out here, so I decide to pop my head into Nix’s room. Okay, there’s no one here either.
“Where the hell is everyone?” I mutter, before finally knocking on Lane’s door. I always knock before coming into his room because who the hell knows what he and River are up to.
"Yeah?" he calls out, so I push it open, only to find he’s alone, and I’m even more confused.
"What's going on?"
He eyes me wearily for a moment before holding his game up in the air. "Umm, I'm playing Donkey Kong on my Switch."
"Hey, asshat. I don't care about your stupid game." My palm hits my forehead as I shake my head.
"You asked what was going on. I’m playing my game." He glances at me again. "Are you good, man? You're being weird."
Oh my fuck. He probably thinks I'm going to ask him to hang out or something. "Where is everyone?"
"River is meeting his family. I'm right here. And Nix went with Alara back to her house. She wanted to go home."
Why didn’t anyone tell me she was leaving so I could say goodbye ?
"Would you believe I found her sleeping on the couch with River this morning?"
"Wait, what?" The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
"Yep. They were all cuddled up, and she was having a sex dream. She denied it, but I'm pretty sure she was."
My mind starts to spin. Since when is she close enough with River to cuddle on the couch with him? Why does Lane think she was having a sex dream? My chest begins to ache as my breath quickens. I turn on my heels and march out of the room; an uncontrollable anger builds inside me.
I need a drink, except I said I wasn’t going to drink anymore. Fuck. FUCK!
I stride to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me, and run my hands across my face. How? How am I always irrelevant every single time? My phone buzzes, but when I pull it out of my pocket, the name I see only adds to my fury of emotions.
Three letters. M. O. M. She's either in trouble or she needs money for trouble. Regardless of the reason she’s reaching out, it’s never a good thing, so I swipe the message away without reading it.
Thoughts of Alara come to mind, yet again. She wanted me to cut my parents off years ago when Rocky did. Why didn't I listen? It would have saved me a hell of a lot of stress now.
My fingers run through my hair, gripping it tightly.
I want to scream, and maybe punch another hole in the wall, but I don't. Instead, I decide on another way to combat all of this stress. I scroll through my contacts, pressing the call button when I see Glen’s name.
One, two rings later, his scruffy voice says, “Hello.”
"You need to get the paperwork sorted."
"You know these things take time, Ender. I have to have the lawyers look over everything to make sure there's no clauses where she could retaliat–"
"I don't care. Get. It. Done," I spit out, slowly enough for his daft mind to follow along.
"The provisions you wanted me to add aren't typical," Glen argues, like I care.
"You keep saying things you know are going to piss me off. Either get the paperwork in order, or prepare for a PR nightmare. It seems like you’re lacking motivation to get things done.
I'm suddenly feeling like I want to party. Maybe I’ll have some shots, and my face will end up in a pair of pretty tits. "
His deep sigh tells me I've got him by the balls. He knows I'm not the kind to make empty threats.
"You said you'd stay sober."
"And I am," I protest. "But I know you're dragging your feet. You have ways of getting things done. Don't try to pretend like you don't."
Two years ago, I would have taken him at his word.
He intimidated me back then, which is part of why we all agreed not to push any further on the issue with Alara when she didn’t show up to the meeting.
Things are different now. I know how this little conniving charade of his works, and I know he’s lying.
Glen thinks he’s untouchable, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
It’s not like he's the CEO of a corporate label. He’s just a manager.
After another long pause, he finally agrees. "Fine. I'll do my best to put something together, and we can schedule a date for the paperwork."
"No. You will call Alara and tell her to meet with you tomorrow. This is happening tomorrow."
"Fine. Tomorrow at noon."
"Wow, thank you. I'll be there," I say, sarcastically.
"No shit." He takes a moment. "You’d better watch yourself, kid. I won't keep letting you run the show like this."
"Are you threatening me?" My tone is clipped and to the point. “You know I’m the star of this little show, right?”
"I would never threaten one of my clients." Something about the way he says it tells me this is another lie. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Tomorrow everything will change. Alara will sign the paperwork and then find out she has to move in. Everyone except me and Glen will find that out, actually. Maybe she will be upset at first, but it’s what's best. She won’t have to keep leaving because our home will now be hers.