50. Haelyn
FIFTY
HAELYN
Tristan
I’ll call you when the game is over
I smiled, rounding the corner and walked down the street toward my apartment after a day of work. I was goddamn tired after a long night in Tristan’s office, but thanks to the fact I’m in a very good relationship with the boss, I left two hours early before my program was done.
He left sooner than me to go to a football game with his brother and we agreed on meeting afterward. I was greedy already.
Me
okay. have fun *red heart emojis*
Because I still had a mile to walk, I dialed Merielle with a smile stretched on my lips. She picked up immediately.
“Hi, babe,” she sing-songed.
“Hi. What’s up with the good mood?”
There was a background noise and the sound of a door closing shut before she spoke. “I just got promoted! Your gal is now a manager,” she announced in a whisper-shout before squealing.
“Oh my god, Merielle. That’s amazing,” I said. “You’re practically the boss now.”
She laughed. “I can’t wait to make Ginna wipe the floors with her tongue,” Merielle joked, but I knew she had something personal with that girl. It was mostly because she acted like a bitch twenty-four-seven so I couldn’t judge her for it.
Merielle had been working at the coffee shop for five years now and I was glad her boss saw the potential in her. She was devoted, smart, and hard-working. I couldn’t see why he didn’t promote her sooner, but I was glad she finally got what she deserved.
“I might have to go back,” she said. “But first tell me why didn’t you call last night? I thought you were working late and then stopping by, but you never did.”
A blush immediately crept upon my cheeks. I knew I was supposed to go to her place last night, but I was so caught up in Tristan that I forgot anything else about life.
“Oooh,” she said after I took too long to reply.
“What?” I asked, but I was already smiling.
“You banged the boss!”
“I did.” I giggled, the reminder of his hands on my body sending shivers down my spine.
“Ugh, finally. You were such a pain in the ass these past few days, always so jumpy at everything I said or did. I still don’t get why you had to torture yourself like that, but fine.”
I gasped. “What do you mean? I wasn’t jumpy .”
“Uhm? Do I have to remind you that one time when you screamed at me because I didn’t put cheese on your sandwich?”
“Okay, that was?—”
“Or that time I pissed you off because I kept fidgeting on the couch?”
I sighed. “Fine, I was a pain in the ass.” I laughed it off.
In my defense, I didn’t realize I was talking like that or that everything she did bothered me. But now, I was a new person.
“I’m sorry.” I placed my teeth over each other.
She pfted. “It’s okay, you were mad about not getting vitamin D when it was right next to you. We’ve all been through that.”
“God, Merielle. You have no goddamn filter.” I chuckled, massaging my temples.
“What did I say? I said‘vitamin D as in the one you’re getting from the sunshine? You’re a pervert, Hae.”
“All right, I’ll let you go back to work. Congratulations on the new position!” I smiled, remembering that she had been promoted.
“Thank you. I’ll send you a video with Ginna soon,” she said, then ended the call.
I shook my head, the corners of my mouth touching my ears. She was one of a kind, I was sure of that and I didn’t know how I was so lucky to get the smartest and funniest friend out of all.
When I got in front of my building, I stopped in my tracks, seeing Tristan’s car in the improvised parking lot.
Wasn’t he supposed to be at the football game? Why was he lying to me?
I unlocked my phone and dialed his number. It rang with no answer, so I called again, but this time, a faint ringtone came from inside the building and I heard someone cursing under their breath.
“Mother fucker.” Tristan walked out with his hands full of pictures I had in my apartment, the toy bear, and a few clothes.
What the hell was he doing with my shit?
He opened the door to his car, stuffing the items in and I marched up to him, stopping behind him. When he turned back, he barely flinched. He rose his eyebrows in surprise, but then smiled and leaned back to kiss me.
I didn’t kiss him back. I tapped my foot on the ground, staring at me.
“You’re here in time.” He kept the smile on his lips, then threw me into his arms and placed me in the car, next to my things.
“Tristan!” I tried to fight and somehow get out before he closed the door, but he was too fast.
He soon followed inside and started the car. I pinched his ear, hard, and forced him to look at me. “What do you think you’re doing?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“I told you you’re not going to live here anymore.” He was so relaxed I almost dropped off the pinching part and punched him.
“And is that your decision to make?”
“Now that you’re mine, yes.”
This man… he knew how to push all the right buttons to piss me right the fuck off. I was expecting a large wave of rage, enough to make me say I didn’t want to be with him anymore or something like that, but instead, I was faking my anger.
Why wasn’t I mad at him? He had no right to go into my apartment and gather all my stuff.
He fucking kidnapped me.
Tristan drove away, no sign of tension in his shoulders.
I was supposed to be fuming right now. To lash out at him and say things I didn’t mean, but instead, I stayed silent in the back seat, curious about where he was taking me.
This was wrong.
So wrong.
“I’ll call the police.” I tried to sound serious.
He sighed. “I’m not going to keep you there by force, Haelyn. Stay with me until Christmas and if you decide you don’t like it, I’ll get you a new apartment.”
My stomach tightened. He was serious about this and had no intention of going back and I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to.
“Just give me a chance,” he pleaded, looking at me through the rearview mirror.
I bit my bottom lip, but nodded, deciding to do things his way for once without overthinking everything. I was about to live with him and his brother for a week and if I decided it was too soon for us, I could go back to my apartment.
Because there was no way in hell I’d accept him to buy an apartment for me. That was a sure no-no.
“One week,” I pointed out.
“One week.” He nodded.