Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Istare up at the house that Neo pulls up to. Except it isn’t a house. It’s a mansion on steroids. I’m doing my best to keep my mouth closed and not have my jaw hanging on the floor. But oh my god, who is this guy?
“This is where you live?” I ask him.
“Mhmm.” He nods and jumps out of the car. He’s at my door before I can even move. I take his offered hand, because I don’t know of a single reason why I shouldn’t.
That’s a lie. I know a million reasons why I shouldn’t. I’m just choosing to ignore them all, because I like holding his hand.
“How many people live here? Wait… do you live with your parents?” It’s one thing to come back to a man’s house. But to have him take you to his parents’ house, that’s kinda weird.
“No.” Neo chuckles. “I’m the only one who lives here, solnishko, which is why I’m looking for a roommate and you’re taking that spot.”
I shake my head. “Yeah, I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t afford a place like this, Neo. You’ve seen where I live.”
“It’s rent controlled.” He shrugs. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour.”
There’s something that screams danger emanating from this man, but all I feel is safe. It’s confusing the hell out of me. I don’t like men. I know better than to trust them, even if they’re the most handsome person I’ve ever seen.
I don’t really have much other choice right now.
I can either take my chances with Neo, or take my chances sleeping in the hallway outside my apartment.
Considering the neighborhood I live in, I think here might just be the better option.
Not that I could fight this guy off if he wanted to hurt me, but I’d rather face one man than a crowd of them lurking around my building.
I’m silent as Neo takes me through his entire home. It’s like something out of one of those fancy house magazines. The place is immaculate. When we reach the second level, he opens a door.
“This is a guestroom, for you,” Neo says. “I’ll get you a shirt you can sleep in. My room is right here.” He points to an adjacent door. “If you need anything, you can come find me there. Get settled. I’ll go grab you a shirt.”
“Um… shit. Thank you,” I tell him. I want to ask if he has a sweatshirt. I get cold at night, and I like to sleep in something warm. But then my eyes land on the bed. I think the thick duvet will be plenty warm enough.
“Ask for what you want, Caitlyn,” Neo says.
“I was just… Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
“I can wait.” Neo leans against the doorframe. He’s seriously going to wait for me to ask him?
When he doesn’t move after a minute of me staring at him, I cave. “Okay, I was just going to ask if you had a sweatshirt or something. I like to sleep in warm things. But any shirt will be perfectly fine.”
“I’ll get you a sweatshirt, Caitlyn. See what happens when you ask for what you want? You get it.” He smirks and walks out.
I step farther into the room. I’ve never been in a place so nice.
I’m too afraid to touch anything, because I know if I break it, I really can’t afford to replace it.
There’s also the fact that I don’t want to deal with another beating today, and keeping things light—easy—is how I can avoid making Neo angry. I hope.
I open a door and peek inside to find an empty closet.
I close it and open the next door. This one leads to a bathroom.
It’s all white and gold, and also fancy as hell.
There’re toiletries lined up on the counter, as if waiting for someone to use them.
Large white towels hang from a towel warmer.
Now that’s a luxury I could get on board with.
I’m always cold, unless it’s the absolute heat of summer.
A tap on the door has me spinning around. Neo walks into the room. I don’t move. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.
“Here you go. Have a shower if you want. I’ll be downstairs. I’m ordering pizza. What kind do you eat?” he says.
“I’ll eat anything,” I tell him.
“Okay, I’ll wait.” He stands in the middle of the room and stares me down for a second time.
Really? This again? I huff out a breath. “Pepperoni would be great. Please.”
He smiles and my stomach dips. Shit, this man should not smile at me like that.
“Told you it’s not that hard,” he says, then he walks out of the room.
Yeah, it is hard to ask for what I want. Because in the past, that has only ever ended with me bruised and battered. You quickly learn that what you want doesn’t actually matter.
I pick up the sweatshirt he left on the bed and bring it to my face, inhaling the scent that lingers on the soft fabric. It smells woodsy, but I doubt this man spends any time in the woods. He looks way too polished and put together to be outside getting dirty.
I walk into the bedroom and close the door, locking the latch, and then strip off. I shake my head at my reflection. I left to escape this, seeing myself covered in bruises. And here I am, one week into my new life, looking exactly like I used to look back then.