Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Neo served me up a huge plate of food. It all looks delicious, but he’s out of his mind if he thinks I can eat all this. “This is a lot of food, Neo. I mean, it looks great. But what happens if I can’t finish it?” I ask him.
Neo tilts his head to the side. “What do you mean what happens? If you can’t eat it, just throw it in the trash, Caitlyn. It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s wasteful. I don’t want to be wasteful,” I say, keeping my voice low.
“Okay, whatever you don’t eat put into a container, and I’ll feed it to my dad’s dog later,” he tells me.
I nod and pick up the knife and fork he placed in front of me.
“I have to go do something. I won’t be long. Will you be okay here by yourself?”
“Mhmm, I can go. You don’t have to leave me in your home,” I say. “I’m also not really going to steal from you, just so you know.”
“Good to know.” Neo chuckles. “Stay right here. Eat. I won’t be long. If you finish before I get back, leave the plate on the counter. I’ll sort it out. This is your home now, Caitlyn. Remember, roomies,” he says with a smile.
“Okay. Thank you.” I can’t help but smile back at him. He’s insane, but I also don’t know what else I can do.
I have no intention of moving in. That would be crazy.
But I will deal with that once I get out of this place and back to my own apartment.
It might be a shithole, but it’s mine—well, it is until I can’t pay rent.
Which, given my employment situation, isn’t going to be that long unless I can find a better job. Fast.
Shit. Work. I have to be at the diner this afternoon. I have time. Neo said he was taking me back to my apartment in a couple of hours. I’m just going to eat, then I’m going to shower again because that shower was heaven last night.
The food is delicious. All of it. But he hasn’t eaten anything. He didn’t even serve himself a plate. I really hope he didn’t go to all this effort just for me, but I have a feeling he did and that has those stupid butterflies flipping around in my stomach.
Maybe the books and movies are right? Maybe there are good men in the world?
I doubt it, but it’s a nice thought. If these men did exist, it’s highly unlikely I’d ever find one.
I force down more food than I can stomach, because I don’t want to be wasteful. I’m so full I actually feel sick. Shit.
Pushing the plate away from me, I run straight upstairs and into the bathroom that’s attached to the guestroom. My knees hit the cold tiles as I bend over the toilet, and everything I just ate comes right back up. Tears stream down my cheeks. I hate being sick.
“What’s wrong. Shit. Aleksi, get a fucking doctor here now!” Neo’s voice has me picking my head up.
“I’m fine,” I tell him, right before I lean back over the toilet and throw up again. This is mortifying.
Neo kneels down next to me. A wet towel presses on the back of my neck. “You’re not fine. Shit, was it the food? Where the fuck is the doctor?” His voice rises, and I flinch.
I shuffle away from him. “I’m sorry.” The backs of my hands swipe at my cheeks. “I tried to eat it all. I didn’t want to be wasteful.”
“Caitlyn, we talked about this. It’s not wasteful. You didn’t need to eat it all,” Neo says.
“Doc’s on his way.” Aleksi now stands in the doorway. He holds out a bottle of water to Neo. “Here.”
“Thanks. Have him come up as soon as he arrives,” Neo says without taking his eyes off my face. He twists the cap off the water bottle and hands it to me. “Drink this.”
“I don’t need a doctor. I just overate. I really am fine,” I tell him.
“It will make me feel better if the doctor confirms that I didn’t give you food poisoning,” he says.
“I just want to go home. I have to work. I need to reorder my bank cards. I need to get a new ID,” I ramble off the long list of things I still have to do.
“I got your purse back,” Neo says.
“What? How?” My brows draw down in confusion.
“Some friends went looking around and found it in an alley near where you were mugged,” he tells me. “It’s downstairs.”
“I don’t even know what to say…”
“Then don’t say anything. Come on. Stand up.” Neo holds out a hand, waiting for me to take it.
After I let him pull me up, he opens the drawer next to us and takes out a new toothbrush and some toothpaste. He squirts a small amount onto the brush and then runs the tap. “Open,” he says.
“You’re not brushing my teeth for me!”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s weird.” I take the brush from his hand.
“It’s only weird if you make it weird,” Neo says, watching as I brush my teeth.
Once I’ve finished, he takes my hand and leads me out of the bedroom, right into the one next door. His bedroom.
“Sit down,” he says, pointing to the bed.
Without thinking, I do what I’m told, because that’s what I’ve been programmed to do.
Neo walks into what I’m assuming is his closet, and then he comes out with a new sweatshirt. “Stand up,” he says, and again I silently comply. “Lift.”
I raise my arms above my head as he tugs the sweatshirt over my body. Neo steps back after he discards the fabric onto the floor.
“Fuck me,” he hisses.