I can’t help but walk with her. “What the fuck do you mean ‘not now’?” I question, looking past the fact that her tears are tearing me in half. “You can’t just come back here and not give me any fucking answers to where the hell you’ve been the past seven months.”
“Jace,” she demands. “You can yell at me tomorrow. I cant… I just can’t deal with all of this shit right now.”
“My shit?” I question. “If you weren’t in the fucking mood the why the hell even come here? You had to have known I’d be here.”
She lets out a frustrated groan. “I was looking for the boys. I told you that.”
“Why?” I demand as she waves down a taxi.
“It’s none of your fucking business,” she yells at me, before pulling back and quietening her voice with a cringe as to not wake Isabella. “Please, just leave me the hell alone.”
I step up into her. Leaving her alone is not an option. “Why?” I repeat, stepping in front of the taxi door so she can’t avoid the question again. I mean, why the hell does she need a taxi anyway? What the fuck is wrong with her car?
“Jace,” she says again with a resigned sigh. “I told you. I can’t deal with this right now. I need to… process. Please just go. I’ll handle it on my own.”
“Handle what?” I grunt.
“Jace,” she snaps.
“Handle what?” I repeat a little more forcefully. She doesn’t respond and the taxi eventually pulls away. “Cami, what’s the fucking problem? I’m not asking you again.”
She lets out a huff. “I just got home and there’s a fucking squatter living in my apartment, refusing to leave.”
“Fuck,” I grunt. At least that answers why she wanted the boys, though, it kind of stings that she didn’t reach out for me when in the past I’d be the only one she’d go to. “Get in my truck,” I tell her. “I’ll handle it.”
At that, she crosses her arms over her chest. “I told you, I can do it myself. Besides, I can’t trust you to follow through, and apparently,” she says, waving her hand towards my niece. “You’ve got your hands full right now.”
Ouch. That one stung. “Over my dead body,” I tell her, ignoring her little dig. “No way in hell am I letting you go back there by yourself. You don’t know what kind of man he is. Now, get your ass in my truck or I’ll do it for you.”
She clenches her jaw together and narrows her eyes. “You’re such as asshole,” she demands before stomping off across the parking lot towards my truck. I pull the keys from my pocket and quickly unlock it before watching her open the door, climb up, and slam the door behind her.
As I make my way across the lot, I can’t help but look at her as she sits in my truck with her arms still firmly crossed over her chest. Her lips are pressed together in a hard scowl and it’s almost amusing to watch.
I get over to my truck and pull the backdoor open before strapping Isabella in, pleased that her bag of things is still right here, in the back seat. I climb up into my truck and the second the door closes, the atmosphere in the truck changes.
It’s just us here. Nowhere for either of us to run. Now would be the perfect time to drill her on why she left. I mean, she could have just told me to fuck off and I would have stayed away. She didn’t have to leave like that.
I start up my truck and we sit in absolute silence. Me looking out the front windscreen while she stares off out the window, discreetly wiping away tears that appear on her cheeks.
The drive is agonizing as the tension builds around us.
It’s like a breath of relief when we pull up at her apartment complex and I open the door. It’s as though the tension flies right out with the gust of wind that comes storming in. Either that or now that we’re here, my mind is solely focused on getting the man out of my woman’s home.
I unbuckle Isabella and storm inside the building with Cami right behind me, and as usual, I resist reaching out and taking her hand in mine. After months of being apart, I thought these damn feelings would fade and I wouldn’t need her touch like I used to.
I’ve never been so fucking wrong.
I get to the lift and press the button. I look up at the little number above the lift and it tells me it’s taking way too long, besides, being trapped in a lift with Cami is not going to be a good idea.
I take the stairs.
“What are you doing?” she demands as she follows behind.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I grunt as I fly past level one.
She’s clearly exhausted and can hardly keep up. She’s only just gotten back this morning so I don’t doubt she’s tired and probably suffering some killer jet lag.
The need to throw her over my shoulder to hurry her up flies through me, but again, I resist. That wouldn’t go down well, so instead, I slow my pace a bit and allow her to catch her.
We exit out onto the third floor and I can’t help but feel a little strange being here again. There was a time I used to come here nearly every day in my irrational need to see her, I guess that’s just another change I’ll have to get used to.
We walk down the hallway to her door and I notice the woman further down the hall who sticks her head out the doorway to watch the show, from memory, I think her name was Kelly. She nods at Cami before her eyes flick to mine.
I ignore her. After all, I have a job to do.
I get to Cami’s door and she goes to knock but I don’t waste time with that bullshit. I thrust Isabella into Cami’s hands and she takes her as though she has a contagious disease. I hate seeing her hesitating with my niece. Out of all the people I know, Cami is the one I’ve been wanting to share her with. I want her to love this baby just as much as I do.
Reluctantly, Cami pulls her into her arms and holds her close to her chest while I get shit done. This mother fucker won’t be answering the door after learning that Cami is back and wanting to claim what’s her. So, I bring my foot up and slam it into the door.
The wood splinters and instantly gives way while breaking straight through all three locks on the door. Cami gasps and moves back a few steps while also situating herself behind me while Isabella cries from the sudden loud noise.
In the space of two seconds, the door falls to the ground with a bang and the man who’s sitting on her couch flies to his feet, wearing nothing but Cami’s silk robe and a pair of whitey tighteys while Cami stands behind me, soothing the baby as though she was her own.
“What the fuck?” he yells as I storm towards him.
The home that Cami has put so much love and devotion into has been absolutely trashed. There’s food everywhere and spilled drinks all over her carpets. The place smells like dirty cigarettes while one look at the couch tells me they’ve been put out on it. Anger flares through me. This is just what I can see from the entryway, I don’t even want to imagine what the rest of her home looks like.
At the sight, Cami comes storming in right behind me. She tries to push her way past me but I shove a hand out and push her back. “You bastard,” she yells.
The man scoffs at her reaction while I continue forward.
His eyes flash back towards mine before he takes a step away. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” he states.
“The only thing you’re going to possess is a black eye if you don’t get the fuck out of here.”
A stern look crosses his face as he tries to work out his plan of action. “I’m not going anywhere. This is my home now. I can get it on abandonment.”
“You’re a fucking moron. She didn’t abandon anything,” I argue as I take a step towards him while the thought runs through my head, that she did in fact abandon something. She abandoned me. “She went on a fucking holiday.”
His eyes widen as he takes another step back. “You can’t touch me,” he says, realizing my plan of attack. “I’ll have you arrested.
I scoff at his pathetic excuses as I move closer towards him, not moving my eyes off him so he can see the monster that lurks beneath. “You have three sec
onds to get your shit and get the fuck out of here.”
His eyes flick to Cami and back again, looking as though he’s about to shit his pants. “One,” I start, hoping it’s enough to get him into action.
His face scrunches up moments before he lunges for me. His fist flies but it’s the sloppiest shit I’ve ever seen. I grab his wrist and with one quick flick, I twist him and jam his arm up behind his back before slamming his face into the wall. “You see,” I tell him. “I was being kind, allowing you a chance to get your shit, now, you’ve just pissed me off.”
“Let me go,” he demands while trying to spit at me.
I keep my hand on his back while I dig my other into his shoulder. I pull him off the wall and Cami scrambles to get out of the way while I push the dirty bastard towards the door.
He tries to wriggle himself out of my hold, but he hasn’t got a chance in hell.
I get to the door and with one easy push, the fucker goes flying out before slamming into the wall of the hallway. He turns around to scowl at me but I stand here, begging him to try again. I see him going over all his options before deciding it isn’t worth it and finally walking away.
I reach down to the splintered door that still lays on the floor and lift it back into place. It just balances there and the second I leave here, I know I’ll be down at the hardware store getting her a new one.
I turn back to Cami to check she’s alright but she’s not paying me any attention. Her eyes are busily scanning the place that used to feel like home. Right now, it’s nothing but a dump.
I take Isabella out of her hands as I watch her eyes jump from corner to corner of the room. I place my hand on her shoulder and flinch at the way her back stiffens with my touch. “Are you ok?” I ask quietly as the feel of her shoulder under my skin burns right through me.
She doesn’t respond, just silently shakes her head.
I let out a breath. “Why don’t you come back to my place? You can crash there until this gets sorted.
At that, she shrugs off my hand and steps away from my touch. “Thanks for making him leave, but I’m all good here now. You can go.”
The need to fight her dismissal is strong within me but from the torn look in her eye, I let it go. “I’ll get your door fixed,” I tell her.
She looks away. “Don’t bother. I’ll call someone now.”
I hate that I can’t be her knight in shining armor. I want to take care of this for her, it’s like my natural reaction to her. With one more lingering look into those beautiful eyes, it’s clear she just wants to be alone, and despite my better judgment, I let out a breath and walk away.
Chapter 3
Cami
Jace walks out the broken door and I don’t even have the energy to watch him leave.
The second he disappears, I allow my heart to break. Today has been the worst day by far. I thought having him leave after being with me was the worst, but seeing him moved on with a baby. That excruciating. I’ve never felt pain like it.
What’s worse is how damn happy he looked with that baby. It’s as though he’s finally gotten everything he’s ever wanted, and I guess that means that I was not it.
My home has always been my pride and joy. It was mine to build as my own. It’s the place I could come after a big day and unwind. It’s the place where I would come and cry after Jace had broken me again. It’s where I rebuilt myself each time and I guess it’s where I’ll be rebuilding myself now.
This place has been my sanctuary and is filled with countless memories, some good and some bad. It’s where I learned to be independent. It’s where I gained the confidence to build my store. It where Jace and I finally…
Damn. Today really does suck.
I let out a breath as I allow myself to look around the place properly. I see all my things but the feeling within the apartment is tainted. It’s suddenly not my sanctuary anymore. It’s dirty and foreign.
It all looks like mine, but no longer feels it.
My couch is destroyed with beer stains and cigarette holes. My kitchen looks like a bomb hit it. The draws are all open and stuck on angels, the cupboard doors are broken, there’s shit all over the floor, and the counter is covered in all sorts of sticky crap.
Not to mention, the whole apartment stinks. It’s absolutely foul. I mean, how can somebody live like this? I have never met another human being in my life who has such disrespect for the place they live, let alone blatant disrespect for someone else’s home.
My blood boils and add that to the mix of jetlag, wild emotions from seeing Jace with a baby, and the disgust in myself for being such a shitty friend to Rylee, I crumble to the ground in tears.
The tears flow from my eyes and run down my face, by this stage, my eyes are hurting. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in my life..
How the hell did I ever get so unlucky? Am I being punished for something I did in another life? I mean, I’m a good girl. I work hard. My bills are always paid on time. I even visit my parents as much as I can. Sure, I have a bit of a potty mouth, but that’s it. I swear.
I try to wipe the tears on the back of my arm but it’s useless, the second they go, more appear and all it does is make me feel weak. I’m usually a strong woman. I don’t let shit like this get me down. I pride myself on getting in and getting shit done, but right now, I just can’t pull myself together.
There’s a knock on the door that has me hastily wiping as much of the wetness off my face before turning around to find my neighbor, Kelly, sticking her head through the gap in the broken door. “Hey,” she says as her eyes scan the room. She cringes at the state of the place before bringing her eyes back to mine. “I just wanted to check you were alright, but I’m assuming by the way you’re crying on the floor, you could use some help.”
My bottom lip pouts out at her kindness and it brings on another wave of tears. “Thank you,” I cry as she shuffles the door to the side and steps into my tainted apartment with my suitcase dragging behind her.
She comes over to me and helps me to my feet before pulling her phone from her back pocket. “No need to cry,” she tells me. “I’ll call the door guy while you start cleaning. We’ll have this place put back together in no time.”
I sniffle as I pull myself together. “You don’t need to do this,” I tell her. I mean, I hardly know the woman. She’s been living next door to me as long as I can remember, but we’ve only ever had a ‘smile and wave in the hallway’ kind of relationship.
“Don’t be silly,” she says. “I want to. Now, I’m assuming you’re going to want to burn all your sheets and towels, so you can crash at my place until you get a chance to go shopping.”
“Are you serious?” I question with wide, hopeful eyes.
“Of course,” she says. “I know I don’t know you very well, but I get the feeling you’d do the same for me.”
“I really would,” I say as my bottom lip begins to wobble again.
“Cut that shit out,” she laughs before holding her phone up. “I’m going to go get all my cleaning products while I call the door guy.”
“Ok,” I smile while trying my hardest to hold back the tears.
She turns and heads back to the door before stopping and looking back at me. “Was that guy wearing a silk robe?”
“Yes,” I laugh. “That was mine.”
“Ugh,” she groans. “Luckily you own that clothing store because you’re going to need to burn all your clothes too.”
“Believe me,” I tell her. “I’ve already added it to my list of things to do.”
With that, she disappears down the hallway and I find myself finally starting to feel like a regular human being. I’ve had my moment of freaking out. I’ve got my home back and now I need to put it back together. Hell, I think I’m going to bleach every little piece of this place. It just sucks that I blew all my money on the so called holiday as now I have none left to replace the furniture, get repairs done, and buy new clothes and sheets.
I’
ve so far dealt with Jace for the time being so I can put off talking to him for a little while longer, but Rylee, I’m going to have to go see her as soon as I get this shit fixed up.
Kelly returns a moment later and lets me know the door guy will be here in an hour. She carts along every cleaning product she could possibly find while I dive under the sink in the kitchen and haul out all of mine.
“Alright,” she says. “You start in the kitchen and I’ll do the living room.”
“Deal,” I say.
“What do you think? Should we just make a massive garbage pile?” she asks as she plugs her phone into the speakers by my TV. “Sorry, I can’t possibly clean without listening to my playlist, it’s a must.”
“I agree,” I smile. “But yes, just throw shit onto the couch. I’m going to get rid of that too.”
“Good plan,” she says as she looks it over and cringes at the foul state it’s in.
“If you happen to find a phone, tablet, or my car keys in the process, let me know.”
Desperately needing to sleep with this awful case of jetlag, I dive straight into it cleaning and get it done as quickly as possible while Kelly and I chat and get to know each other. She asks all about my trip and the store and I listen as she tells me about the guy she’s dating, though, she doesn’t think it’s going to last much longer.
Three hours later, my apartment has a new door and is sparkling clean, apart from the couch which is overflowing with shit. I feel much better, but I think I’m still going to hire a cleaner to come through and give it a second scrub down.
Kelly and I stand in my bedroom, staring down at the stripped mattress in disgust. “I think you’re going to need a new one of those too,” she tells me.
“Damn,” I sigh. “I haven’t slept in my own bed in over seven months. I was really looking forward to it.”
“I bet,” she says as she kneels down and puts her hand on the very edge. “R.I.P mattress. I hope you and Cami had some good times together.”
I can’t help but grin. “We really did,” I tell her as she pushes herself back up to her feet. In fact, we had some great times. The thought has me thinking back to the very last time I slept in this bed. Jace had been here with me, holding me until the sun came up. It was magical until the fucker had to go and ruin it. Now, he’s moved on and that will never happen again.
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