I can’t believe this is happening. After my initial shock wears off, I let out my own frustrated growl.
“Look,” I say. “I’ve already been tossed out onto the street by my last roommate. I don’t appreciate being tossed out again. Especially when I’ve already given Jaxon my first month’s rent.”
Adrian’s expression doesn’t change. “We can easily return that to you. But you can’t be here.”
Who does this guy think he is?! I refuse to let him talk down to me like this. Despite my lingering dizziness, I stand. “Look, Jaxon said it would be fine for me to stay here. I don’t think he would have invited me if it wasn’t okay.”
Adrian’s eyes flash gold with anger. A muscle pulses in his jaw as he stands to face me. “Well, Jaxon was offering something that wasn’t his to offer.”
I wish Adrian would stop talking circles around me. What gives him the right to decide whether I stay or go? I fold my arms and meet Adrian’s glare. “Why don’t you want me in this house?”
He doesn’t answer, his eyes taking me in. I know I look like a mess, but I hold his gaze. His chest rises and falls with his breathing, and I can see the tension in his jaw. For some inexplicable reason, his eyes flick down my body and then back up to my face. I feel my own breathing quicken. It’s palpable now, the vague current of electricity between us. The air almost crackles with it as we stare each other down. But I’m too mad to pay attention to any of this.
“Come on,” I say. “Give me one good reason why you want me gone.”
“Because it’s my fucking house,” Adrian growls. I falter a little at his response. His house? “Jaxon had no right to offer a room that’s already occupied.”
I blink at him. “I…I didn’t realize it was your house,” I finally manage.
“It’s my family’s house,” Adrian replies. “And that attic room you Jaxon put you in is my father’s.”
This situation is getting more and more confusing. Someone was already staying in that room? But I didn’t see anyone else’s stuff in there. And why would Jaxon offer me a room that wasn’t available?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” I say weakly.
Adrian nods once at me, a quick curt movement. “You need to go. It’s my father’s room,” he repeats.
I don’t respond, because at the word “father,” I start to feel an old familiar ache in my chest. I always feel it when someone mentions family in front of me. I’ve spent years pushing that longing away, so I do it again now. But Adrian isn’t finished.
“Surely,” he says, “you must realize it’s not polite to stay where you don’t belong.”
His words punch me in the gut. They almost knock the wind out of me, and I stand there, letting them sink in. Maybe he’s right, I finally think, as I stare at the ground. Maybe I don’t belong here. I’ve never belonged anywhere. Why should this be different?
I hate the stinging I feel in my eyes. I press my lips into a thin line and blink quickly to banish the tears that threaten to fall. In a few moments, I’ve recovered enough to speak.
“Fine,” I say, lifting my chin to face Adrian again. “I don’t need this shit. I’ll pack up.”
I sweep past him to exit the room, but his voice stops me. “That’s no issue. I’ve packed your stuff up already.”
I turn and look at him, then glance toward the entryway. I’m shocked to see boxes stacked by the door. I recognize my suitcase and a few other items. I’m staring at the pile of my belongings when I feel Adrian step closer behind me. The heat and height of him register in my senses before I hear him speak.
“I did you the courtesy of gathering your things for you.” His voice is low and factual, almost clinical in its lack of emotion.
I feel a lump in my throat, and I’m furious at myself for it. I refuse to cry in front of this man. But I can’t stop looking at my stuff by the door. He must really want me out of here. My tears are quickly replaced by a wave of anger.
Well, fuck it.
I fold my arms but don’t turn to face Adrian again. I realize that I’m still in my pajamas, dirt-covered, barefoot. My mouth tastes sour from throwing up in the forest earlier.
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll just shower and get ready, and then I’ll leave. I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.”
Before Adrian can respond, I hear Jaxon’s booming voice as he strides in from the kitchen. “What’s this now? What’s going on?” Jaxon stops to take in the sight of me with my arms folded, staring at my stuff by the door, while Adrian stands behind me. Jaxon’s eyes go from me to Adrian a few times, and then he frowns. “What’s going on?” he repeats.
“Nothing,” I say. I pause, trying to figure out how to word this. “I don’t think…I don’t think this living situation is going to work out. I’m just going to shower, get ready, and then I’ll get out of your hair.” I have no solid plan, but maybe I can make one while I’m showering. There’s always the mice at the motel to stay with. Then I can see if there are any roommate postings online.
I take a step toward the stairs, but Jaxon gently stops me, his hand resting warmly on my arm. I suddenly remember how safe he makes me feel, how protected.
“No, wait, Layla,” he says softly. His eyes search my face, and I glance toward Adrian, still standing in the entryway. Jaxon follows my gaze, then suddenly his eyes burn with anger. He turns slowly toward Adrian and stares him down. “What’s going on? Did you say something?” This is the second time Jaxon is intervening on my behalf since I first arrived yesterday.
Adrian answers easily, practically shrugging. “Yes. It’s my house, my rules. And no one is living in that room.”
An unfamiliar female voice joins the discussion. “A, you can’t keep that room empty forever.” I turn toward the voice and see two more people walk out of the kitchen. One of them is a curvy woman who’s covered in tattoos. Her bright purple hair is complemented by warm brown eyes. She places her hands on her ample hips as she looks at Adrian. Behind her is yet another broad-shouldered, muscular man. His brown hair falls in waves, not quite obscuring his forest-green eyes. I try not to stare.
Is everyone in this house hot?
Adrian meets the purple-haired woman’s glare. “What is this? Are you all ganging up on me?”
The woman turns her gaze to me, her demeanor shifting. “Hey,” she says warmly. “I’m Natalia.” She points to the man over her shoulder. “And this is Ben.”
“Hi,” I say, waving weakly. I don’t want to cause a roommate fight. Even if I’m not staying here, I wish I could make a better impression than this. First, I sleepwalk into the woods and then cause a huge conflict between Adrian and everyone else.
Ben studies Adrian and then steps forward. The two men exchange a look and then Ben asks, “Are you okay? I know you’ve been through a lot lately, with your—”
“I’m fine,” Adrian snaps. “And we don’t need to talk about my…trip away.”
His statements hang heavy in the air. I can feel the weight of Adrian’s words, but I can’t make sense of them. What trip away? But he doesn’t say anything else about it. “This is my house,” he continues. “I decide what goes on here. Why is everyone against that?”
Jaxon looks at me and then takes a step forward. “Because,” he says. “I feel like Layla belongs here with us.”
Adrian lets out a coldhearted laugh, and the sound of it sends a chill down my spine. I still haven’t seen him smile, but this joyless laugh is almost worse.
“Is that right?” Adrian says. “You just met the girl. What do you know about her?”
“I know that she’s down on her luck and needs a place to stay,” Jaxon says. I’m grateful that he isn’t mentioning the fact that he found me at a gas station. “We need to look after her. That’s what we do in circumstances like this. It’s what your father would have done.”
Everyone looks at Adrian, and Jaxon narrows his eyes and takes another step closer. “Or do you forget the kind of man your father was?”
The room goes deadly quiet. It’s like everyone is collectively holding their breath. But when I look at Adrian, I can almost taste the rage that he feels at the mention of his father. Within seconds, he charges across the room and swings his fist into Jaxon’s face.
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