Seventeen
Jordan
I wake at five o’clock in the morning, and when I go to use the bathroom, I see all of Courtney’s things are gone. Lincoln must’ve hidden it all after he came back to the apartment last night. He shouldn’t have wasted his time.
I take a shower using his all-in-one shampoo, something I would’ve detested before I’d gone weeks with dirty hair. Dressed in the clothes I wore yesterday, I grab my phone without looking at the man asleep on the bed.
The only food in the kitchen is takeout leftovers and condiments, but I manage to fix myself a PB&J. I check my bank account and frown at the measly four-hundred-dollar balance. The eight-hundred-dollar portion of my rent was taken out of my account one week ago. Lincoln clearly doesn’t have issues with taking money from a dead woman. Asshole.
I’ll spend what I have to get some clothes and food, and then I’ll pick up any shift I can at the restaurant. If I save every dollar I earn, I should have enough money to move out in… I do the calculations on my phone and groan.
Two months.
Damn.
Lincoln stumbles out of the bedroom, rubbing his messy hair. “Everything okay?” He yawns hard.
“Fine.” I bite into my sandwich and stare at my phone to avoid conversation.
He bangs about the kitchen, making his morning green tea, and I instantly miss Grizzly’s quiet feet and the smell of coffee mixed with wood smoke.
“How quickly can you get me on the schedule this week? As soon as today would work for me.”
He clears his throat. “You’re coming back to work?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
He takes the seat across from me, and I want to snap that he’s too close but bite my sandwich instead. “I don’t know. You said you had broken ribs—”
“I’m fine. I need to get back to work as soon as possible.” So I can get the hell out of here. “Any shifts, throw me on dish duty, I don’t care.”
He’s fixated on the liquid in his cup. “There’s a little problem. See, I terminated your employment when I thought you were dead.”
My teeth grind together. “Surprise! I’m clearly alive. So reinstate my employment.”
“I hired another girl—”
“Are you seriously telling me I have no job?” The slow simmer of rage escalates to a boil. “After everything…” I let that last part dangle in the silent, tension-filled air between us.
He nods. “I’ll see if I can squeeze you in somewhere. It might be super part-time at first—”
“Lincoln!”
“I’m sorry, okay? I’ll do the best I can.” He sighs. “And you’ll have to buy a new uniform.”
I toss my sandwich onto the plate and stand.
“Wait, where are you going?” he calls out to my back as I storm out of the apartment.
I slam the door by way of an answer. During my time at the cabin, I wanted to get back to the city. Now, I’d give anything to go back to life in that cabin.
I splurge on an extra-large coffee from the café and kill time there until the stores open up. I spend my morning at Goodwill and hunting the sales to buy a few staple pieces for my wardrobe—tennis shoes for work, pajamas, underwear and a bra, drugstore makeup, and sweatshirts and leggings. I even manage to find a purse on clearance. My account is now two-hundred dollars less, and I find myself more grateful than ever for the North brothers hooking me up with one classy outfit in case I’m forced to go on job interviews.
At noon, I arrive back at the apartment. Knowing Lincoln has already left for work, I’m not completely miserable as I climb the stairs. With the key I stole from his key ring before he woke up, I let myself inside and find the place has been cleaned. I’d like to think Lincoln did it out of kindness, but I know better. He’s clearing out evidence of Courtney to cover his own ass.
I hang my new clothes in the coat closet by the door and place all my makeup and toothbrush in my purse. I refuse to make myself too comfortable in this temporary space. The comforter is folded neatly on the couch, which I hope means Lincoln has accepted that we won’t be sharing a bed ever again. I’ll have to brave the conversation eventually. The sooner, the better.
My phone pings with a new text.
Lincoln.
Marley called in sick tomorrow night. You can cover her shift. Courtney said she has an extra uniform you can borrow. Interested?
Borrow. Ha. What are the chances that uniform was mine?
My tongue absently runs along the broken skin of my lip, making me miss the stubborn, bossy man who put it there. I shouldn’t miss him. He’s a liar—just like the rest of them. He had plenty of opportunity to tell me who he really was and chose not to. Is he really any different than Lincoln?
I’ll be there.
I hit send, and seconds later, a text comes back.
6-midnight
I toss my phone and fall back on the couch, figuring I should start looking for a second job if I’m ever going to save up enough to get out of here. Overwhelmed by it all, I lie down and close my eyes. I try to clear my head, try not to think of my life before Grizzly or imagine what he’s doing at this very second. Does he have to push me from his thoughts like I do him? I throw my forearm over my eyes and groan.
I must have fallen asleep because a loud banging on the door startles me. I sit up so fast all the blood rushes from my head.
“Asshole,” I mumble, figuring Lincoln came home between shifts and doesn’t have a key.
Another series of loud knocks.
“I’m coming!” I flip the deadbolt and turn around to head back to the couch and my nap. “It’s unlocked!”
The hinges creak as the door opens. “There’s a reason people like you end up the victims in headlines. The poor have no sense of self-preservation.”
I stop midstride and turn around to the tall man wearing a three-piece suit dwarfing my doorway. “Hudson.”
“You wish.” He steps inside, his handsome face twisted in disgust as he takes in the tiny apartment and secondhand furniture.
“Hayes.” I stupidly lean to peer around him, hoping to find that Alexander came with him. Unfortunately, he’s alone. “What are you doing here?”
He hands me a manila folder. “Tying up loose ends.”
“What is it?” I sit at the table and pull out a stack of papers with a shit ton of words on them.
“Nondisclosure agreement. To keep my brother’s reputation intact.”
“Reputation? What are you afraid I’m going to do?”
“Like I’d tell you. If you don’t already know, then I won’t put ideas into your head.” He looks around my apartment like he’s taking in a bloody crime scene. “A person of your limited means will do anything for a buck.”
“I see your twin got all the personality in the DNA split.”
He nods to the document. “Just sign it, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“I’ll have to read it first.” I finger through the pages. “You might want to sit. This could take a while.”
“Pass.” He sneers at the seat in front of him. “I’m not current on my tetanus shot.”