Page 5 of F*ck You

She shook her head. “I can guarantee you that’s the only key. The locks were changed when I moved in here over twenty years ago, and I never made a spare. Which probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but we never had a need to.”

I sighed. At least I knew there wouldn’t be some random weirdo lurking around town who would try to get in here. As it stood, I was currently the biggest weirdo here. Damn, I really needed a shower.

Then I raised a brow. “We?”

She shook her head. “My husband and I. He passed away, and I just can’t keep up with these different homes myself anymore. I’m hoping to sell it if the right buyer comes along.”

My attention perked up at that. If there was a possibility of living here, and buying a place that was all my own, I might be interested. I’d never owned my own place.

Miss Morris continued on before I could get too lost in my thoughts of what-ifs, which was probably for the best, because who runs away from home and immediately buys a condo on the beach? It was entirely possible I wouldn’t even like it here.

“I also left a map and some menus on the kitchen counter, and I will be back later on some time to check on you, but right now, I have some place I want to be. Have a great day, guys.” With a wave and a flash of dark curls, she was out the door before I could say a proper goodbye. It was better that way, I wasn’t really great at saying farewell unless I was telling someone to fuck off.

I clasped my hands beneath my chin and looked up at the man with stunning blue eyes that were framed by flowing locks of dark hair. Holy shit, they were easy to get lost in.

Focus, Lee. He could be a serial killer, you never know.

Clearing my throat, I did my best to get rid of him. “Thank you…”

“Chase.”

“Chase. Thank you, Chase, for helping me, but I should probably shower and unpack.” I unclasped my hands and gestured to my vomit stained outfit, waiting for him to catch on that I was kicking him out in the most polite way I could muster.

“Oh, yes, of course. Sorry about that.” Instead of heading to the door, he made his way to the kitchen and wrote something on the notepad on the side of the fridge.

This is it, this is when he leaves his serial killer note telling me to get out of his town.

I held my breath when he stepped back, only to see a phone number added at the bottom of the list, and I scrunched my eyebrows.

“In case you need anything and don’t know where to look, you can get ahold of me here. I don’t always have my phone on me, especially when I’m training, but I’ll always respond.” He held his hand out, and I stared at it for a moment before taking it tentatively and shaking it. “I’ll see you around, Lee. Best of luck in your new home, and welcome to North Isle.” With a grin to rival my own from earlier, he disappeared through the door, and I quickly locked it behind him.

Turning around, I leaned my back against the door, taking in everything that happened today. In less than twenty-four hours, I was single, had driven a few states away to the coast, and was now the proud new owner—for two months at least—of a condo on the beach. I had no idea how I lucked out like this, but I was going to do everything in my power to make sure it stayed this way.

* * *

Chase

Leavingthe new girl behind was much harder than I thought it would be. When I first saw her struggling to drag a suitcase through the sand, a sure sign that she was new around here, I thought I would help for a minute and then go back to work without another thought. Now I couldn’t seem to shake her from my mind, and it had nothing to do with her looks, although that sure didn’t hurt things, especially her eyes that were as deep of a blue as the ocean. It mostly had to do with how much she seemed to care about the box, and all it did was bring back unpleasant memories.

I didn’t want to be that guy who saw a woman struggling and made it his mission to save her. I didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone who wanted to travel down the same path as Chelsea did.

Though on the other hand, I couldn’t stand by and watch another life self-destruct if there was even the slightest chance I could step in, do something, and make a difference. She was heading down a path of ruin, and I might very well be the only person around who understood how bad it could be.

I ran a hand down my face and sighed. Of course, I couldn’t just walk away, the thought of what-if would eat me alive. I couldn’t be there for Chelsea, but maybe I could be there for Lee.

The question was, how close would she let me get and would she even want help? Something about her struck me that she wasn’t the type of girl who wanted saving, that she might prefer to be her own white knight.

“You okay, man?”

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t even notice Larsen was coming my way, and I coughed, trying to gather my thoughts back together. “There’s a new girl.”

He gave me a knowing smirk as he fell into step beside me. “A new girl?”

“It’s not like that, man. She just moved into the Morris condo, and I have the feeling she may be another Chelsea.” My voice broke on the name. It had been three years, but the wound was still as fresh as though it had happened this morning.

His face paled slightly as a knowing look crossed his features. “I see.”

I breathed out a sigh. “I don’t know what to do. I should just walk away, that’s what I said I would do every time I ran into a situation like that. But I don’t know, I can’t seem to.” I shook my head. “I don’t know her at all, but I feel like she was calling out for help and didn’t realize it. There was a familiar pull that I don’t know if I can ignore without at least trying first.”

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