Page 61 of Saved By My Buyers

My body wants coffee, desperately.

“I do the security for them,” he says as I turn to face him. The blanket drops to my waist, but he keeps his eyes on my face. “I asked my team to code an alert into the system. They’ve also been scouring traffic cameras and video feeds throughout Detroit, trying to find you for the last four years. You were never forgotten.”

“I’ve been too ashamed to,” he continues as I gaze at him in surprise. “I cleared Lorrie to add the coding to the security system months ago when we were creating it. She came to me with the idea, but I dropped the ball. Brighton has been having issues with shoplifters, so every face is scanned. What I should have done was code an alert to fucking detain her.”

“What the fuck?” I gasp. “You were just going to have me held like a criminal?”

“If it meant finding you?” Jack asks, a strangled laugh escaping him. His mismatched eyes are intense as he gazes at me. “I’d sacrifice the whole goddamn city if it meant finding you, baby girl. Bee and I have been less than whole these last four years, and I had this ridiculous idea that if you wanted to, you’d find us.”

“You moved,” I blurt out. “I caved one day and spent all of my money to get a rideshare out to see you. The buses don’t run to the house, so I blew most of my money. The house was sold. I decided it was for the better, and got the man to drive me to the nearest bus stop. I think he only did it because I was sobbing so hard.”

“Fuck,” Jack rasps. “I didn’t think of that… I sold the house because it was too sad. I bought it when I followed you here. After everything, it didn’t feel right to keep it.”

“We’ve been living in this apartment now,” Bee says sadly. “It’s as soulless as we feel. It’s got walls and the necessities, but I kind of hate it.”

“I’ve never had a problem picking you out of a crowd, Dolly,” Jack says, his voice tortured. “I can’t believe I didn’t see you.”

“I was across the street,” I sigh. “I saw your tattoos, and I was on my way back for a shift after buying myself a present. It ended up getting stolen like the rest of my shit, but I remember how shocked I was, watching you walk away.”

Jack’s chest is heaving with anger and self loathing, but I don’t know how to help him.

“I’m going to grab you some pajamas,” Bronwyn says, standing. “And Jack, you’re going to take a goddamn walk to the kitchen to make us breakfast and coffee. Your emotional shit has no business in this room right now.”

Jack jerks back as if she hit him but nods. “You’re right,” he grunts. “I’m going to be on your ass to drink water, Dolly. If I could just hook you up to a damn IV, I fucking would.”

His long legs take him out of the room, and I burst into tears. I can’t help it. God, I’m such a mess.

“Oh… oh no,” Bronwyn says, wrapping her arms around me. “He’ll be back, I wanted to give you a break. There’s been a lot of truth bombing during this conversation, and you deserve a breath and caffeine.”

“Coffee is good,” I mumble, gasping in air. “God, I don’t know what to feel right now. At some point, I stopped looking because I think your dad is looking for me. I shouldn’t even be here.”

“He’s not my dad, not anymore,” she says, scooting onto the bed. “Jack helped me change my name. I go by Bowen now. I gave everything up, because I wanted nothing to do with Gareth. You’re safe here. That bastard won’t find you even if he is looking.”

“Bowen…” I trail off, pulling away as I blink away the moisture on my lashes.

“Are you mad?” Bronwyn asks timidly. “I’m in school for psychology, with plans to do counseling after grad school. I, ah, work at the Keller Crisis Center. I remember thinking it might be you, but your voice sounded deeper that day.”

“My apartment doesn’t have any heating, so my voice always gets raspy in the winters now,” I explain, watching as she fidgets. “I should get changed. I’m dying for a shower, though.”

Dodging my roommates has meant taking very quick showers in freezing water in my apartment, because the water takes too long to warm, or even using the club bathroom’s shower stalls.

I don’t know why Percy has them for employees, but I really appreciated them while I was homeless.

“Done,” Bronwyn says, brushing away a stray tear. I can see that she’s really trying to hold it together without leaking errant emotions. I’m already overstimulated and overwhelmed by everything.

It’s difficult to know how I’m feeling when I’m also sensing other people’s emotions as well. I can’t turn off my empathy around Jack and Bronwyn because I care so much about them, but I need to get my head on straight.

Too much has happened, and I need all the facts before I start trying to wade through all the emotional shit too.

Standing, I follow her to the bathroom, my thoughts still reeling. I almost bump into the door because my balance is fucked. I’m weak and still so exhausted. Bronwyn simply wraps her arm around me to keep me steady as we walk.

“Do you need help in there?” she asks, brushing a curl off my forehead. I shake my head, because I’m not ready for her to see my body. Even when we were together, I hid from her, focused on her.

It’s hard to believe that I strip for a living, but the idea of taking off my clothes in front of my ex-girlfriend is hard for me to wrap my head around. Leaving her at the door, I close it before I pull off the lingerie, sighing as I drop it on the counter.

The bathroom is beautiful, especially for a hallway one. The floor is heated, the lights set with LED lighting behind the long mirror. It would be perfect to do your makeup in, but still shows off all the bruises I’ve been trying to hide. Fantastic.

Turning away from the gray and pearly white wallpaper surrounding me, I turn on the shower. It’s a pretty stall with a clear door semi open, waiting for me to step inside. There are towels in a wall-mounted rack within reach of the entrance of the shower, so I step inside.

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