Page 23 of Aching for His Discretion

“O-oh...” I muttered and slowly grabbed my belongings as I nodded. “Well, I best be going home.”

“ Already? We only just started talking,” he muttered, running his hand up and down my back.

I shuddered in slight fear as I spun away from him and laughed nervously.I needed to get out of this empty room, and fast.

“Y-yeah... b-but I have to run. I’ll see you later,” I said, waving quickly as I exited the room and went straight to the main exit.

My walk home was slightly sped up, and I felt relief as I entered my complex. I went to open the gate when my landlord opened the door for me.

“Hi, Mr. Madison,” I said happily, and he gave me a smile, letting me inside. He was a nice older man who actually lived in the complex with his wife. She was sick with stage two breast cancer for a little while, but she was slowly getting better.

“How are you, my dear?” he asked, walking inside with me.

I shrugged. “Tired... hungry… same old same old. How are you and Mrs. Madison?” I asked, and he gave a small sigh.

“I’ve been doing all right, but… Debby hasn’t been feeling herself lately.”

I nodded slowly, feeling sorry for him, but to change the subject, he asked me another question.

“Your neighbor, Mitchel—I haven’t seen him in quite some time.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “He moved out a few weeks ago… did he not say goodbye or return the key?” I asked, and Mr. Madison shook his head.

“Not at all. I went to check on the place, and the lock on the door was busted… Gotta replace it soon,” he muttered, and I almost stopped in my tracks.Busted?I live right next to him… surely I would’ve heard some kind of commotion other than him moving.

“The place was empty, though… so can’t complain there. You wouldn’t happen to have noticed any other people around his flat, would you? John tells me the cameras didn’t pick anything up.”

I thought about it for a moment.

Huh?The only people that have been by were Levi, Elliot, Micah, and Nico. The doorman, Mr. John, lets them in all the time… because they come here to help Mitchel move. Of course, he knew they were here, but why wouldn’t he tell Mr. Madison? And how could the door have been busted? And why didn’t—

“Teegan?” Mr. Madison said at the top of the steps, and I jumped, looking over at him, slightly flustered.

“N-No. No, I haven’t seen anyone but Mitchel. B-but I’ll let you know if I do.”

I just lied… why?

“All right, my dear. Let me know if you see anything. I’ll let you go,” Mr. Madison said, smiling, and I nodded as I waved him goodbye.

I walked over to my apartment slowly and simply glanced at Mitchel’s door.

Flashbacks of Levi and his friends walking in and out came to my mind, and I bit my lip as I eyed the doorknob and lock that was indeed a bit battered.Should I have said something? Why didn’t Mr. John say anything?

“Teegan.” I heard another voice, and I flinched as I looked over my shoulder to see Elliot standing beside me with his hands in his pockets.

“Oh… Hi, Elliot,” I said softly.

He remained impassive as he approached me slowly. “Saw you looking at Mitchel’s door for a bit… everything okay?” he questioned me, but it didn’t seem as though he was genuinely concerned. Nevertheless, I nodded quickly in response.

“Everything’s fine. My landlord just had a few questions, but I didn’t say anything,” I said, not understanding why I had to tell him that I didn’t say anything...as if there was something I should have said.

“W-what are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?” I asked him, and he remained stoic, his expression somewhat scaring me, for that matter.

“Looking for Levi… It seems as though lately, around this time, he’s never available and always ends up around you,” he muttered, and I nodded, not knowing how to respond. “Speak of the devil,” Elliot continued, and I looked over to the stairs to see indeed that Levi was coming up.

“Hi, Mr. Amante,” I said softly as he approached me and placed a kiss on the top of my head.

“Head inside, Tesoro… I want you to finish studying and start getting ready for bed,” he whispered so Elliot wouldn’t hear, and I nodded as I opened the door with my key. I quickly caught Grayson, who attempted to jump into the air to land in the arms of whoever had entered my living room.

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