Page 7 of The Cleaner

"Tonight," I tell him. "She'll have time to rest and recuperate."

He nods. "That'll give your ma some time to be with her before you leave."

Callie flashes me a grateful smile and turns to Mam. "I'm hungry. Is there any soup?" she asks, knowing it'll calm Mam's ass down and she'll get on to making some food for her, not to mention everyone else.

Three Weeks Later

I pullinto the parking spot out front of Callie’s apartment and climb out of my car, my gaze moving to the girl who’s sitting on the bench across the street. Whenever I come to Callie’s, she’s here. She doesn’t do anything; she just sits down with a book and reads. She looks lonely and broken. I’ve asked Callie about her, but she doesn’t know who she is. All she does know is that she lives across the street in the other apartment complex.

I don’t know why the girl caught my attention. It could be the fact that she looks so broken. Her eyes have huge dark circles around them, her cheeks are hollow, and her posture is slumped, as if the weight of the world rests squarely on her shoulders. She’s reading a book and seems to have no idea that someone’s watching her. Is she oblivious to all that’s around her?

No. Her shoulders stiffen and she holds herself tighter. She definitely knows I’m here, and she doesn’t like it. That’s fair enough. I can’t blame her. She’s a kid.

I lock my car and make my way into Callie’s apartment. It’s a good apartment in a great part of the city, and as such it’s worth a lot of money. Callie doesn’t own it; she rents it, and as the owner is a friend of my da’s, he’s renting it at a reduced price to her.

“Mav,” Callie sighs as I enter her apartment. She’s sitting on the sofa, her laptop on her knees as she works. “I’m fine. You don’t have to keep turning up. It’s been weeks. I’m fine.”

I lift my shoulders and shrug. “Never said you weren’t,” I reply. “Can’t I drop by your apartment?”

“If you must,” she says, turning back to her laptop and refocusing on work.

When we turned eighteen, our da gave us a pub each. He owns a lot of real estate and wanted to give us a chance to have something we could sell or work to make better. Callie and I both took different avenues with the pubs we were given. I sold mine and made a small fortune, which I’ve since invested withthe help of Da (the man knows the stock market like no one else), whereas Callie has turned her pub into a thriving success. She’s got the head for the business side of owning bars and she’s turning a great profit on it. Da’s encouraging her to purchase another bar. It’s something I know she’s interested in and is currently looking at to see if it’s feasible.

“Callie, it’s my God-given right to annoy the ever-loving fuck out of you whenever the hell I want.”

She rolls her eyes, but I see the small smile playing on her lips. “Whatever. I hope you’re buying dinner.”

I chuckle. “If I must.”

She nods adamantly. “You must. Now shoo, go do something. I’m working.”

It’s been a few weeks since we found out that Keith was abusing her and she’s slowly getting back to herself. It’s going to take a while, but she’s not alone and we’re making sure Keith stays the fuck away from her. He hasn’t turned up at her apartment but he has been messaging her. His messages are all the same: he loves her, he’s not letting her go, and he’s coming back for her once she comes to her senses. There’s not a fucking chance in hell that he will. I won’t let him touch her. Not again. Never again.

A few hours later, we settle down to watch Gladiator, our stomachs full from dinner. Halfway through the movie, I swear I start to smell smoke. My brows knit together as I try to figure out where the hell the smell is coming from. Rising to my feet, I stalk through the apartment, looking to see where the fire is.

As I approach the front door, I see thick grey smoke billowing through the cracks. My eyes sting and my throat tightens from the acrid smell. There’s a fog of smoke in front of me.

My stomach churns with dread as I know in my gut that Keith has caused this disastrous scene. I run back to the den to get Callie. Her eyes are wide with terror as I approach.

“Mav?” she whispers, her voice filled with fear.

“We’ve got to go,” I tell her as I grab her arm. She comes willingly and I keep her close. Edging out of the den, I’m shocked to see flames licking the walls and floor of the sitting room. Christ, I need to get her out of here. Fuck.

"Cover your mouth and keep a hold of me," I shout over the crackling sound of flames. The smoke grows thicker, making it difficult to see where the hell I’m going. I try my hardest not to panic, knowing that if I do, it’ll make Callie panic, and right now, we need to get out of here, so I can’t afford to let that fear set in.

Callie coughs, her eyes wide as she nods frantically.

“Don’t let go,” I tell her, and I feel her hand clenching my tee tighter.

Thankfully, the fire seems to be by the window and not the front door, meaning we have a slither of a chance of getting out of here without being caught by the flames. The heat is intense, scorching our skin even though we’re away from the flames.

My lungs are burning and my eyes stinging as I try to breathe, but the smoke is so thick, so powerful, that it’s difficult. I splutter and choke while trying to exit the apartment. Thankfully, we’re able to escape from the inferno.

“We need to let everyone know to escape,” Callie says through her coughs. “Mav, we need to get everyone out.” Her eyes are wide and her body is trembling. She's scared, so fucking terrified. I can't look at her. Seeing her so petrified makes me want to track that motherfucker down and kill him.

She’s right. We start to bang on doors, getting everyone out of the building before the inferno takes over the entire structure.

The second we’re out of the apartment complex, we’re gasping for breath, sucking in as much oxygen as we can get. I hear sirens wailing in the distance and know that we were fucking lucky to escape that. If I hadn't smelled the smoke, who knows if we would have made it out alive?

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