Page 16 of Derek
“Why?” I ask softly.
“I don’t know.” He groans, running a hand through his hair. “Just take the fucking room. I’m not your doctor, landlord, brother, or daddy. I ain’t going to be all over you. Do what you want. I’ll leave you alone and you leave me alone… why are you laughing?”
I bite down on my bottom lip, but the laugh comes through. “Daddy, huh?” His face falls, and he looks at the ceiling before sighing.
“I ain’t surviving this shit.”
“You will. There is only one rule.” I state firmly. “Don’t you go falling in love with me.” I say dramatically, and Derek groans.
“Never mind, you’re out tomorrow.” He calls over his shoulder as he walks down the hall, leaving me laughing on the futon.
Chapter7
Derek
Ican’t do this. I was trying to be a good person and let this girl have my unused room. I’m still not sure why I offered. I mean, who the fuck offers up part of their home? But when I saw Indy lying in that hospital bed alone with nowhere to go, I felt like I had to do something.
But now… Now I’m just twitchy.
Indy is chaos, in every way possible. In the nine days she’s been here, I’ve found wrappers lying on tables, unwashed dishes in the sink, and she leaves laundry in the washer after the cycle is done. She even once told me to give her my underwear because she was doing a load.
Not only that, but she lights candles. I asked her if she knew if her candles were made of any hazardous ingredients, and she just gave me a quizzical look while proudly stating that candles are made of wax.Wax.She is in my home, setting glass jars of mystery chemicals on fire. My house is a mess, my underwear is mixing with hers, and my safe, quiet haven now smells of burnt candle toxins.
Then there is the issue of her consuming junk food almost constantly. And it’s never a normal snacking experience. She opens things with her feet, her fucking feet. She throws cheese puffs in the air to catch with her mouth and cheers for herself each time she’s successful. And if she’s not… she fucking picks it up, blows on it, and then eats the dirty piece while shrugging and talking about a ten-second rule. That isn’t a real rule. I told her as much, and she booped me on my nose.Booped.I didn’t know what a boop was until she laughed, tapped my nose, and went, “Boop.”
I continue to stare out the windshield of my vehicle as I look at my garage door. I don’t want to go in there. I mean, I do. But I want to go back to my house from ten days ago. I want to walk in, preheat my oven, put my clothes in my clean washer, shower, and watch a documentary. Oh, and have the fucking house not smell of fucking candles and her. God, she smells good. All the fucking time. It doesn’t matter if she’s sweating or fresh from the shower, it’s annoying. It’s annoying because I find myself inhaling deeper whenever she’s nearby, which is fucking weird.
Grumbling to myself, I get out, slam my door shut, and walk into my house. Opening the door, I hear some weird ass wind chime-sounding music. The scent of those damn candles invades my nose and… “Holy mother of…” I whisper. Indy is standing in the empty corner of my living room in what looks like nothing more than underwear and a sports bra. I watch as she bends over, giving me the perfect view of her ass and how her panties slip ever so slightly up those smooth-looking cheeks…
“Oh!” she gasps, causing me to jump and try desperately to find any excuse to explain my staring. I’ve got nothing, so I default to anger.
“What the hell are you doing?” I say harshly as I gesture to the open window. “Just putting yourself on display for the entire neighborhood?” She looks from me to the window and shrugs.
“I am in workout clothes.” I raise a brow.
“Those,” I gesture to the pink and black outfit. “Are underwear.” She looks down and then back up to me.
“Nooo, they are workout clothes. I don’t like having things on me while I do my mobility exercises. It can make my movements more difficult.” Okay, that makes sense, but now I look like a pig. I mean, I am evidently, but I refuse to have her look at me that way.
“Just don’t do it near an open window,” I mutter.
“I thought you weren’t going to be my brother.” She raises a brow.
“I’m not being your brother,” I grumble in annoyance as I head to the kitchen.
“Ohhh, so it’s dominating daddy then?” I whirl around and stare at her in shock. Her eyes dance with delight, and her massive grin spreads across her face.
“Oh my god,” I groan as I continue towards the kitchen, I need to eat before I go to the gym. “Do not call me that.” Indy’s laugh is so bright, and it enrages me the effect it has on my body. Something red catches my eye, and I notice her bracelet. “Would the pink bracelet clash with your underwear?” I ask as I look in my fridge for lunch.
“Oh, no. I wear these as levels of how I feel for the day.” I stop hunting for my lunch and look back at her.
“So what, you’re feeling red today?” She waves me off.
“They’re just something I do to measure my pain tolerance. It’s silly.” It’s not silly to her. I can tell by how she covers her wrist with her hand, hiding the bracelet from me. I’m about to say something about it when she interrupts my thoughts. “So why are you home? I thought you worked late on Tuesday.”
“Uh… yeah, I do. I have a couple hour break in the afternoon. I come home and eat lunch and then go to the gym. Which, by the way, have you seen the black container of chicken and rice that was in here?” I watch her wince.
“Was that yours?” I give her an annoyed stare.
