Page 61 of Taste of Forever
“I amsickof people, of fuckingmen, walking all over me, feeling entitled to me, and invading my life. JustFUCKOFF!”
Laith lifted his palms slowly. “That’s not what I want to do, Heather. That’s not how I feel about you at all. I’m sorry if I?—“
“Stop. I’m done, Laith. I don’t want to hear any more.” A few ragged breaths sawed out of my chest. The anger continued to surge. “If you follow me again, you will not have my blood anymore, understand? Not a single fucking drop. Just leave me the fuck alone.”
His mouth fell open, then closed into a tense line. “So, what? You’re going back to him? The guy who doesn’t give a single fuck about your safety or your pleasure? Do you want to know what he was doing while you were in the bedroom, alone? Are you ready to facethatreality, Heather?”
The last thing I wanted to do was defend Justin. He was one-third the source of my current anger, after all. And there was still so much rage flowing through me, I didn’t have the words for coherent argument.
I made my voice as calm as I could as I said, “If you follow me, I will never step foot in Sanguine again.”
Then I turned, heading for the hill and the woods, leaving Laith to make his own choice.
Chapter 16
Heather
Hiking up the hill and trudging through the woods turned out to be a great way to burn off the anger and adrenaline. I felt calmer by the time I reached my car in the parking lot.
When my phone pinged with a voicemail, I thought it could be Laith and considered leaving it until after I got some sleep. But curiosity won out, and I listened to the message while letting my car warm up.
“Hi, Miss Polk. This is Tina from Laurel Canyon Apartments. I’m calling to inform you that we have not received a rent payment for this month. Please call me back as soon as you get this. If we do not receive a payment by the end of the week, we will be forced to give you a notice of eviction. Thank you, goodbye.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it, confused. Justin was in charge of making the rent payment. I’d sent him my portion last week. Could he have forgotten? But how? It was the first and most important bill that everyone paid.
I dropped the phone in my cup holder with a huff, then backed out of the parking space and onto the road home. At least my mood had gone from ragingly pissed to simple frustration.
It was about 3 a.m. when I made it home and had to do my usual circle to find parking. This time I didn’t have to go too far away, thankfully.
Ever since the night Soren grabbed me, I’d been extra vigilant about any movement or presence in the shadows. He never had popped out of a dark corner since then, but I guess he didn’t need to, since he could just waltz up to me at work.
A fresh spark of anger hurried my steps. It never crossed my mind that Laith would also be someone I’d need to watch out for. Someone else trying to control me as they stalked me from the shadows. Creeping in my windows. Following me towork, for fuck’s sake.
I probably should have figured he’d keep pushing boundaries after that first night. It was obvious in hindsight, which made me feel like an idiot. If he followed me home once, what was to stop him from doing it multiple times? I might have had a Master’s degree in chemistry, but I was clearly as dumb as a box of rocks when it came to people’s intentions.
My mind kept ruminating on Laith’s betrayal, the humiliation of what he had seen me do in the bedroom, as I stuck my key in the front door on autopilot. I hadn’t even bothered to glance in the windows to see if the lights were on.
They were on, and Justin was still awake.
I heard a commotion as I opened the door, a sudden smashing of keys at the computer and some frantic mouse clicking. By the time I stepped inside, Justin spun in his computer chair to face me, his face flushed and his breathing a little heavy.
“Hey.” He greeted me with a strained smile. “You’re home early.”
I tried not to sigh too loudly as I closed and locked the door. “I told you, I worked a partial tonight. Went to a bar after to unwind for a bit.”
“Oh. Right.”
I took in the state of him. His pants zipper was up but the top button was undone and he was sporting an erection.
“What?” he demanded.
“Nothing.” Truly, I didn’t care if he was watching porn and jerking off late at night. While it used to upset me, especially when he turned me down, I’d become resigned to it. “Hey, I got a voicemail from the apartment manager and they haven’t gotten the rent yet. What’s that about?”
His flushed face instantly paled. “They calledyou?”
“Yeah. I’m the primary on the lease, remember?”
“Um, shit.” He rubbed his face. “Sorry, Heather. It must have slipped my mind. Send me your half and I’ll pay it asap.”
