Page 78 of Crimson Promises
“Fuck,” he bit out. He looked down the hallway before pacing just a few steps outside his door. “What could this be about? We just bloody met the other day.” He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture I was quickly learning he did whenever he was overwhelmed or frustrated.
He blew out a breath, and all that anger and frustration pouring out of him disappeared. In its place was a mask of indifference. Ben bent down to pick his phone off the ground and held it in his hand, likely scrolling for whatever address that person had sent him. He walked down the opposite side of the hallway. I marked the door he came out of but held my breath until I heard the heavenly sound of the elevator opening and then carrying Ben further and further away, which was precisely what I needed.
I stopped a few doors from Ben’s place when the thought hit me. How the hell was I supposed to open his door? I should have seen if I could lift his key. I shook my head. That’s a stupid idea even for me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to get into his own house. Life would be much easier sometimes if I lived in a romantic comedy.
My wallet was in my bag, and I had a credit card. I remember seeing it in some movie or television show, and I always had bobby pins in my emergency makeup and medicine kit. Maybe one of those could be a possibility? Or I could go to the concierge, pretend I was his girlfriend, and tell them I’d lost the key. I rolled my shoulders back. I had an arsenal of options at my disposal. Either way, I was getting in there.
All the doors looked like they were sheets of metal and matched the entrance to the building. I stopped in front of Ben’s place: 1818 was scrawled in bold on a chrome placard. I held my breath as I pushed down on the matching chrome handle. It swung open like a dream. In his rush to go wherever he was going, Ben must have forgotten to lock the door.
I pushed the door open and made sure to shut it behind me, leaving it unlocked. I had to leave everything exactly how I had found it. I shouldn’t diddle daddle, but I took a minute I knew I didn’t have and took in Ben’s impressive apartment. The industrial vibe had been carried over into his apartment. While it was sparse with furnishings in black and gray, it was tastefully decorated. An oversized television hung against the wall with a sectional couch sitting across from it. The whole thing looked like it was from a spread in Architectural’s Digest. I spent more time than I wanted to admit watching their YouTube video house tours.
My mouth dried up when my eyes snagged on the oversized bed. You could fit at least four people in there. Who needed that much space to sleep? But then again, there was so much room for fun activities. Images of a shirtless Ben hovering over me, whispering forbidden things in my ear, took hold of my mind. I unstuck my gaze from the bed and all the traitorous thoughts that had followed it. I was here for a reason—information. I looked down at my feet, wondering if I should keep my shoes on or off, but decided against leaving any evidence. Opening the front closet door, I laid my shoes at the end of the military precision row of his boots, which all seemed to be varying versions of Doc Martens or Blundstones.It looks like the guy keeps them in business.
I tiptoed across the studio apartment and decided to look near his bed. It would make sense that he would keep info or any sources there, I reasoned with myself, and it wasn’t because I wanted to feel the duvet or try out the bed for myself.
Ben had a nightstand on either side of the bed. There were many discarded packs of gum on the side, with keys. He slept on the right side of the bed, away from the window. My mind couldn’t help drifting to the fact that I slept on the left side. We’d fit like two halves of a whole that wouldn’t have to fight each other for sleeping arrangements. I grabbed onto a strip of brown leather with a large ring that held all his keys. A black tag stood out amongst the silver and gold metallic rainbow. It said ‘Sully's Gym’ in simple red script with a barcode on the back. I wasn’t familiar with the name.Probably some fancy gym off campus. But Ben didn’t seem the type who would go to a boutique gym or even use the on-campus one like Riley and his football buddies. I managed to stay clear of the gym. I preferred running over any other exercise. I joined the odd pilates sculpt, barre, or yoga class when I needed a change or reset, but I wasn’t committed enough to get a monthly membership.
I palmed the keys and slipped them into my pocket to silence the sound. The last thing I needed was to announce myself by becoming a walking version of Jingle Bells. I’d be sure to return them where I found them, but I wanted them handy in case I came across any locked drawers.Ben must be really out of it to forget his keys. Wouldn’t he need the key to his bike, though? Maybe he decided using an Uber instead wasn’t worth coming back up here, a flaw when living in any complex with elevators.
Twenty minutes had gone by, and the only conclusions I drew about Ben were the following:
1. He was a clean freak: Everything in his home was explicitly organized. All his shirts were immaculately folded. He could give the staff at any retail store a run for their money. No utensils were out of place, and every single thing looked like it was perfectly spaced from the other. The uniformity from the front closet covered the rest of the house.
2. Ben really liked neutrals: No item of clothing had any color. Everything was either some shade of white, tan, navy, or black. There was no yellow or green shirt.
3. The guy didn’t eat or cook. For a guy who bought a plethora of snacks for us to have at the library, he had virtually nothing in his cabinets. Maybe he didn’t know how to cook and just used Instacart or Uber Eats for all his meals. Who was I to judge? It just added to my collection of thoughts that nagged something wasn’t quite right here.
I was about to enter the bathroom, the only room in this place I hadn’t scavenged when I felt the bond jump to life. It had taken longer than I expected, but I had to be precise and leave everything the way I found it. Rushing would only make me sloppy.Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was he doing back so soon? I didn’t think I had much time, so I scrambled around the ginormous bed and put his keys back on his dresser.
I scoured the studio for a place to hide. The last thing I wanted was for Ben to discover me here. There would be hell to pay, and I wasn’t in the mood for him to unleash all his fury on me. I ducked under the bed. The box spring was too low. There was no way my body was going to fit under there. Maybe I could hide in the bathtub. I peeked inside the washroom. Of course, he had to have an entire shower made of glass. Taking a step further inside, I didn’t have time to ogle the navy and white tiled pattern or the fact that the glass shower had four different types of heads. A linen closet in the corner of the room beckoned me closer. I shot across the room as fast as I could. Just as I let go of the knob, I heard the slam of Ben’s front door.
Ben’s angry voice filled the room. “I have some shit I have to deal with.” I heard a big thump. “I’ve never canceled on you before. Give me a break. As soon as I can, I’ll send you a message, and we can reschedule. It will give me more time to do more digging on the issues—hang on.”
I shifted my ear to the door as I held my breath.
“I need to go. Bye.”
Everything went deathly quiet then. My heartbeat thundered like a hummingbird's wings.
Then Ben’s footsteps pounded over the apartment, following the exact path I had taken in my perusal for information.
“Come out, wherever you are!” Ben roared.
I shrank away from the door and cowered against the corner of the closet. I pulled my body into itself, making myself as small and inconspicuous as possible. There was no way he knew it was me who was here. How could he know? I repeated that to myself over and over again.
“If you come out now, I’ll go easier on you. But if I find you, I can promise my retribution will be swift and painful.”
My body began to shake. What the hell was I thinking? He was proving my psychopath theory pretty solid right now.
I took a deep breath and tried to be rational. I shared my deepest secret with him. I could have lied. He would give me the answers I needed. I was wrong to sneak in, but he was hiding something, and he needed to know I wouldn’t let this go. I could fucking heal myself. There was power running through my veins. I rolled my shoulders back, and I refused to cower to anyone, especially him.
I pushed the door open, fire roaring in my veins. I stomped my way out of the bathroom. Ben was waiting there, his hands balled into fists. Those green eyes looked like chips of ice. The expression on his face was savage, ready for any battle. Well, he was going to get a war.
“What are you doing here?” Ben growled. He had changed from earlier; he was wearing a white t-shirt now that left his muscular arms on display.
“I decided to come up and help myself to a fruit smoothie. In case you didn’t know, you have nothing resembling edible fruit in your refrigerator.”
His scowl deepened. I didn’t think his voice could get any angrier, but I was wrong. “Aurora, don’t test me. I won’t ask again. What are you doing here?”
