Page 38 of Show Me How to Heal
It was a cabin. Made out of wood. The roof was intact, the windows looked good, there was a small porch that actually looked pretty new. If the inside looked anything like the outside, I’d take it.
However, I refrained from blurting that out. No more buying houses I’d never set a foot in.
“Okay, this is a two-bedroom, one bathroom cabin,” Mason explained after I’d gotten out of my car. “The appliances are a little dated, but everything is well cared for. The plumbing was updated three years ago, so you shouldn’t have any problems there.”
I nodded along, taking a deep breath, inhaling the fresh forest air. I still couldn’t get enough of it. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to it, and I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to take this for granted.
We made our way towards the front door, and when we entered the cabin, immediately stepping into a small living room with a huge fireplace, I did what I’d sworn not to do.
“I’ll take it!” I said.
Mason just stared at me, his jaw dropping.
Making someone think I was a crazy rich guy? Check.
WHAT DO HIS FORMER TEAMMATES KNOW ABOUT LUKAS RICHTER’S WHEREABOUTS? FIND OUT IN TODAY’S SPECIAL!
Chapter 10
Zayne
“Everything’s going to be fine,” Luke told me with an encouraging smile and this calmness I envied him for because I was fucking stressed out. The last couple of days had been exhausting. I wouldn’t have been able to do even half of it without Luke.
He’d been… wow… my rock. My savior.
While my mind started going a mile a minute when I was stressed, he somehow managed to keep his cool, stay calm, and think things through.
“What if no one shows up?”
“It’s a soft opening… I thought you didn’t want hundreds of people showing up?”
“But I also don’t want no one to show up.” I sighed, hiding my face in my hands. I was a mess. Why had I ever thought this was a good idea? Because it wasn’t. It was hard. Exhausting. Chaotic. Tiring. Had I mentioned exhausting? Because I was done. I wanted to go to bed and sleep for days. Maybe even weeks.
My muscles were sore, my mind was spinning, and even though we were supposedly done, I couldn’t help but let my gaze wander around my sales area, trying to find yet another thing that needed to be done.
“Your friends will show up,” Luke said confidently.
“Yeah.” I nodded tiredly. “But it’s awkward if they’re the only ones.”
“Hey.” Luke graced me with one of his gentle smiles, the ones that turned my insides to liquid. “People love you. Hell, I’ve already had to tell so many people you weren’t open yet. People will show up.”
I wanted to protest, but upon opening my mouth, it was a yawn escaping, not an answer.
“Tired?” Luke asked.
I stifled another yawn, rubbing my eyes. “A little bit. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about all the things still on my to-do list, and then I started worrying about the opening. Whether too few or too many people will show up. What I’m gonna do if people buy too much soap all at once because yeah, I can make more, but it takes weeks for the soap to cure — which is the whole reason why I’m doing a soft opening and a grand opening in the first place. Afterward I worried about the new fall collection releasing in a couple of weeks and if that will be a success and then…” I trailed off as I yawned yet another time. “Anyways, by the time I was done burying myself under a mountain of worry, I was too awake to fall back asleep. So I’m running on… maybe three hours of sleep.”
“Three hours of sleep and twelve hours of work.” Luke shook his head. “That’s not healthy, Zayne. Aren’t you supposed to be like… a health guru or something? You look a little like a hippie. A modern hipster-y hippie.” He laughed while I did my best to glare at him.
“I’m not a hipster. Or a hippie.”
Luke laughed even harder, the laugh lines around his eyes crinkling. I liked to make him laugh — even if I was the one he teased. Though unfortunately, he was right. It wasn’t healthy and not sustainable. I needed to get home and into bed.
Yawning again, I stood up from where I’d sat on the counter and stretched my arms high up in the air. I could feel my spine pop. It was relieving, yet painful. My muscles were screaming at me for abusing them, my whole body screamed at me to fall into bed right the fuck now and sleep for days, while my mind… didn’t want to say goodbye to Luke.
“You can’t drive like that,” Luke said seriously, getting to his feet. He grabbed his crutches that’d been leaning against the wall and walked over to me. “You’re going to cause an accident because you fell asleep while driving.Sekundenschlafis no joke.”
Se… didn’t matter. I got the gist of it. “You can’t possibly expect me to walk home like this?” I asked incredulously, slapping my hand in front of my mouth.Yes, body, I’m aware I’m tired. You can stop reminding me now. Thanks.
