Page 9 of Staying for Her

I shake my head, making my way to the door where all my camera equipment is waiting.

“Where are you staying?” he asks as if he conveniently forgot everything that happened yesterday.

My eyes must convey how stupid that question is because Mike’s eyes bulge as a laugh bubbles up in my chest at the sight.

“At least stay here, I don’t feel okay with you staying with that jackass across the hall.”

A bitter laugh falls from my lips because Mike saying that Lucas is an asshole is like the Pope disliking Mother Teresa because she gets more press.

“Okay, I’m going to say a few things before I go and I want you to listen as best you can, okay?” The sarcasm drips off every syllable but I can’t help it and from the anger in his gaze, I hit a nerve.

Good.

“One, my life is no longer your problem.”

Mike opens up his mouth to say something, but I hold up my hand and stop him before any more stupid words fall between us.

“I’m serious. If the cheating wasn’t enough, there’s the fact that you’re having a baby with someone else. And if that wasn’t enough, you insinuating that I open my legs for anyone that asks was the last straw. You’re the cheater here, not me. I was loyal to you. I was ready to marry you for fuck’s sake and you went and threw it all away for what?” I ask as he has the nerve to look guilty. It’s about fucking time.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he admits as I take my first full breath since I walked into this apartment, because that is the first time he’s been real with me since everything happened.

“That’s the thing, Mike. You can’t say anything. Your actions spoke for you and it was those actions that ended us.” With that, I take everything off the floor, dragging the suitcase behind me and opening the door. “I hope you find the happiness you were clearly searching for. I really do.” I close the door behind me, leaning against the wall beside his door as the realization that a chapter of my life is closing washes over me.

I have to start over. After two years of knowing where my life was headed, I have to go into the rest of my life blind and for the first time in hours, I feel lighter, like everything is starting to make sense.

“You okay?” Lucas asks, his head poking out from the slit in the door before he steps into the hall, taking the suitcase from my hands and leading me back into his apartment.

When I nod, I expect him to prod for more information, but that never happens and I smile to myself.

“What do you want for lunch?” he asks as if me living here is the most natural thing in the world, and honestly, stepping foot into this apartment felt more like home than the last two years combined, and that thought tattoos itself in the back of my brain because I don’t have the brainpower to unpack that thought right now.

“Pizza,” I state, feeling the hunger pains grow, and from the smirk on Lucas’s face, he heard them too.

“Then pizza it is,” he says, picking up his phone and walking into the kitchen.

I take a moment to take him in, the mess of hair, the ripped band T-shirt, and the dark washed jeans all have me wondering how this man can’t find a real girlfriend. Because from where I’m standing, everything about him seems perfect, and a part of me wonders what lies behind that flirty smile, toned body, and the fractured family.

Lucas

I park my bike beside my truck in the parking garage and make my way toward the elevator. I spent way too much time today wondering what Billie was doing and right now I can’t explain why my heart rate is skyrocketing as I make my way toward my apartment. She told me yesterday that she wanted to talk more about my proposal but that never happened. We ate pizza, watched a few Marvel movies, and talked about everything but the elephant in the room.

I wanted to bring it up, I wanted to make sure she was okay with everything I said but the longer I waited, the more hesitation I created inside my head. I’ve spent most of my formative years hating being around women because they always represented the thing that held me back from complete freedom from my family. Over the years I’ve toyed with the idea of saying fuck it and just say I don’t want the money, that I’ll find a way to make my dream come true another way, but then that small voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that that money is mine, and I deserve it no matter what my parents think.

I open my front door, expecting to see Billie sitting on my couch, but it’s empty and as I make my way farther into the apartment I don’t see her, and I wonder if I scared her away and she actually just left. But then my eyes spot her Doc Martens at the front door and her purse hanging from one of the dining room chairs and I know she’s here somewhere. I head farther down the hall and when I see the bathroom door wide open, I know there’s only one other place she could be and when I get closer to my room, I hear her soft voice singing, causing a small smile to appear on my lips.

Right before my hand wraps around the doorknob, my phone vibrates in my hand and I see it’s a text message from my mother.

Dinner. Sunday at 4. Don’t be late.

I sigh, knowing that I can’t skip it. I’ve tried that before and the backlash is always worse than just dealing with them head-on. So I take a breath and open the door, knowing that my plan will need to be put into motion a lot faster than I thought. The second I step into my room and I see the utter disaster that is my bed, I can’t help but laugh because I’m a messy person, always have been, but the sight before me is on another level.

Billie is sitting cross-legged in the middle of my bed, her back resting against the headboard and her computer resting on a pillow in front of her. But taking up every bit of space around her are sheets of paper. I have no clue what they are, or why she keeps picking up one and then putting it down, then doing the same thing with another one. But it’s fascinating to watch.

I lean against the doorjamb of my room and wait, wondering how long it will take her to notice I’m here. Her headphones look massive on her, her fire-red hair a pile on top of her head, and for a split second she takes my breath away. I’ve never believed in love at first sight, but right now, this pressure in my chest is certainly making me think it’s possible. The way she is void of all makeup, her oversized T-shirt hanging loose over her shoulders, and the way her lip is trapped between her teeth is sexy as hell and I have to take a breath to gather myself.

I knew Billie was gorgeous, it was evident when I saw her sitting on the floor of the hall right after her world fell apart, and it was cemented when I saw that fire in her eyes when her ex tried to call her a whore. Everything about her is intriguing and knowing that my family is going to hate her because she doesn’t fit their mold sends a little thrill through me.

“Hey,” I mutter, watching as her head snaps up and a smile lights up her face. “I see you made yourself comfortable,” I tease, enjoying the way her eyes bug out of her head as a sense of panic overtakes her entire body.

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