Page 28 of Titan

She smiled and stood up, smoothing her dress down.

“Then I guess I’ll see you next time… whenever that is.”

I didn’t move for a long moment, merely watched her fidget under my gaze. Leaving made me feel things I didn’t want to think about. Theia gave me a small pocket of peace away from my chaotic life. I knew the moment I left, anxiety would plague me, and I’d be sucked back into the fucked up world I inhabited where people lived and died by my decisions.

Standing up, I shoved all of my emotions back into their locked box and nodded at Theia. She watched me leave. I could feel her eyes on my back. The last thought I had before I disappeared from Desecration into the night was that I couldn’t wait a whole week to see her again. And that was the most perplexing part of all.

Ten

Theia

My mind was a riot of so many emotions that by the time I got out of work, my head was spinning, and I had no idea what to do with myself.

As most of us lived in the same building, one owned by Zayn, who gave us reduced rent as we worked at the club, we tended to walk home together since it wasn’t far from Desecration. I caught up with Remi, who was at the head of the pack, and linked my arm with hers. She looked up at me with a frown. Remi mostly kept to herself outside of work, never wanting to attend the parties we sometimes held around each other’s flats. She was friendly with everyone, but I sensed she had a hard time opening up to anyone who wasn’t Zayn.

“You okay, Theia?” she asked when we were within a few feet of the building, and she tried to pull away.

“Do you fancy an after-work drink at mine?”

Remi raised her eyebrows as she dug into her pocket for her key fob.

“Um… why?”

I’d never invited her to mine before, but honestly, I was so fucked up over what happened this evening. I didn’t know who else to turn to.

“I need someone to talk to and you’re the only one who knows about…him.”

For a moment, Remi merely stared at me. Then she pulled away and put her fob on the sensor. The door buzzed to let us know it was open. I grabbed a hold of it and tugged the door open, waving at her to go first. The others weren’t far behind us, so I waited for them, watching my colleagues pour into the building. I walked in and let the door shut behind me. Remi was waiting by the lifts, fiddling with her coat sleeves, when I arrived next to her.

“By him, you’re talking aboutJordan?”

“Yes.”

Remi looked up at the ceiling as the lift doors opened. She shook her head and moved inside. I followed her, standing at the back after I’d pushed the button for my floor.

“Okay, but you have to promise you’re not about to grill me about what I know.”

“I promise.”

I hadn’t planned on asking Remi what she knew about the Villetti brothers. No one else knew Gil was my client, although I used that term loosely since he wasn’t interested in my services as a sex worker. I couldn’t talk to Gael, Cas, or Will about the situation, even though I was the closest to them out of anyone. Remi was the only one who knew the truth. It made it safer to discuss the situation I was in with Gil.

When we got to my flat, I unlocked the door and walked in before kicking off my shoes and hanging up my coat and bag. The post was sitting on the mat, which Remi stepped over before shutting the door. I picked it up and took it into my open-plan living area, dumping the letters on the kitchen island. Most of the flats had a similar layout. An open-plan kitchen/living area just off the lobby, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Some of the flats were two or three beds, but I had a one-bed place.

“What would you like?” I opened the fridge and peered inside. “I have beer, white wine… or I could mix you a gin and tonic.”

“You drink beer?”

I tugged two cans of beer out of the fridge and set them on the counter before closing the door and turning to her.

“They’re grapefruit beers. Radlers.”

Remi stood in the doorway, looking a little awkward as she took in my flat. I picked up a can and held it out to her. She came closer, taking it from me and looking over the label.

“Thanks.”

I picked up my own and wandered into the living area, flopping down on the sofa, and let out a sigh. It had been a long night, but I couldn’t sleep yet. Not withhimoccupying my mind.

Remi came over and took a seat before cracking open her beer. I watched her take a sip, cock her head to the side and then take another. I opened my own and gulped down a quarter of the can before setting it on the coffee table.

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