Their Kitten: Chapter 21

It takes me a few moments to remember where I am when I wake up the next morning. I sit up in bed and take in the unfamiliar surroundings, realizing that I’m in the spare room Tristan set me up in. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t want me to sleep with him last night, but I can understand. He’s dealing with a lot of different emotions and probably can’t process them the way he needs to if I’m in his personal space.

I take a quick shower in the ensuite bathroom and get dressed. The house is quiet for the most part, except there’s faint grunting coming from the back of the house. I follow the sound until it gets louder and stumble upon their home gym. He’s sitting on a bench doing biceps curls, and I can’t do anything but stand in the doorway and watch him.

His words from last night replay in my mind. Guilt crushed me when I heard the pain in his voice, pain that I’d put there. I never imagined my absence would have affected them as much as it has. I figured they’d eventually forget about me, as they had a life before I even came into the picture. But after learning about the knife he had on the wall with my name on it, I now realize I meant a lot more than I originally thought.

“You always did have a spying problem,” he says, pulling my attention. I blink and find him looking over his shoulder at me. He smiles, but it disappears just as quickly, his face turning back to stone. I swallow the uncomfortable knot in my throat and take a couple of steps forward.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to disturb you.” I wring my hands in front of me, not sure what to say. After the passionate exchange in the basement yesterday, I thought today would be a little easier and less awkward. But sex has only seemed to make things more tense and uncomfortable between us.

“Talon is on his way over here to pick you up,” he says.

“Pick me up? To go where?” I ask with a raised brow. “I thought the hotel was⁠—”

“Your new apartment,” he interrupts.

My mouth opens and closes for a few moments in shock. My new apartment? Is this their way of trying to trap me here with them? I want to pick my own place. I don’t need them to pay for anything else for me as some kind of bribe to keep me around. But considering Tristan goes back to his workout as if I’m not even standing here, I swallow the words that are dying to fall out of my mouth. I’ll just ask Talon; he’s easier to talk to anyway.

I sit and wait in the living room, relieved when Talon walks through the door. His soft smile is a major comfort when he lays eyes on me, lifting his hand in a small wave.

“Good, you’re already ready,” he says with an approving smile.

“You guys didn’t have to get me an apartment,” I start. “I would’ve chosen one when I was ready. I haven’t even had the money for a full twenty-four hours yet.”

“We’re not trying to rush you or anything. Just wanted to help.” His smile disarms me a bit. “We had a one bedroom open up in one of our buildings, and you’re more than welcome to have it if you’d like it. We can go check it out, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to take it.” He gestures to my bag. “Unless you want to buy a house in cash, you’ll have a hard time proving income for most places around here. We just wanted to make things a little easier for you.”

I sigh softly. He’s right. It’s one of the many things I didn’t even consider when I was thinking about my next steps. Of course I’d have to prove income, and most places would also like to know where I got this amount of money in such a short time span. At least staying in an apartment that the guys’ own will buy me some time to improve my income so that I’m better prepared whenever I’m ready to move again.

“Okay then,” I say, expelling a breath. “I think that’s a good idea. Thank you.”

“Sure.” He holds the door open for me. “We can go to your apartment and get some of your stuff to take to your new place.”

I nod and walk through the door, pausing momentarily to ponder whether I should tell Tristan that I’m leaving. Talon puts a hand on the small of my back and shakes his head a little.

“He knows we’re leaving. Just give him time,” he says. I sigh inwardly and nod, making my way out of the house. I wonder what Tristan said to Talon, as it seems as if Talon knows something that I don’t. I keep my questions to myself because I know my questions will only open up the door to him firing back his own.

The ride is relatively silent aside from the radio playing soft country music. I’m not sure what I expected my life to look like once I got my money, but I didn’t think it would leave me feeling indifferent. I try to muster up some excitement when we get to my apartment. The landlord is in front of my door, with a box of tools at his feet. When he notices our presence, he scowls at me.

“Unless you have the money to pay me what you owe, I’m changing the locks, and you’re not allowed to come back in here,” he snaps.

Talon frowns and steps in front of me. “She’s here to get her belongings out of this dump,” he fires back. “You can either let her do that peacefully, or I can make a few phone calls to get this place shut down.” He cocks his head to the side. “And I don’t think you want the police to know how you treat young girls who can’t pay their rent on time.”

My landlord glares at him for a long while before he snatches his toolbox from the ground. “You have an hour to get your shit and get lost,” he mumbles and stomps away.

Talon and I go inside. In a way, leaving here is a bit bittersweet. This apartment was my first taste of freedom after branching out on my own in an effort to get away from Garrett. I remember being so proud of myself for getting an apartment and for managing it as long as I have. It’s not the greatest place, but it’s made me the stronger person that I was forced to become in order to survive in it.

“You okay?” Talon’s hand appears on my arm, concerned eyes watching me.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I say with a small smile. I glance around the sparsely decorated apartment. “I just need to grab my clothes, toiletries, and important things, then we can go. I’m not going to take any of the furniture.”

“Good.” Talon cast a disapproving glance toward the sagging couch. “You deserve better things that’ll be comfortable.”

He helps me pack the little things I choose to take with me before we head back out the door. I take one look around the living room and sigh.

“On to better adventures,” I murmur to myself before stepping out of the apartment and leaving for good.

“What do you think?” Talon asks when we get to the new apartment. Even though it’s empty, it’s already leaps better than the last one. It’s so bright, from the large floor-to-ceiling windows that gives a beautiful view of the city. I move over to the window and look down. Everything looks so different when you’re so high up. Cars look like toys from up here, and the moving people on the sidewalk below look as if they’re a part of an ant colony. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have been able to qualify for a place like this, even if I had the money, so now I’m glad that they offered it to me instead of making me jump through hoops for it.

“It’s great,” I say with a smile. “Thank you so much, Talon. This truly means a lot.”

“Sure,” he says with a half shrug. His phone rings, interrupting whatever he’s about to say. Looking at his phone screen, he frowns and looks up at me. “I have to take this really quick. Feel free to look around; I’ll be back.”

I nod and watch him step outside of the front door before I turn my attention back to the apartment that’s now mine. I move from room to room, admiring the state-of-the-art kitchen, the beautifully large bathroom, and a bedroom that’s almost bigger than my entire old apartment. I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my lips, but it quickly falls again. This all feels too good to be true. Every time something good happens in my life, it’s only a matter of time before the other shoe drops and brings chaos back into my life.

I clutch the strap of the bag with the money in it and release a deep breath. Unlike the other times, I now have money and resources to leave if I need to. If I manage it well enough, this money should last me a good while, at least long enough for me to figure out what I want to do. The front door opens, and Talon walks in with an apologetic look on his face.

“I hate to do this, but I have to run and handle something. Will you be okay by yourself for a little while?”

“Um, yeah. I should be good,” I say.

“I’ll try to come back as soon as I can, or I’ll send Tristan if I can’t make it,” he explains. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” I say, waving as he disappears once again.

I settle down on the floor in the middle of the living room and open the duffle bag. I pull out stack after stack of money and just stare at it. Before, this money represented a new start, a ticket to the freedom that I’ve been chasing for a long while. But I no longer feel good when I look at it. It’s not what I had to do for it, but with whom. The money suddenly feels so wrong.

Shame grips my lungs in a vise grip as tears spring to my eyes. At the time, I thought all of this would be worth it. I thought I was making the necessary sacrifice in order to change my life. I pull my knees to my chest as regret overwhelms me.

I wish I never stepped foot in Purgatory. I wish I had never sold my virginity. I wish it wasn’t Tristan and Talon who’d bought it.

I sigh into the silence as tears stream down my face. Too bad I can’t wish myself into another reality.