Putting the car into park, I managed to slip all the bag handles onto my forearms and huffed and puffed on the way to the front door. Not sure if I should just walk in or not, I jabbed my elbow against the doorbell and waited, straining under the weight of the toiletries, clothes, and the plain tennis shoes I’d picked up to replace my wet ones.
It took way too long, but the door opened, and Selene’s face was there, not looking surprised even a little bit.
I’d bet she’d seen me on the cameras. I’d only had to sit in front of the gate for about a minute, wondering how to get it open, when it had started moving. I had figured someone had buzzed me in.
She grabbed the bags hanging from my left arm. “You bought all this with that cash?” She eyeballed my other arm as I passed bags from one to the next.
“I milked every penny,” I told her with a tired smile. “Sorry I was gone so long.”
She turned and headed toward the main set of stairs while I toed off my shoes and left them beside her sneakers. “I didn’t have anywhere to go. Agatha brought some groceries earlier. She was disappointed she missed you,” she called out over her shoulder like I should know who that was. But all I knew was that she was the one Alex had told me to call.
While I was thinking about him… “Is he still sleeping?” I whispered.
Did her shoulders tense under the blouse she had on? “No, he got woken up a few hours ago.”
Why did that sound weird? “Oh, okay,” I said, following behind her. She turned into my room and set the bags on top of the bed. I set half of mine beside hers but held on to the ones with groceries in them. “I was going to put these in the fridge if that’s okay.”
“Sure, yeah,” she said, still sounding a little off, at least compared to how she’d been talking.
“If it’s not okay…” I trailed off, not sure what I would do. Or why that would be a problem.
Was something going on?
“No, no, sorry. I have a lot on my mind,” she replied quickly. “Do whatever you need.”
Something had happened. I’d bet my ass on it.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, even though I damn well knew we were strangers and she had no reason to feel obligated to tell me shit.
She nodded, but it didn’t make me feel assured, at all.
“Okay…” I held up the bags. “I’m going to take these downstairs then.”
Selene nodded again, but I definitely knew something was going on as she followed me into the kitchen. I kept an ear out for Superbutt in the house, but there wasn’t a peep. I had just set the bags on the counter when her phone started ringing and she smiled at me before disappearing down the hall that led to the main part of the house with the living area.
That wasn’t at all fishy. Maybe I was imagining it, but maybe I wasn’t. I wasn’t used to being around people. I was probably just being awkward and overthinking it.
I had just managed to put the milk in the fridge and was taking out my sandwich materials to put them wherever I could find room when I felt Alex’s presence nearby. There was a signature to his energy, and we’d just spent so much time together I was sensitive to it or something. Glancing over my shoulder, I found him leaning against the doorframe into the kitchen. His arms were crossed over his chest. He had on a heather gray shirt and black jeans.
But it was that pissy-ass, crabby expression on his face that made my stomach feel weird.
This wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, but it was on a whole other level compared to before.
“Hey,” I greeted him, trying to sound normal while trying to think about what could have happened.
Nothing.
I blinked, not sure why we were back to that now. “How was your day?” I asked slowly, watching his features carefully. It was the first time in months that we hadn’t been stuck together.
I’d kind of missed his grumpy comments and scowls, and that was a strange thought.
His eyes flashed purple for a second, and he kept on staring.
“That good, huh?” I said weakly, still watching him.
Seriously, what had happened? Last night had been okay. Now there was definitely tension in the air.
“I’m sure Selene told you, but I went and bought some clothes and things,” I said. “I should have asked if you needed anything, but I didn’t think about it until I was out, and there wasn’t really a phone I could use to call… and I didn’t have anyone’s phone number.”
“I don’t need you to buy anything for me,” he said in a tone I hadn’t heard in some time.
One of my eyes went squinty. “Good, I’m glad I didn’t call then,” I told him a little sarcastically.
Some way, somehow, his face went even more crabby. “You shouldn’t have been gone all day.”
“No, I shouldn’t have, but I had a lot of things to buy. I don’t have anything but the clothes I took from the first cabin and what you let me borrow, and I still wasn’t able to buy a phone. I need to order a replacement through my insurance and figure out how to get another ID and access to my bank account,” I told him in a rush. “Do you think I can borrow someone’s credit card so I can order a phone? If I can get to a laptop, I can transfer money over.”
He’d slowly started narrowing his eyes while I talked, and alarm bells went off in my head, but I ignored them.
At least I did until he opened his mouth a moment later.
“I’m not buying you a cell phone.”
I blinked. “Did I ask you to?” And hadn’t I literally just said I needed to order one from my insurance? Pretty sure I’d said I would pay him back too.
“I want to make sure your expectations are in the right place.”
I opened my mouth, then gritted my teeth.
“You can live here until we sort things out, and I won’t let you be harmed, but I’m not here to take care of you,” Alex griped, sounding like he meant every word.
Okay, I was pretty sure he had implied just that at some point, but it wasn’t like I’d seriously been about to hold him to it. Give me fucking a break. It was insulting, honestly, after everything.
“Did I tell you I needed you to take care of me? I wouldn’t ask you to spot me money if all my stuff wasn’t gone. I’ll sort out getting access to my bank, okay? I’m good for everything. I can sign an IOU if it’ll make you feel better.” What the hell had crawled up his ass and died? He’d been in a bad mood when he’d been at my house but not this bad. He’d been a little grumpy since but not anything I couldn’t handle. It had even grown on me.
I’d had the nerve to kind of miss him today, and now that pissed me off.
“Good. Sort it out sooner than later,” he grumbled.
I bit my bottom lip for a moment and told myself to let it go.
Just let it go. He was in a bad mood, and there was no point in making it worse. I hadn’t done shit to cause it.
But…
I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. Just because he’d had his moments of being so nice to me didn’t mean he got a free pass to being an extra jerk.
But didn’t friends talk to each other when they were mad? Didn’t friends try to understand when something was clearly wrong? I figured they did.