Would I be in trouble? Would there be a warrant out for my arrest? Could my landlord sue me? Was I a missing person or did someone actually have to report you missing for that to happen?
A grunt made me tense.
Alex was there, by the door, looking sleepy in another set of fitted sweatpants and a T-shirt.
I tipped my chin up higher and decided to be the bigger person. For now. “Morning.”
He grunted again.
All righty then. That’s where we were. That hadn’t been his usual grunt.
I faced her again and kept my expression nice and flat. “I’m going to shower. Could I borrow your phone or laptop or something later, please? I’m sorry to be so needy.”
“You’re not.” She slid the tablet toward me. “I can use my laptop.”
“Are you sure it’s okay? I can wait.”
The other woman nodded, her gaze going from me to The Defender and back. “Positive.”
Smiling at her as gratefully as possible, I took it. I washed my bowl, eyeing Alex out of the corner of my eye as he dug through the refrigerator and pulled out what looked like leftovers. I thought Selene had said he would be asleep for a while since he’d been out doing who the hell knew what all night. Too bad for me.
I pointed upstairs. “All right, I’ll be…”
She nodded.
I took my time walking out of there, making sure not to make eye contact with one of the biggest letdowns of my life. I had to start trying to figure things out. I didn’t have another choice.
What was fucking new?
“Gracie,” a deep voice called out from behind me.
I’d propped my back up against the side of the bed farthest from the door, facing the big window that showed a building behind the house that was twice as big as my trailer had been. I was fairly certain it was a garage from the size of the doors. Peeking my head up and over the mattress, I managed to keep my features straight as I found Alex there, looking just as irritated as ever.
Great.
The few hours that had passed since I’d seen him in the kitchen hadn’t eased my tension or patience with him and his bullshit. We all had something going on, but that didn’t mean he had a right to get such a shitty attitude and accuse me of stuff.
“Hi.”
“What are you doing?” he asked, not actually sounding like he cared.
Was me sitting quietly on the floor in the room going to bother him too? I opened my mouth to ask him if he wanted me to go sleep outside, but he kept talking.
“Agatha’s going to be here in a minute,” he went on like I knew who Agatha was, much less why her being here had anything to do with me.
I made sure my voice was nice and even and not at all strained with a mix of frustration and hurt as I told him, “I don’t know who that is.”
“Robert’s wife.”
That still meant nothing to me.
“She’s a doctor. She’s going to check you out.”
I learned in that moment just how petty I was. I guess I hadn’t been in enough situations in life to be hurt or hold a grudge. I guess, just like how I’d thought the Trinity were above basic human shit like bad moods and dislike, I thought I would be the same. That I could be the better person when it always mattered.
I wasn’t.
I wanted to tell him I didn’t need him to do anything for me.
If I flipped him off while I did it, even better.
But I also instantly realized that as petty as I might be, I was more reasonable than that. I didn’t want his help, and I didn’t want to take advantage. But in my situation, it would be dumb not to do what I had to. I’d be out of his hair a lot faster than either one of us had expected. In the long run, this small thing would be no big deal since I wouldn’t be bothering him anymore.
Which was what he wanted.
I could eventually pay him back for the doctor visit too.
Forcing myself to nod even though it was stiff, I took my time getting up, setting Selene’s tablet on the middle of the bed. I hoped she let me borrow it again. I’d tried logging into my bank account, but without my cell phone, I couldn’t verify the security steps to access it, so that was cool. Getting into my email hadn’t been any easier either.
Until I got my phone, I wouldn’t be able to leave.
“Thank you,” I said as I made eye contact with him lingering at the door.
He said nothing.
“Do I need to go downstairs or…？”
“She can come up here and give you some privacy.”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded.
He watched me, the crease in his brow a stubborn line that confirmed my mood wasn’t the only one that hadn’t gotten better. Whatever had crawled up his ass had built a little home with a pool and wasn’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Had I done something wrong? Had someone else done something and it just happened to trickle down to me?
Does it matter, Gracie? He’d made it perfectly clear that he thought I was a hassle he didn’t want or need. To be fair, I understood. Hadn’t I wished he’d landed on someone else’s property? I’d taken care of two people I loved, and not once had they felt like an inconvenience, but that was because my life had revolved around theirs. I had loved them. Adored them. They had been my world.
And when you care about people, doing things for them was an honor.
The Defender didn’t love me. He’d let me hold his hand out of pity. He’d originally offered to help me because he thought he owed me.
I was a responsibility, not an option. Someone had wanted him to find me because of some ancestor that gave me stomachaches. I didn’t owe that person anything either.
Alex hadn’t wanted to meet me in the first place.
If I’d learned anything in all the romance books I’d ever read, it was that you wanted someone to pick you.
But I could pick myself, and that’s what I was going to do.
“Okay. Whatever is easier,” I said to him.
Those purple eyes stayed on me.
“Thank you for calling her.”
“Selene did,” he claimed.
All righty then. “Then thank you for telling her. I’ll pay you back for the visit, or I’ll ask her if I can pay her directly in a day or two.” Might as well make that clear.
He just kept on fucking looking at me.
Did that bother him too?
“Lexi?” a female voice called out.
He gave me one more look before he replied, “In here.”
“I can’t stay long,” the unfamiliar woman kept talking from what seemed like down the hall, her voice getting progressively louder. “Asami has an appointment this afternoon, and you know how—oh. Hi.”
A face appeared just behind that big shoulder. Her dark hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, her makeup clean and light. She was very, very pretty and maybe somewhere in her forties. Maybe.
The woman gave Alexander a look as she pushed around him into the room, carrying a leather backpack and a satchel in each hand. There was a little red, yellow, and green key chain hanging from one of the handles. “Hello,” she greeted as she set her things down on top of the dresser.
I cleared my throat and reminded myself that she was here to help me, that I didn’t have to hide, at least while I was here. “Hi,” I said again, setting my hands on my lap before extending one out to her. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Gracie,” I said, extending my hand toward her.