Page 80 of Veiled in Brick

“Oh,” he nodded, looking at Liam with a quick glimpse of hatred, and asked, “All of you?”

Liam remarked, “Just, er—tagging along for the ride.”

Claire interrupted, “That’s not all that’s happening, Zoey—”

“Something-something also tracking down a stalker,” I trilled off quickly as I gave Claire a hard stare. “I am tired of talking about it—and we should get going.”

I spoke to the group, there were general noises of agreement around me as everyone spoke a quick goodbye, and I allowed the others to lead the way.

“If you guys need anything,” James called out, and I turned my head to see him looking at me with a soft gaze, “call me. Seriously.”

I let out a gentle breath through my nostrils. “Okay.”

His mouth pulled up at the corners, and he told me, “I’ll hold down the fort here—keep an eye out for flower deliveries; all that.”

I mouthed, ‘Thanks,’ he shrugged in a way that silently said, ‘Of course,’ and then James closed the door behind him.

I moved to find Claire at the top of the stairs, slowly making her descent away from us and no doubt eavesdropping. I caught up to her, quickly reaching her side, and elbowed her sharply in the ribs.

“Ah!” she yelped, jumping away from my attack. Luke and Liam, both halfway down the stairwell, turned to look at us with raised eyebrows. Luke’s arms were stretched outward for a split second as if his immediate thought was that Claire had slipped and it was his responsibility to catch her. He folded his arms back by his side with a smirk when the reality of the situation dawned on him, and Claire snapped, “What the fuck, Zoey?!”

Both men continued their path down the stairway, and I retorted, “What the fuck? You couldn’t shoot me a text that Jay was living in our apartment?! When did this happen?”

Claire rubbed at her ribs. “Last night, late—he was at Henry’s. And I figured you had a lot on your mind—what, are you not okay with it?”

“Huh? No, I—if he needs a place to stay, he can stay for a bit, but we do plan on moving back in at some point, so…”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“What do you mean?” I replied quickly at her hesitant tone of voice, and she shrugged. I ushered her, “Claire, what do you mean?”

“Okay, easy,” she held up a hand as we stepped into the sunshine, her red hair glowing in the daylight, and we began to walk to where my car was parked. I eyed the yellow paint about two blocks away, and she said, “I’m just saying that I don’t mind staying at Luke’s.”

“You do realize that I can’t afford that place on my own, right?” I admitted. “And once Jay leaves and I’m ready to be back there, if you move out, I’m—”

“Please, don’t act like you don’t have money,” Claire argued. “You can afford the place if you want to; you have plenty. And I’m not moving out!”

She exclaimed the last two words loudly, and Luke looked over his shoulder to catch her eye. He flashed her a large smile, and continued strolling along.

“What the fuck was that?!” I retorted, and I just barely heard Luke’s laughter up ahead. “Don’t fuckin’ laugh!” I yelled at Luke. “You’re on my shitlist too, Lukey—ya couldn’t have told me your brother was crashing at our place?!”

Luke spun around, walking backwards as he said, “It hadn’t happened yet when I talked with you! Don’t blame me!” He turned to walk forward once again, and I rounded on Claire.

“Do not tell me you’re moving in with him right now—”

“I’m not moving out!” she retorted. “Though, it has been mentioned.”

“Claire!”

“I’m not going anywhere, Zoey,” she reassured me. “It’s just a trial run for now—thanks for the support, though.”

I chewed on my tongue. “Sorry. Y’all are happy, I’m happy for you—you know that.”

She smiled at my incredibly brief apology, and because I knew that she understood the cause of my outburst, I didn’t need to expand any further.

Claire remarked a quick, “I know.”

“For future reference,” I told her, “Ninety days’ notice would be acceptable.”

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