Page 32 of Semblance

“I’m absolutely speechless,” I gasped. “This is seriously all mine?”

“Yes,” Abraham replied.

“What about yearly taxes on this thing? I can’t afford it you know.”

“All the maintenance and condo fees will be taken care of,” Abraham said.

“Until the end of time?”

“Yes, until the sky falls and the earth swallows us whole.”

“Wow.”

I rushed to the piano like an excited schoolgirl on Christmas morning. The sounds from it were majestic, echoing throughout the penthouse suite, creating a full, rich sound.

“We had some of the city’s top acoustic engineers in to calculate the optimal spot for this piano,” Abraham said.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.

“It’s true. Shadow wanted everything absolutely perfect for you.”

I raised a brow. “You know, Shadow is spending quite a bit of money on a girl he plans on dumping in a couple of weeks.”

“What can I say? He’s a gentleman about it, as long as you don’t break his heart.”

“Like that’s going to happen,” I snickered as I rose from the piano and examined the few books I owned neatly lined up on the bookshelf. “He doesn’t even want a relationship.” There was a brief silence. “So you guys moved all my stuff?” I asked, changing the subject of conversation.

“Yes,” Abraham said. “It’s all here.”

“You moved my underwear as well?” I asked, feeling embarrassed that they may have seen a couple of pairs of granny panties that I owned.

“Ididn’t move it,” Abraham stated. “Shadow had a few of his maids from his estate come down and pack, move, and unpack all of your belongings. It didn’t take too much time.”

He paused for a moment, glancing at his watch. “Well, I best give you some time to settle into your new home,” he said. “On the fridge is a list of numbers should you need anything. There’s a personal chef, a personal maid, a gym trainer, a chauffeur, and whatever else you desire.”

After he left, I spent the next three hours running around my brilliant new condo squealing like a complete idiot.

After I was done, I grabbed my phone, wanting to call Justin to tell him how kick-ass my new place was. However I remembered he was pissed at me. I stared at the limited list of numbers on my phone and realized that there was really no one I could call to share my excitement with.

What good was having all this amazing stuff if I had to experience it alone?

#

I decided to head to the gym in the condo and work out. Aside from playing piano, exercise was another quick pick-me-up when I needed an immediate injection of endorphins to combat the blues.

Dressed in my ratty pair of jogging pants, and an old t-shirt displaying the ravenous mug of the Cookie Monster, I entered into the exercise room, found a treadmill, and attacked it.

While I ran, I couldn’t help but wonder if Justin would ever forgive me. Even though it’s been only a day since he stormed off, I missed him already.

Of course now that I had money to spare, I could go out and try to meet some new people, but who was I kidding? I liked having Justin around. He never judged me like others did.

I could come to class dressed like a donkey’s ass and he’d still chat me up like a normal human being without second glancing me.

But I had to let him go. It was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

I felt my legs begin to seize up and I stopped the treadmill. Sweat dripped down my face, which I wiped away with my t-shirt.

The exercise didn’t help my mood much. Not only was I still pissy, but now I was a sweaty mess as well.

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