Page 35 of Home Game

Then she pushed the bags towards me. “I can’t accept these.”

I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t think someone who only owned a pair of used, oversized scrub pants would be picky. I guess I was wrong. “Don’t you like them? Do you want something else?”

“She should take them back and get a refund.” Zoey looked upset.

I reached into the bag and pulled out the hoodie. “You don’t like this? I think it suits you.”

She rolled her eyes. “That hoodie was $90. Those t-shirts are $35 each.”

“So?”

She let out an exasperated breath. “I can’t afford that. How can I ever pay her back?”

“Zoey. I paid for them.”

“Even worse. I’m already indebted to you. I can’t take that.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Everyone I knew wanted a handout, but I found the one person that refused to accept what I willingly offered. “Zoey. It’s nothing.”

“It’s way too much money.”

“Not for me.”

“You need to save your money. You can’t just be giving it away so easily. You already bought me my meds.”

Was she serious? I ran my hand through my hair trying to think of a way to tell her I had more money than I could spend in a lifetime. “One minute of a game and I can pay for what is in those bags three times over.”

She scoffed. “Yeah right.”

I set my glass in the sink. “Why does a simple gift make you so uneasy?”

“No one gives just for the sake of giving. Everyone wants something in return.”

Fuck. What kind of life had she lived until this point? “Has that been your experience?”

Defiant. “If you want to waste your money on me, go ahead. But I will not blow you or fuck you to pay you back.”

Silence hovered between us.

“I’m not even going to respond to that statement.” I walked out of the kitchen.

CHAPTER 10

ZOEY

I feltbad for that last comment. The guy was being so nice and I was messing it all up. Last night when I had landed on him, I had totally freaked on him. I mean, super weird that he gave up his bed for me, but it was also one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me.

And the clothes. I crept back and looked in the bags. Krista had bought clothes that matched my tough girl routine. Had Ryan told her how I dressed? That hoodie. I caressed the soft, thick fabric. I had never seen anything so nice in my life. It felt expensive. I wanted so badly to accept his kindness, but it scared me too. What if he was playing the long game? Getting me to relax so I let my guard down and then boom! The axe would fall. It would catch me off guard and it wouldn’t end well for me.

I chewed on my lip. I didn’t have much choice but to accept his help right now. My only other option was to return to the streets. Looking like I did it wouldn’t be a good time for me. I needed my shoulder to heal so I could work again. I needed to put savings back together. With no money, I was starting at ground zero again. I needed to replace my ID so I could stay at the good shelters. And that also took money.

I also needed to go talk to my boss at my job. Maybe, if my manager saw me, he would keep me on. It was a long shot, but I needed to try.

Ryan came out of his bedroom. His hair was wet, and he carried a gym bag. He avoided my gaze. Was he mad at me? Because I wasn’t accepting his kindness? Anxiety fluttered through me.

"Thank you for the clothes,” I said.

“Sure,” he said, as he dug through the cupboards and grabbed a couple protein bars.

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