Page 6 of Break

The girls said that she was rude, wouldn’t talk to them at all… She kept complaining about the décor, the furniture, and not having enough space or any ‘help’ in the house.

And then they joked about moving in with me.

I told them there’s plenty of room and I’ll make sure they have rooms with me whenever they’d like to stay with me. I can’t imagine them staying there being treated poorly. I won’t allow it and neither should James. I wonder if he’s being blackmailed or drugged. Why now? He’s had ample time to be in a serious relationship over the past several years.

I took the week off from work and am sneaking into my, actually, James’s house along with a team of movers to getthis done quickly. The company helps you pack up, box up everything, and even move it to the destination. I had to pay extra for the help to unload everything and for them to put together furniture around the house that I had delivered today.

Thank goodness for overnight delivery.

The girls are at school, James is at practice, and we’re in and out of the house in six hours. No sign of Alex, so all in all, it was simple. Easy. Heartbreaking, but still easy with so much help.

I took everything that I bought, aside from furniture.

My kitchen gadgets, my smoker in the backyard… All of the décor that I used my personal money on that was around the house. Since Alex doesn’t like it, I’ll just take everything.

After pulling up to my new house, I unlock the door and tell the guys to relax and take a break. “Anyone want pizza? My treat.”

Marco, the owner of the company, nods and pats my shoulder. “Sure. We’re easy. Pepperoni, please. Is there anything to drink here?”

I frown and shrug. “Not sure. I know the appliances were delivered today and Mr. Evans let them in for me while we packed up the other house.” I shuffle to the kitchen and smile at the gleaming stainless-steel appliances.

I might have charged it all to James’s card out of spite, not that he will notice.

And the furniture. And my new décor… It’s not like I ordered from anywhere expensive. Mostly Target and Ikea. I’m not a high maintenance person.

But my appliances? Top of the line. I smile, a real smile for the first time in what feels like months. It feels good to be petty sometimes.

I shrug as I pull open the fridge and grab several bottles of water.

I could kiss Mr. Evans and his wife right about now. My fridge, freezer, and pantry are stocked. There’s also a sweet note on the island thanking me for renting from them and they can’t wait to meet my baby.

Maybe they can just adopt me and I’ll be their new family. Maybe their son is nice, too.

I smile as I meet the crew in the living room and groan when I see all of the boxes up against the bright white walls. “Well at least we don’t have to put the couches together.” I sigh as I sink down on the comfortable dark gray cushions and hand out the waters.

“I’ll order the pizzas now, no other requests?” They all shake their heads and talk about the plan for the rest of the day. They’re dividing up who’s going to unload the truck and unpack, while some others do all of the furniture…

Only three of the bedrooms are being furnished right now. I want to wait until I know the gender of the baby before I start to buy anything, and I don’t want to jinx anything.

I also bought some outdoor furniture for the front and back porches. I snicker to myself as I stare around at all of the boxes. Serves James right. Not that I could make a real dent in his bank account, regardless of how much I spent.

Unless I decide to buy a yacht.

I’ll give the card to the girls the next time I see them to give back to him. At least I was able to finally pick up my car today. No more wasting money on Ubers.

The doorbell rings and we all settle back down in the living room after they help me bring in all of the food. I pass out boxes of pizza and wings, more bottles of water, and paper plates. I’m able to choke down a slice and sip on my water while the crew scarfs down six whole damn pizzas. Six.

I snort into my water and shake my head. If James was here he would probably eat two whole pies by himself. The girls and I usually share a veggie pizza and still have leftovers.

Speak of the devil, another text popped up from him five minutes ago.

I open up the thread of our conversation and scroll up to the top… I haven’t read any of them since he came into the office and dropped a nuclear bomb on me.

James:What time will you be home tonight?

James:I’m leaving for practice, will I see you at home tonight? You never sleep in. Are you feeling okay?

James:The girls said you’re staying at a hotel… What's going on? You didn’t come home?

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