Page 79 of Alex

All three families are rich beyond means and highly successful. Their parents have businesses upon businesses, cars upon cars, and houses upon houses.

They have more money than I will ever have in my entire life. I can only dream of having a huge, fancy house and a nice, reliable car.

Why would they mess with me? I literally have nothing.

“I can’t keep putting this off. I need to head inside my apartment and assess the damage.”

Deep down, I already know what I’m going to find, and it’s not going to be good.

Alex puts the poker chip in his front pocket and links his hand with mine. “Just take a deep breath and relax. Remember, I will be here for you and help out however I can.”

I lead Alex down the hallway to my apartment door. Taking several deep breaths, I grab my keys out of my purse, unlock my door, and push the door open.

Alex follows me as I walk inside the burned apartment.

It’s way worse than I thought it would be. The carpet, blinds, and living room furniture are burned beyond recognition.

My gaze moves over to the kitchen as I take a few more steps inside the charred apartment. The cabinets, counter, and a pile of mail are burned to a crisp. A pile of ashes sits where the mail used to be.

Even the coffee maker took a hit. The fire melted the plastic to the countertop.

The pictures of Mom and me I had taped to the refrigerator door are burned up, their ashes lay on the kitchen floor.

Soot covers the walls and ceiling, as if it has always belonged here.

Alex kicks a chunk of wood out of our way. “I guess your lease is automatically terminated now, so you don’t have to worry about money hungry landlords upping your rent for no reason.”

His comment makes me chuckle.

“But where will I go now? I don’t have a place to stay, let alone a bed.”

Alex doesn’t hesitate. He grabs my hands and pulls me into his chest.

“You will come to my house. You’re already there all the time because you’re working long hours. I can call the maid and have her set up a guest room for you, if you’d like. So you can have your own space.”

That would help me be able to save for my next place, and Alex is right. I have been working more hours than usual.

Alex continues. “Although, if I’m honest, I’ve loved having you in my bed and having you wrap yourself around me while you’re sleeping.”

I nod my head and gulp. Being in Alex’s bed has felt more like home than my own apartment has.

It’s not the bed. It’s Alex.

My stomach flutters with that thought. When Iwas with Alex in the city, I felt safe and happy, like I was home.

As I look around at the burned scraps of my life, I try to assess the damage in an unbiased way. I’ll need all new toiletries and clothes.

Thankfully, most of my toiletries were with me while I was out of town, and most of my clothes are already at Alex’s.

And at least I scanned pictures years ago and have them saved to the cloud.

I move toward my bedroom while Alex digs his phone out of his pocket and types something.

My bedroom is worse than the living room.

How is it worse here? The fire started in the living room.

My mattress and covers are non-existent. The clothes that were hanging in my closet are gone. The carpet has burned and disappeared.

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