Page 34 of Set the Moment
I mean, who does he think he is?
Derek looks down his nose at me. “You bumped into me.”
“Yeah, well so fucking what? You’re the only parent in this building who hasn’t asked about their kid, so you know what? I don’t give a damn.” I roll my eyes, turning on my heels as blood rushes through my ears
“Fucking asshole,que te folle un pez espada1,” I mutter as I stomp away from the pompous asshole.
Could this day get any worse? It feels like the world is suffocating me and everything is going the exact opposite of how I planned for it to go.
It doesn’t take long for me to apologize to the girls for having to transfer rooms and handing over the reins to Guillana, who’s already been working with them for some time now.
By the time I get to my apartment, my head is pounding from an oncoming headache, my feet hurt, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t reach my daily water intake goal for the day.
I need a shower. I need to wash this day away.
Stumbling into the house, I say to myself, “I need a drink and some serious girl talk,” as I plop down on the couch beside Cleo, laying on her lap and pulling her hand into my hair.
“Long day?” She asks, massaging circles into my scalp.
“That guy will be the death of me!” I shout, sitting up. I don’t know if it’s Jace, my dad, or Derek that I’m speaking about, but they’re all going to send me to an early grave.
“Spill, girl!”
I jump slightly as the guy that Cleo has a crush on quips in a mock Valley girl accent.
I tell them everything from how Derek is the bane of my existence, how my Dad is absent, and allude a little to Jace being the psycho that he is. Idon’t say his name for fear of what Cleo would think if she knew that I’ve been dealing with Jace for the past two weeks, but she and the guy—Jake, I think—listen carefully.
“Do you maybe think you’re projecting your feelings about Auntie and Uncle onto him?” Cleo asks, making my brain hurt as I groan.
“I don’t know, honestly. But it feels shitty knowing that another little girl is out there being treated how I was.” I sigh, hanging my head as Jake tells me to be there for her.
I don’t know if it’s me or just Delilah that I need to be there for, but I take the advice, happily.
I know just what to do to be there for her.
“You’re so right! Thanks, Jake!” I squeal as ideas flow to my brain, skipping to my room.
I go straight to my bathroom and prepare for my shower, turning the water to its highest temperature. Stepping into the shower and in the comfort of my own bathroom, I allow myself to break.
I have to be strong in front of Cleo and her guy friend. She’s already going through something way deeper than I’d ever know, and I barely know Jake.
In my everything shower, I’m allowed to be the sad, broken hearted girl that I am on the inside. I’m allowed to be mopey about my parents and feel for Delilah. I’m allowed to let my mind drift to Jace and wonder about him.
Soon after washing my body, the sadness that I’d had pent up boils into anger, and I find myself sitting in front of my PC, locked in yet another gruesome game.
I’m in my seventh round of playing COD when I feel a presence brush up beside me. The warm aroma of vanilla and leather invades my senses, and I know it’s him before I see him. Moving my headset off of my ear, I ask, “What?” as I continue gaming.
“We need to talk.” Jace’s voice is gruff as he speaks, his voice closer than I’d expected as his breath dusts the shell of my uncovered ear, making my body tingle.
“What could we possibly have to talk—”
In an instant, a white sheet of paper is placed over my fingers as I’m typing away. I pause in my haste, eyeing it momentarily then back at my screen, but something in my mind tells me to look at the paper again. When I do, my anger boils over.
My heart stutters as the neat scribble of my hand writing comes into my focus. My eyes stay there, stuck on the scrawl ofmy list.
In an instant, I open my mouth to yell at him for not only invading my privacy, but also for keeping my list for all this time.
Jace intervenes by softly grabbing my chin, pulling my focus back to him and successfully shutting me up as his lip quirks slightly.
