Page 82 of Gin & Jewels
“Yeah,” I sighed. It was probably better to get it over with sooner rather than later.
Since that day at the lake, I had made the decision to sell the house and start over. I didn’t know how much I would get or how much a house like Brad’s cost, but I wanted something like his, maybe not as big.
Brad kissed the back of my hand as we pulled up in front of my house. It was still standing. “Whatever you see inside, remember, I’m right here.”
“I know.”
Brad had called Seth and asked him if he knew anything about the eviction process in Nevada. He didn’t, since he was VICE, but he'd checked around for us and found out that I needed to give everyone in the house a five-day written notice to vacate the property. Because they never paid rent, it was considered a tenancy-at-will. After we checked out the house, Seth was going to serve them for me because, legally, I couldn’t be the one to do it.
We got out of Brad’s truck and walked to the front door. It was unlocked, so we entered. Immediately, I covered my nose. It smelled like garbage, as though they hadn’t taken out the trash since I’d left.
“Oh, God,” I groaned.
“Do you want to wait outside, and I’ll see if anyone is here?”
“No, I’ll just hold my breath.”
Brad nodded, and we walked up the stairs, knocking on each door. No one answered. “While you pack some clothes and stuff, I’m going to find out where that smell is coming from,” he stated.
“Okay.”
When I opened my bedroom door, it looked exactly how I’d left it, except the money in my wallet was gone. Not wanting to stick around, I quickly stuffed some clothes and underwear into a duffle bag from my closet, grabbed my parents’ wedding rings that were still in the air vent, and then went downstairs to see where Brad was.
“It was just the garbage,” he stated.
I nodded. “I’m ready to go.” I really just wanted to be out of the smelly house. At least that was the only thing I knew was wrong with the place. There were no holes in the walls or anything that looked damaged. Of course, I didn’t know about the appliances.
“Go wait in the truck. I’ll make sure all of the doors and windows are locked.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
As I waited in the truck as he’d instructed, I looked at the house I’d once loved. The grass was overgrown, and the paint looked as though it was coming off. I couldn’t see my mom or dad in it at all, and I knew that my decision to sell it was the right thing. It was just a house.
A few minutes later, Brad came out and got into the truck. “I got your keys from your purse and locked all of the doors.”
“Oh, right.” I wasn’t even thinking about locking the doors because I couldn’t remember the last time I had. It had stayed unlocked because it was a revolving door for Keith’s friends. I wasn’t even sure if they had a key to the house themselves. I also didn’t grab my purse because I had a new one and wasn’t thinking about that either. There wasn’t anything important inside either.
“I don’t want to leave the house unlocked, but I’m not sure everyone has a key. Is that going to matter with the eviction?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll check with Seth.”
“Okay.”
We left the house and went back to his, which was about twenty minutes away. “I need to go meet with Gabe about starting the self-defense class. Do you want to go with me or stay here?” Brad asked as I put a load of clothes in the wash because I thought they smelled like the stink at my house.
“Is it okay if I stay here?” I was tired, still healing from my surgery, and dealing with the house and everything had been exhausting.
“Of course. I won’t be more than a few hours.”
“Okay.”
He kissed me goodbye and then left. While the clothes were still in the washer, I turned on his TV in the living room and fired up Hulu. I had two more episodes of season four ofVeronica Marsto watch.
When he opened the door and came in, I was sobbing my eyes out. Our gazes met, and I saw the panic on his face. I was crying so hard that I couldn’t tell him that I was really okay.
“What’s wrong?” He rushed over.
“Lo …” I cried some more.
