Chapter 7
Mia
I open the door and have to move back when Rhett storms into the apartment.
“Let’s pack your shit,” he growls.
I stare wide-eyed at his back as he walks deeper into the room. He scowls as he looks at everything.
“What’s yours?”
“I haven’t decided what I want to do yet,” I say, closing the door and walking over to him. I know he’s worried, but I won’t let him boss me around. I’m not a kid anymore and it’s time he realizes it.
“You’re not safe here, Mia. You’re moving in with me until you decide what you want.”
I tried to talk to Josie this morning. It didn’t go so well. Actually, that’s an understatement. She started throwing stuff around, screaming at me that I’m self-absorbed. Of course, I didn’t stand with a mouth full of teeth, but gave her a piece of my mind. I told her she’s changed since she’s moved here. I don’t even know who she is anymore.
I’ve just finished cleaning up the mess she made when Rhett knocked.
“Can you just give me today,” I ask, needing to talk to Josie. Our friendship is heading for a break that it might not recover from. I love Josie, and want to do everything in my power to make things right between us. “I promise I’ll be at your place tomorrow, but it will only be until I can find a place of my own.”
“We’ve had someone digging around, and he thinks you have a stalker, Mia. Those fuckers are dangerous. If something were to happen -” His voice breaks and he pulls me into a hug.
I’ve missed this so much, it still aches just thinking about how close I came to never having it again.
“I’ll be careful. All I’m asking for is one day.”
He shakes his head, not looking happy at all, but then he relents. “One day, Mia. I’ll be here at nine tomorrow morning to get you. Do what you have to do today.”
~
I’ve been on edge the entire day, waiting for Josie to come back so we can talk. I feel like a horrible person, but I’ve been thinking about what Logan said last night. I didn’t ask Josie to move here with me but actually encouraged her to go to LA. I told her that I’d be okay living on my own and that our friendship wouldn’t suffer because of the distance.
After all, it’s not like we used to live together back in North Carolina. Josie insisted that I shouldn’t be alone in a big city like New York. I thought it would be fun to have her for a roommate, but this last week has been really hard.
I understand that she’s worried about me. She doesn’t have a close bond with her family, not the way Rhett and I have. I try to keep that in mind when we talk, but no matter how many times I explain that the guys will never hurt me intentionally, she doesn’t want to hear it.
It’s not like I’m ending our friendship. I’m just moving. Josie’s not hurting for money. She didn’t want to stay in this area, but because I wouldn’t let her pay for me, she relented. With me moving she’ll be able to get her own place anywhere she wants.
The only thing I’ll miss is living so close to the studio, but commuting won’t be that bad.
I’ve also been thinking about taking that temporary job at Indie Ink. At least until I know what I really want to do for the rest of my life. I know the guys must think I’m being facetious about my future. That’s not it at all. Choosing a field to work in is serious. I’ll be doing it every day, and I want to love what I do.
I’ve already packed my stuff this afternoon. I left a lot of my things back in North Carolina. Once I have my own place I’ll make the trip to get it all.
Josie walks in, yanking me from my thoughts. I get up from where I was sitting on the couch, praying she’ll be reasonable.
She glares at my packed bags before she looks at me.
“Josie, can we please talk?”
There’s an angry scowl on her face, and it makes me miss how carefree we used to be. I’m hoping once the dust has settled, we’ll be able to go back to that.
For endless seconds she just stares at me, and it breaks my heart to see her so upset.
“You’ll be able to get your own place. We’ll still be friends like we were back in North Carolina. Nothing’s going to change.”
Slowly, she starts to walk towards me, a smile forming around her lips.
“I started to believe in you. I thought you were the one person who wouldn’t use me. I should’ve known you were no different.”
“What?” I let the word out on a shaky breath. “I’ve never used you. We are friends because I care about you.”
“Care about me?” she hisses as she stops in front of me. “You call this caring about me? You dragged me here! I went against my parents for you, and the first chance you get, you just shove me aside.”
“I never asked you to go against your parents, Josie. You made that choice. If I remember correctly, I even encouraged you to move to LA.”
“You begged me to come here!” she screams right in my face. I quickly take a step back, shocked by how fast this is escalating. “When they threw you aside like trash, I was the only one who took care of you.”
“Took care of me?” My mind is spinning right now. “I took care of myself, Josie.”
The slap rings in my ears before I realize what happened. Shocked to my core, I bring my hand up to my cheek. I can’t believe she just slapped me.
The look on her face is alarming, her breaths racing through her clenched teeth, but I won’t back down.
When she takes a threatening step towards me, I shove her away from me. She stumbles a few steps back before falling on her backside. No matter how hard I try, I can’t contain my anger.
“What the fuck, Josie? I don’t even know who you are anymore. I really wanted to do this the nice way, but it’s clear there’s no reasoning with you. We’re done.”
I turn away and walk to where I left my bags earlier this afternoon. I reach for one when she shoves me from behind, causing me to fall forward against the wall. All the exercise has made me more agile, and I quickly gain my balance. As I spin around, she lifts her hand to slap me again, but this time I’m prepared. I bring my arm up, knocking hers away, and then I’m in her face.
“Try that again. I dare you,” I hiss. Never in my life have I been this angry before.
“I was the one who listened to your endless self-pitying!” she shrieks.
I ground my teeth together to keep the anger in. She wants this fight. She wants me to lose control, to be like her.
“I’m done. I won’t lower myself to your level.”
I grab my bags and yank the door open. I slam the door as hard as I can behind me, just to get rid of some of the anger.
I can’t make sense of what just happened. I’ve never seen Josie lose all control like that before. I guess you don’t really know a person until you live with them.
As my anger drains away, I feel the tears prick behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
I’m sad that things ended so badly between Josie and me.
~
I keep my head down and make sure my hair covers my face as I walk into the building, not wanting to draw attention to myself. I guess that’s a moot point seeing as I’m dragging two bags behind me and carrying one on each shoulder.
On the way over, my emotions were all over the place, going from distraught to disoriented to angry on a constant loop.
Placing the bags next to the door, I knock quickly before wrapping my arms around my middle. I glance down the hallway, not really taking in any of my surroundings.
When the door starts to open, I push my way in as the little control I have over my turbulent emotions break. I bury myself against him, needing to feel safe. I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him with all my strength while hiding my face in his chest.
I breathe him in, filling my lungs and battered soul with the stillness and strength that makes him the man I love with every ounce of me.