“And before that?”
“Louisville, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and a whole lot of other places. Like I said before, I come from everywhere.”
Shane didn't know what to say and Vivica was used to that. When she did reveal anything about herself, it seemed to be so abnormal to everyone else that they just couldn't get their head around it. They would always ask questions and look confused. Shane was no different, yet he asked the one question that no one else seemed to care about.
“Why?”
That was the point where Vivica didn't know what she should say. She usually didn't say anything, she usually didn't stay in somebody's house, and she usually didn't work a regular job in an office with her own desk and everything. Vivica was certainly on uneven ground because she had never been there before.
“Honestly, it started out that way because I ran away from foster care when I was about fifteen or sixteen. When you’re that young, you can’t really stay in one place when you're on your own. So, I moved around a lot and anytime there was any trouble, or I thought I’d been somewhere too long, I would just move. Became a habit I guess.”
“And you’ve been doing that for four years now?”
Vivica agreed that she had been. It was a long four years, but it had somehow become her life.
“You kind of get used to it after a while.”
“I don't know if that's something I would want to get used to.”
“Well, you’d be surprised what you can get used to after some time. What about you? What about your family?”
“You didn't tell me much about yours.”
“Well, my mother and father both died. So, there isn't much to tell. I am an only child and never really met extended family. I think my parents had a falling out with them or something.”
He just kind of looked at her, and Vivica almost wished that she hadn't said anything. She was usually pretty blasé about that sort of thing because she had recited it so many times, it didn’t really affect her anymore. Why would she be sad about it? It's not like it could change and she had learned a long time ago, that there was no need to get upset about some things. Sometimes it was just how it was supposed to be.
“I'm sorry to hear that.”
Vivica waved him off. “It was a long time ago.”
“You talk about it like it doesn't even phase you.”
“Like I said, it happened a long time ago. Now, what about your family? This is a really big house for just you to live in.”
“I have several people who live here.”
“Does anybody live here who isn’t one of your employees?”
He agreed that there wasn’t, and Vivica said that there was probably something to be said about that.
“Yeah, it means that it's easier to deal with employees.”
“So, you don't have to get close to anyone, huh?”
She got another strange look from Shane, but Vivica figured that she had gotten it right on the nose. He wasn't worried about starting relationships because he didn't want them. Vivica had felt the same way, so she understood. Vivica couldn’t get close to anyone either. How many times had she thought of starting something, something real, only to remember that her circumstances wouldn’t let that happen?
“Something like that. For an orphan, you seem to know your way around people.”
“Is that a compliment? People are easy.”
“Probably as close as it's going to get for me.”
Vivica smiled at him, and he smiled back. He could sound gruff and have his mood swings, but at the end of the day, he was gentle. Vivica was convinced that he was a big ole teddy bear.
Not too long from this moment, she was going to find out that she was closer to the truth than she ever would have imagined.
Chapter 9
