“The clubhouse?”
“Yeah, I know we’re not ready for people to know about us yet, so you can have your own room, El Jefe won’t mind. But you’re not coming back here.”
I don’t answer him straight away. I hate this apartment, but it’s mine, I pay for it with the money I earn. I’ve managed to survive here, not even just survive, thrive. I’m independent, I work, I study, things I could never have thought possible after my parents passed away. I’m about to say no, tell him that I can’t, but he takes my hand in his and turns me to face him.
“Elizabeth… please?”
His eyes plead with me, and I know I can’t refuse him.
I nod. “Okay, thank you.”
He pulls me into his arms and holds me for what feels like an age. And even though it’s almost too quiet for me to hear, he whispers, “I can’t bear the thought of anything bad happening to you.”
We arrive at the clubhouse and it’s strange seeing it in the early hours of the morning, dark and empty, knowing everyone is either asleep or returned to their own homes. I follow Angel up the stairs, not knowing where I’m going as I’ve never been up here before.
“I don’t know which rooms are free,” he whispers, “so you’ll have to stay with me tonight; but we’ll get you your own room tomorrow.”
I nod and continue to follow him to the end of the hall, where he unlocks the door to the last room before ushering me inside.
The room smells of him, the earthy scent of the leather, accompanied by whiskey; it’s comforting. He enters behind me and switches on the main light. As far as decor goes, it’s pretty sparse; a double bed faces me with a small table eitherside. A chest of drawers, wardrobe and comfy chair are along one wall, and a door to what I assume is the bathroom is on the other side. It’s all painted a gray tone and there are no pictures or anything, just a window with a blind above the bed.
I take a few steps in and place my backpack on the bed before turning around to say something, but I stop in shock…
Diablo
“I don’t know which rooms are free,” I whisper, “so you’ll have to stay with me tonight, but we’ll get you your own room tomorrow.”
Sleeping in a separate room from Elizabeth is the last thing I want to do, but we agreed to keep us a secret. I don’t really want to be keeping us quiet anymore, I want to tell everyone, but she’ll be safer if we stay quiet for now. The last thing I need is for Frank to find out, it will just give him more ammunition against me.
When it comes to her safety though, I want to kick myself for letting her stay at Midtown Apartments for so long. Granted, she’s barely been there alone in the last month, but still, the thought of something happening to her is too much to bear.
I unlock my door and usher her inside, before stepping in and switching on the light. I know my room isn’t much, I haven’t made it anywhere near as comfortable as she made her apartment, but I hope she’ll be happy here until we figure out something more permanent. Shit, if the guys could hear my thoughts right now, thinking about a permanent living situation with a girl, they’d never believe it. I know it’s only been six weeks, but that doesn’t matter, this is it, I know it is.
I go to ask her if the room is okay, but she’s staring at the wall behind me in shock.
“The painting…” she says.
“I forgot that was here, it was meant to be a surprise,” I say.
“What?”
“You said it was your favorite when we were at the gallery, I remember you talking to the artist about it.”
She doesn’t say anything, so I continue trying to explain.
“You told Miguel you couldn’t afford it, so I bought it for you, and you said it wouldn’t be safe in your apartment, which, obviously after tonight you were right, luckily I had it delivered here.”
“You bought this for me?” she asks.
“Yeah, after I heard you talking to Guadalupe I went and spoke to her and asked her if I could buy it for you. I was thinking of giving it to you when it’s your birthday.”
“Angel…” She slowly lowers herself to the bed, her eyes glued to the painting. “This is too much, I know how expensive these pieces were, I can’t accept this.”
I kneel in front of her. “But it made you so happy, the way you looked at it, I wanted you to have it. Guadalupe did too, she liked you.”
Her head falls in her hands, and her body starts to shake.
“Fuck,” she mumbles.
