“No, he didn’t.”
Astrid looked around her house and wondered if Lord had even bothered to come by.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?Why are you home?”her dad asked.
“No reason.I just wanted to come and see you guys and say hi.You know it has been so long since we last talked.”
There was silence, and then she heard her mother’s laughter in the background.They sounded like they were having the time of their lives.
“Oh, honey, I’ve got to go now.But we will talk soon.There is nothing in the fridge, so if you’re staying there, you need to get some food.Don’t stay up too late.”And the line went dead.
She was all alone.Putting the phone back into the cradle, she moved to the fridge, and sure enough, it was empty.She closed the fridge door, then made her way up to her bedroom, just to make sure it was still her room.When her brothers had moved out, one by one their bedrooms had been changed into a gym or an office.Thankfully, her room was still as it was when she lived here.
She moved toward her bed, sat down on the edge, and wondered why her parents hadn’t changed anything.Did they think she would fail?That she would have no choice but to come home?Is this why they left her bedroom fully made up?
She tried not to think of Lord, but his voice sounded so sure.A convenience.A willing female.Her first time had been because she was the only woman there.How humiliating was that?
Lord didn’t want her for her.Just because she was there.
She tried not to let the tears come.Crying was not going to solve anything.Lord had made no declaration.No words had been spoken between them.Just actions.
She was a stupid fool.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she tried to come up with some way out of the job.She loved working for Lord, but there was no way she’d be able to continue.Perhaps she could ask for his truck, and she could drive back and forth, and live home.The only problem was her parents would be returning home, and they would know something was up.They would know she failed.
This sucked, big time.
Perhaps she could find a place of her own and make some kind of arrangement with Lord.She didn’t have to live in his house.
She heard a knock, and Astrid looked toward the open door.She was a fool, because part of her hoped it was Lord.If Lord knew her parents weren’t in town, that meant the locals did as well.She was the last person to find out.
Getting to her feet as the knock came again, she made her way downstairs.Her parents didn’t have a peephole to let them know who was on the doorstep.She recalled her brothers and herself begging for one, but her parents liked the surprise of never knowing who was at the front door.It was one thing she always found a little strange about them, but she never said anything.
She opened the door, and once again, she wished there was a peephole.Lord was on the doorstep, and he wasn’t a vampire so didn’t need to be invited in.
“You never told me my parents were out of town,” she said.
“You were busy working for me, and I could take care of this house.”
“And you did?”she asked.
“Yes, I came every day to check on it.”
She nodded.Of course he did.
“What do you want?”
“We need to talk,” Lord said.
“No, we don’t.”
He gripped the back of his neck, and she knew she was aggravating him, not that she was doing it on purpose.
“I know you heard,” Lord said.
“I don’t want to talk about it.You made it clear.The only reason you and I had ...sex, was because I was the only willing female there.I get it.If there had been another woman, you’d have gone for her.”She tried not to break apart.“I’m going to look for another job.”
She didn’t want to go back to the library, but what choice did she have?
