“I’m here for the exorcism,” she said.
“The what?” he asked loudly.
“I’m here for Tori.” She slipped by him and flashed me a disarming smile. “You ready?”
“Y-yes.” One step at a time. I wobbled with urgency to make my escape.
“Where are you going?” Dad asked, reaching to help with the bag.
“With Kat,” I said, nearly throwing out my shoulder just to handle it myself.
He eyed my backpack. “Big trip planned?”
I plopped the luggage wheels on the floor with a huge huff. “I can’t keep living like this. Jen’s treating us like her servants. And it’s not just hormones. It’s a pattern of disrespect. It’s an unhealthy environment for you, me, her baby…even her, probably.”
Kat nodded.
Dad studied us with tired, foggy eyes, like he was mourning us as the cherubic girls framed in the hallway. “When do you think you’ll be back?”
“I don’t know, Dad.” I didn’t have anything left to give.
His whole body sagged. For the first time in my life, he looked like a sad, old man.
“Love you,” I said, then shuffled out to the front step with Kat. Into the sunshine. Into the next phase of my life—the one where I’d finallyget it together.
A tall figured emerged from the shadows of the overhang. “Would you like assistance with those bags?” he asked.
I flinched before I recognized that rumbling timbre. “Oh, sorry Victor. I didn’t realize you’d be…there.” In the bushes.
“I am the muscle,” he said dryly.
“Hell yeah, you are,” Kat said, squeezing his arm.
He smirked at her, his eyes bright with affection, and I couldn’t help but smile at them both.
Staying with them would be a lot different than living with my parents. And Jen.
I explained the gist of what’d happened in the car, and although they showed understanding, they let me quietly absorb the aftershocks of what’d happened without too many questions.
Once we got to Kat’s apartment, I clutched the straps of my backpack, carefully navigating around her curious, sniffing cat as he wound through our legs. “Um, hello, Jinx. Are you sure you don’t mind me crashing on your couch for a bit?” I asked.
Kat scooped up her black cat and kissed his head. “He loves to see his auntie.”
I was pretty sure the cat was purring because of her, not me. But it was nice to be welcomed by somebody.
I followed her to the bedroom. “I’m not putting you out, am I?”
“Kat can always stay with me,” Victor purred, his fingertips grazing her hip as he slipped by us with my luggage.
“I know,” she said coyly.
They hooked each other’s gazes for a beat too long. When were they officially planning to move in together?
He set my luggage aside and bowed. “Excuse me, ladies. I need to prepare for my shift. Good luck settling in.”
“Thanks,” I said, sinking onto the bed.
“I haven’t changed the sheets yet,” Kat warned.
