He’d said something like that before, at the hospital. “You need to get more minutes.”
“I will. Next week when I get paid.”
Was he insane? He lived in a terrible neighborhood. What if he needed to call for help?
“You can’t go around the rest of the week without a phone. It’s dangerous.” Something about my words spiked the air. Whatever he’d been upset about when getting into the car was back, tenfold.
“Thanks for the ride,” he said, dropping my phone back into the cup holder.
“Hazard.”
His back stiffened, but this time he didn’t turn around.
“At least let me give you my number. If you need me, call,” I said.
“I won’t,” he said, getting out and closing the door between us. I called his name again, and I did not miss the brief flash of hesitation crossing his face.
But then it was gone, and he was too, retreating into the place he worked, away from me.
Briefly, I considered going in after him but talked myself out of it. I needed space to get my thoughts together, and clearly, so did he.
But later, when I saw him, there would be no more space.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Haz
Completely shell-shocked.
So much so that I barely heard a word of the lecture Mr. Wasashi gave me for being late to work. It seemed a little short, though, to be honest. The last time I did something he didn’t like, he’d lectured me for at least thirty minutes into the start of my shift before leaving in a huff.
Maybe my concept of time was off because of the state of shock I was in, or maybe he was a little scared to really lay into me because of the way Kieran threatened him on the phone.
Kieran.Even after walking into a completely ransacked apartment, just thinking of him made my stomach dip. I mean, even I couldn’t remain totally flabbergasted by the complete intrusion of my safe space when he gave up a little information about himself on the ride to work.
I was so drawn to him. In ways I didn’t even understand. I shouldn’t be, especially not now, but he was like gravity. Ever since I laid eyes on him in the hospital, he was just this force that dominated everything.
Oh. You’d rather know about the ransacked apartment and not how irrefutable a force Kieran was to me?
Fair.
I guess he isn’t as distracting to you as he is me. Which, again, fair. You haven’t kissed him.
But yeah, there I was, minding my own business and trying not to be too late to work, when I stepped into my place only to find a mess of epic proportions. I admit I wasn’t the tidiest guy. It was why I wanted to pick up before Kieran saw my space. But this? This went beyond any mess I could make. I was pretty sure a lot of my stuff was completely ruined. Like I was gonna have to put it in the trash ruined. I didn’t have much to begin with, which I guess in this situation was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because whoever broke in and raided the place had less to ruin. A curse because what little I did have was now even less. I wasn’t exactly in a position to be replacing everything either.
Like the mattress. Whoever let themselves in—assholes busted the lock on the door—took something sharp to my bed. Slashed right through my blanket, gutting the entire thing. It wasn’t a neat cut either. No, the animals slashed it open and ripped the hole wide. Everything that made up the old mattress was now on the outside. Bent coils stuck out everywhere, making it look like a bed of needles. Fluff and some kind of foam stuff littered the floor and dangled on the broken metal. My single pillow had also been ripped apart, the flattened fluff inside strewn around too.
The single dresser where I kept my clothes was turned on its side, the drawers overturned, a few of them busted. The plaid couch I’d inherited with the apartment was also on its side, the bottom ripped open like the mattress.
The kitchen cupboards were all open, one of the doors hanging by a single hinge. The box of cereal I’d just purchased was dumped all over the counters and inside the sink. The refrigerator door had been left ajar, the contents inside already warm.
That meant it had been a while since they’d been there, right? It would have taken time for the milk to get to room temperature. I’d stood there frozen in shock for what felt like eternity.
Who could have done this? Why?
Yes, I lived in a rough neighborhood, but I had literally nothing of value to steal. It would have been a waste of time to rob me.
