Uncle Glen nodded as he picked up the remote. “Good night, kiddo.”
She headed upstairs, her body feeling ten times heavier with every step. The second she stepped into the bathroom, she turned on the shower, letting the steam fill the space as she peeled off her clothes. The hot water felt like heaven against her sore muscles, washing away the tension of the day.
By the time she finally crawled into bed, she could hardly keep her eyes open. But as her body melted into the mattress, her mind again drifted back to the stranger.
Her first instinct towards him had been cautious, like a warning in her gut. But now, staring at the ceiling in the dark, a different thought crept in.
What if he needed help? What if he wasn’t dangerous, just lost?
Her job was to help people. To provide a safe space for those who needed it. Maybe, hopefully, if he really needed something, he would come back.
She let that thought settle as her eyes fluttered shut, exhaustion finally winning. Tomorrow would be another long day.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Charley stood in her new apartment, taking in the space that was quickly becoming her own. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom corner unit was perfect. It was cozy and filled with natural light from all the windows. It also had two balconies, one off the living room and the other off the master bedroom, that gave her a gorgeous view of the beach across the street.
Her aunt and uncle bustled around the apartment, unpacking boxes and setting up furniture. Her aunt was tackling the kitchen, wiping down all the cabinets before loading them with Charley’s things. Her uncle was in the living room assembling a bookshelf.
Charley walked into her bedroom, grabbed a box of clothes on the way, and went to the walk-in closet.
The week had passed quickly and, thankfully, was uneventful, leaving her to fully concentrate on getting things done so she could have the weekend to relax a bit and move into her place. She was also anticipating Pierce’s call. He was supposed to reach out sometime after he got off work.
She set the box down and started putting the shorts and leggings away in the drawers. Once the box was empty, she broke it down and added it to the growing pile of cardboard sitting just outside the bedroom door. Maybe a trip to the dumpster was in order.
She walked over to the small island that separated the kitchen from the living room and leaned against the counter. She tried to keep from laughing but failed as she watched her aunt fight with a roll of drawer liner.
“You hush over there unless you want to come finish wrestling this demon paper,” Aunt Bea told Charley as she gave her a playful glare.
“Wrestling with demon paper isn’t my forte,” Charley joked back.
Her aunt laughed, then asked, “Are you all done in your room?”
Charley nodded. “Yep. I was just checking if you have any empty boxes. I’m going to make a dumpster run.”
“Nope. Everything I had is in the pile by your bedroom.”
“Well, while you finish your wrestling match, I’m going to run the boxes down to the dumpster.”
“Need any help, kiddo?” her uncle called out from behind her, peering up from the floor where he was wrestling a stubborn bookshelf panel into place as if it had personally offended him.
“No, I think I can handle it,” she said, walking over and picking up the stack of cardboard.
Charley shifted the flattened boxes in her arms, adjusting the sharp corners so they didn’t dig into her ribs. The stack was a little taller than it probably should’ve been, but she wasn’t about to make two trips to the dumpster.
“I’ll be back,” she called over her shoulder as she walked toward the door.
“Make it quick before your aunt decides I’m the next one wrestling with that demon paper,” her uncle joked.
“Keep it up, and you’ll be the next thing I pin down,” Aunt Bea called out, looking in his direction with a playful glare.
Uncle Glen chuckled. “Well, now I’m just curious what happens if I keep mouthing off on purpose.”
Charley gagged dramatically. “And I’m suddenly curious how fast I can leave this apartment.”
Before she closed the door behind her, she heard her aunt and uncle laughing.
Carrying the stack of boxes the best she could without dropping them, Charley headed down the three flights of stairs. Midway down, she was chastising herself for not taking the elevator. As soon as she hit the parking lot, the bright sun hit her face, blinding her. She squinted against the glare and adjusted the boxes in her arms that were becoming a royal pain in the ass. She quickly made her way across the pavement toward the dumpster.
