My heart’s about to pound right out of my chest, and I can’t even deny how amazing that sounds. If relying on people—on Hunter—makes me weak, then so fucking be it. I’m so tired of doing this alone, and he’s standing right here in front of me, offering me a solution. Offering me safety. And care. Himself, even.
My salvation, indeed.
Chapter 24
Hunter
Theo’sapartmentisshockinglybare. It has no personality. Nothing of him exists here outside of his belongings.
“We should stay the night and go back home tomorrow.”
He shakes his head. “We can go back tonight. I’ll drive so you can sleep.”
“It’s not a big deal. We need the rest. We don’t need to rush back.”
Dropping his head, he looks at his feet. “Okay, then let me pay for a hotel. There are cheap ones.”
What in the world is happening right now? “Why would we get a hotel?”
Theo’s head shoots up. “My room is a disaster, Hunter. It’s gross. I haven’t cleaned in God knows how long. I haven’t washed the sheets in… I don’t know. I can’t let you sleep in there.”
Getting a hotel is easier for him than washing sheets? And worse, he thinks the state of his apartment is gonna scare me off or gross me out. “Do you have a washer and dryer?”
His eyebrows arch. “What?”
“A washer and dryer.”
“The building does. In the basement. I don’t.”
Stepping closer to him, I offer a soft smile. “I’m sure it’s really hard to get down there when you’re having a tough time. It’s no big deal, though. Can you leave stuff unattended, or will it be stolen?”
“What?” he asks again, his nose scrunching in confusion.
“If I take your sheets and blankets to the washer, can I leave them down there and swap them later, or will someone steal them?”
Understanding lights up his face. “They’d be fine.”
“Okay, great. Let’s go strip the bed, and I’ll take them down.”
His mouth opens and closes. “You can’t just… wash my bedsheets.”
“Why not?” It’s clear he doesn’t have an answer for that. “I think you’re waiting for me to judge you. I won’t. You’ve been in survival mode. Hell, youarein survival mode. Let me help you. I want to.”
After a tense few seconds, his shoulders slump. “Okay. Yes.”
Theo reluctantly leads me to his bedroom, and when he pushes the door open, it becomes clear that he’s much harder onhimself than he needs to be. It smells a little stuffy, but not bad. Just stale.
There are food wrappers beside the bed and empty water bottles on the floor. His clothes are in baskets.
“They’re clean,” he says softly, eyes back on the ground.
“That’s…”
“Awful, I know.”
“No. It’s amazing, Theo.”
He stands there silently before shaking his head. “You don’t have to flatter me. I know it fucking sucks.”
