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And this relationship is well and truly dead.
Once I get far enough away from the apartment complex that I’m sure Owen won’t be able to reach me, I pull over to the side of the road and lean back in my seat, closing my eyes.
My heart is still thundering in my ears, my hands are shaking and my chest heaves with each breath that saws in and out of my lungs.
Fuck me.
That was worse than I could have ever imagined.
God, I still need to figure out where the hell I’m going to sleep tonight.
My phone rings and I peel open my eyes, scowling at my phone rattling around in the cupholder for a second before grabbing it. I scan the screen and sigh.
“Hey, Calvin,” I answer, relaxing into my seat a little more. “You’re burning the midnight oil tonight.”
He scoffs. “I could say the same to you and I’m not the one that needs to get up in a few hours.”
“Yeah,” I sigh, the events of the day catching up to me all at once. “Well, it’s been an interesting night.”
“You okay?”
I suck in a breath and lean my head back against the seat as I massage my temple. “Uh…yeah. Just need to find a place to crash.”
“What’s wrong with your apartment?” Calvin’s voice is suddenly much more alert and I don’t have the energy to try and come up with a lie so I spill everything.
He’s quiet as he listens to all that I’ve been through in the last twenty-four hours and when I’m finished, he lets out a little hum. “Meet me at the bakery.”
I glance at my watch. “Right now?”
“Yes. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hangs up before I can say anything else and I pull the phone away from my ear, staring at the screen as my brain tries to process why he could possibly want me to meet him over there now.
It’s not like I won’t be there in a few hours anyway.
Couldn’t whatever it is wait?
Aw, hell.
Whatever.
I don’t have the energy to argue or fight about it so I just won’t.
The drive to the bakery passes in a blur and when I pull into the alley, Calvin is leaning back against the driver’s side door of his car, twirling a set of keys around his pointer finger. When he sees me, he waves and pushes off the car as I park the Jeep behind him.
“What was so urgent, Calvin?” I ask, climbing out from behind the wheel. He motions to a set of stairs that leads to the upper floor of the bakery. I’ve only been up there a few times but it’s just storage.
“Need to show you something.”
Curious, and maybe a little delirious at this point, I follow behind him as he climbs the stairs and when we stop on the small landing at the top, he unlocks the door and shoves it open.
I step inside and my jaw drops.
I’d always gone up the stairs located inside the bakery when I came up to the second floor to get something from the small storage room but this isn’t storage at all.
It’s an apartment.
Immediately inside the door is a cute little L-shaped kitchen with perfectly worn white cabinets and an antique fridge that gives the place character. In the middle of the room, is a small square table with two dining chairs and beyond that, through a large, cased opening, is a cozy little living room. The back wall is brick with large windows that overlook the city and I’m in love. There is a large brown leather sofa in the middle of the room that looks like you could just sink into it, a white faux fur rug that I want to feel beneath my feet and a TV sitting on an old steamer trunk. To my left is a hallway but it’s too dark for me to see anything.
“What’s this for?”
