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The path ahead is uncertain, but it will be mine to forge.
Chapter Forty
Indie
“THAT’S THE LAST OF the boxes, boogers.” Austin walks into the apartment, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” I sigh, taking one last look over the place.
My brother places his arm around me. “They're not coming back, you know? We waited far too long.”
“I know. I just figured, you know, if they ever did, we would be here”.
“They don’t deserve that.” He chuffs. “They don’t deserve us.”
The past two weeks have passed in a blur. Austin and I have been so busy packing up the apartment, looking online for a new one, and mapping out our way to California. It’s time to leave. It’s time to leave Boston and all its pain behind. It’s time to let my parents go and for Austin and me to move forward with our lives.
I’ve hired a minivan that holds only our clothes, a few keepsakes, and my photography gear. The rest we sold to the local thrift store and donated what we couldn’t sell. The money I made from pawning the diamond necklace that Roman gave me will fund our road trip to California and get us settled into our new apartment.
A shadow fills the space of the floor in front of me, and I smell him before I see him. My heart coughs and sputters, not yet healed from its last assault.
“What are you doing here?” I snarl at Roman standing in the open doorway, surprised to see him here. He’s respected my wishes and left me alone. I have not seen or heard of him in two weeks, apart from on the news last week when he won his latest court case, and it headlined for days. His perfect, handsome face blown up on my screen made it that much harder to try and get over him.
His eyes wander over the empty apartment before coming back to me and smiling so warmly I almost lose my standing. “I found out you were leaving. I wanted to come by and say goodbye.”
“I think we said that weeks ago.” I glare back at him, suddenly feeling the need to dramatize my anger. “How did you even find out?”
Austin clears his throat and looks as guilty as shit. “I’m just going to wait out by the van.” He rushes past Roman who is still standing by the door, and I don’t miss the subtle wink Roman gives him. Cocky bastard!
“Indie,” Roman says my name like its silk on his tongue as he takes a step into the apartment.
“You came to say goodbye. You’ve said it, so you need to leave. We are finished here.”
“Please, just hear me out,” he asks with that low sexy tone that makes my knees weaken at the very sound. God, make him stop talking. Make him stop being so irresistible.
“Why?” I stand, awkwardly placing my hands on my hips, then back by my side, deciding to finally cross them over my chest as if I’m shielding my heart. “Why, Roman? Don’t you think you’ve wasted enough of my time already?” I uncross my arms and walk past him to the door. He slams it shut and backs me up against it, caging me in with a hand at either side of my head.
His eyes stare into my soul, pleading with me to listen. “I’m sorry, but you need to hear me out.”
“So am I. I’m sorry I ever met you.” I stare straight back at him, my breaths so heavy I think I might faint. This proximity to him, it’s too much. It hurts too much.
“You have thirty seconds.” I duck under his arms and stand by the kitchen counter.
“Well, I wanted to give you this in person.”
“What’s this, a summons for breaking my contract, or is it your wedding invitation?”
He winces as though I stabbed him in the gut, and I may as well have. That was harsh. I won’t apologize, though.
“It’s a file on your parents. When you first started working for me, I had you investigated.”
I raise a brow. “Not surprising.”
“It’s protocol with all new employees,” he quickly corrects me.
“Right,” I say, drawing out the word slowly, not believing him for a second.
“Anyway, when I read about your parents and their sudden disappearances from your life, I was curious, so I dug deeper.” He walks over and hands me an envelope. “Inside here are most of the answers you’ve been looking for. Not all of them, but perhaps enough to allow you to move on with your life.”
