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“Oh, Trudy, you’re too much.” I manage to avoid her grasp,just, as I go toward Sonia’s office.
The blinds are drawn, which is unusual for her. When Sonia’s in her office, she’s the open-door type. Anyone can stop in to ask a question or say hello. So, her needing privacy is…different.
However, when I approach the door, I can tell it hasn’t been shut all the way. Probably an oversight.
Inside, she is talking to someone with an urgency in her voice I had never heard before. Something is wrong.
“I gave you double last month because I could, not because that’s going to be the norm.” Her voice trembles.
I peek in through the crack in the door and spot her at the desk, her head resting in her hand, office phone pressed to her ear. Her crisp, slicked-back bun has tumbled completely out of control, reminding me of the night I met her. Long ribbons of dark hair. Gorgeous.
“Well, I can’t get you that much this month. I just can’t… I know the interest is accruing, I’m well aware.”
My heart sinks. So, she’s got some debts to pay. I wonder what for.
“You’re going to have to be happy with what I already wired you. That’s all there is this month.”
From the sounds of it, this isn’t normal debt. Sounds like she’s dealing with something much seedier than that.
Debt collectors can annoy you with phone calls and by mail. But unregulated debt…who knows what lengths these people are willing to go to get her to pay up.
“Fine. Fine…” She scribbles something on a notepad. “Yes. I got it all down. Mhm.” Her voice pitches higher and higher. “Thank you for–” She stops short, pulls the phone away from her ear, and looks at the receiver. With a heavy sigh, she hangs up the phone and droops over herself.
Seconds later, she’s crying.
I feel like a creep watching her, just like I always seem to do. But I can’t just let her sit there and cry.
She must feel so alone.
And I can’t stand the thought of that. Not when she’s such a wonderful human.
I rap on the door.
Sonia’s head shoots up, tears staining her cheeks, andwhen our eyes meet, she flushes even harder. “Oh, my god, Edwin–”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt.”Yeah, right.“Are you alright?”
Sonia looks at the phone, then back at me. She tries to speak, but all that comes out is a sob.
I go to her without thinking, get to my knees, wrap my arms around her, and pull her down into my chest as tight as I can.
Sonia cries into my neck.
All her emotions quake through my body. “Shhh…it’s alright. Everything will be alright.”
I might not know the details of her circumstances. But I know it will all be alright. Because as long as I’m around, I’ll never let anything bad happen to Sonia. It’s something coded into the back of my brain ever since I saw her at the masquerade ball. Before I even knew her name.
I must keep her safe. I must keep her from harm.
Because even if I never have her, whether it be in my bed or somewhere deeper and more intimate, Sonia will always be mine in some way.
I can’t explain why. I just know.
“How much–” She hiccups. “How much did you hear?”
I push away a tear that escapes her eye, racing to reach her chin at a breakneck speed. “Just the tail end there.”
Sonia shuts her eyes tight.
