“Saw you in the paper, and you looked like you hadn’t aged a day. I tried to look at your eyes and see if I could determine where the fuck your head was at. Do you know what’s been going through my mind since you left? Do you even fucking care?” He furrowed both brows.
Tears built in my eyes, but I wasn’t about to allow them to fall. Instead, I sniffed in a deep breath and pushed them back.
“What do you think, Lock? Hmm?”
“I’m not sure what to even fucking think. But shit don’t feel right, and it don’t make no sense to me. You left for what? Pretended to be kidnapped so you could start a new life?” To hear that he wasn’t buying into the bullshit made my heart soar.
He wasn’t even family and me taking up and leaving seemed to bother him. I couldn’t tell him the truth, because of how things had changed, but it was good to know that someone wasn’t feeding into the obvious.
“My own father believes I’m capable of it, so why don’t you?” I queried.
He squinted and brought his hand to his chin. He was thinking. Still handsome as ever, I was under his scrutiny and it reminded me of when we were together.
“I just don’t buy it. I remember that night, every fucking detail. And shit don’t seem right. Not you being taken, and thenyou suddenly with this dude, Roth. I ain’t convinced because I know that you loved me, unless that was all a lie.”
“It wasn’t,” I quickly responded.
I didn’t want him to think that anything between us was fabricated. He meant something. We meant something.
“So, talk to me, tell me what happened to you.” He prodded.
“I can’t,” I countered, shaking my head. “You came here for a house, right?” I sighed and grabbed his file. “Three bedrooms, two car garage in a quiet neighborhood with a great school district. This doesn’t sound like a bachelor pad.” I lifted a brow and our eyes met across my desk.
He grew uncomfortable, shifting in the chair so that he could arch himself forward. His troubling stare left me uneasy, queasy even. My stomach immediately started to flip flop anxiously.
“It’s for me, and Alba,” he said simply.
My pulse quickened simultaneously with my heart lurching. I really shouldn’t have been surprised. Trying to remain unreactive, I glanced down at the paper and took in a deep breath.
“Wow. Of course it is,” I muttered. “So, how long did it take for you two to get together before I was gone? A day, a couple of hours.” I toyed with him, seriously sarcastic.
“You sitting there questioning me but can’t give me the same courtesy. The fuck is that, Harbor? I don’t owe you shit! You left!” He spat, his temper rising as he abruptly stood.
“You’re right.” I whispered. “Maybe you should just… find another realtor.” I suggested.
“I’m already here. And I need to find a house… asap.” He noted.
“Fine. I have a couple of properties that I can show you.” He canvassed me when I stood and walked around the desk. “You can follow behind my car.”
Deviance was my driver, and Lock tailed me in his black Dodge Charger. We arrived at the first location and Deviance got out to open my door for me. He grilled Lock like he didn’t trust him as he got out of the car parked in the circle drive. Looking around, Lock soaked in the property as he slammed his driver’s door shut. I stood on the path that walked us to the house and he met up with me there.
“Damn, this is… some king shit.” Lock breathed.
He had no clue. This place didn’t even compare to the opulence that was Frequency’s home. That shit was like a castle in the middle of nowhere. Lock was still staring on as we approached the home together. I put my code into the lock hanging from the doorknob and entered the alarm code once we were inside. Shoving the door open, I let Lock wander inside and scope the place out before I trailed behind him. Deviance remained standing at the car, and I closed the door behind us.
“This is actually four bedrooms, but it is in the price range you are looking at.” I guided him through, giving him a detailed tour of the home.
Lock hung onto my every word. For a minute there it felt like we were alone in the world. Just me and him, and I remembered the vibe and how he made me feel. It was easy to get caught up in that with him looking basically the same. I was the one that felt like I had aged. A year off the grid felt like ten. When we reached the kitchen, which I always liked to save for last, we stopped at the counters and soaked it all in together.
“This place is actually pretty perfect,” Lock declared. “Better than all the other shit we’ve been looking at.”
“Great. Make me an offer and it’s yours,” I told him, forcing a smile on my lips.
I was doing my best to keep it professional, but I was growing more indignant by the second and I knew I had to retreat. It didn’t matter the time that had passed. Lock and I were togetherfor two years, that counted for something. Bowing my head, I nodded and remained cool as a fucking cucumber. He stopped and took me in.
“Tell me something… are you happy?” He surprised me with his question, practically reading my mind.
This conversation was going to be on repeat until I gave him something
