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“Be careful,” he whispers and takes a step away from me. I can see the fire in his eyes like he’s staring into my soul, and I want to give him all of me.
When Rex leaves, I shuffle around my room, unsure of what to pack. How am I supposed to know what to take with me to get out of town for a few days? How does one pack for ‘There’s a potential psycho looking to hurt my father’ kind of trip? I grab my phone and make sure it’s close to me in case I need to leave in a hurry. After getting a shirt and jeans on, I continue to toss clothes out of my closet and dresser onto the bed.
I’m in my head, fantasizing about Rex to stop myself from worrying about the mess Owen is into. I can’t believe that man is my father. He’s the absolute worst and by far the most inconsiderate person I know. He’s not supposed to put me in danger and then send his friend to take care of me.
Rex, on the other hand, always takes care of me. I can’t help but laugh to myself as I think he’s the one who should be called Daddy. The sound of someone knocking on the door makes me dash toward it, but I stop with my hand hovering over the doorknob. What if it’s the guy who hurt Owen?
I chuckle to myself. People looking to hurt people don’t knock on the door. It’s probably Rex, so I open it to see Drew instead.
Drew’s blonde hair is cut close to his scalp with a five o’clock shadow growing that gives him a bit of an edgier look than his typical boy-next-door appearance. He gives off ‘Come study with me’ vibes but actually wants to study. His light brown eyes are bloodshot, showing that he’s in desperate need of sleep.
“Yeah, Drew?” I ask with a mild hint of annoyance. My foot is behind the door to stop me from opening it up wider. I don’t want him to see that Rex isn’t here.
“I just wanted to apologize to you again for last night. The guy who was here, he just looked like a creep, you know?” He’s speaking like he already knows Rex left. That makes sense after last night. Why would he come back with him here?
“Rex isn’t a creep, and you apologized last night.”
“Listen.” Drew flashes me a grin. “It’s okay. You can be honest with me. I know he’s not your boyfriend or anything like that. The guy’s old enough to be your father.”
“What does it matter, Drew? I’m not interested in your opinion about my dating life.”
Drew pinches the bridge of his nose before smoothing his fingers over his brows. “Listen, I’m the super and your friend. I’m just trying to look out for you as well as the rest of the people living in this building. Imagine if it got around that some Peeping Tom is climbing in through bedroom windows.”
“Rex isn’t a criminal or a danger to the people in this building or to me. Despite your judgment, Rex and Iarein a relationship. I don’t need to prove it to you or anyone else. Please leave, Drew, and if you ever use that key to get into my apartment again without my permission–”
“I know. You’ll get me fired.”
“No, you’re going to wish I got you fired. Rex is going to deal with you–”
Drew scoffs, running his hand over his head. “What do you think Gramps is really going to do? You don’t need to be with someone like him. You should be with someone closer to your own age, you know?”
I roll my eyes and let out a sigh of exhaustion. This conversation is over. I move to close the door when Drew stops me, sliding his foot in the space to stop it from shutting completely.
“Don’t do that, Raina. I’ve been trying to be a friend to you ever since you moved in here. I just want the chance to see where this friendship can go.”
“Get your foot out of my door, and this friendship is officially over.”
“Raina–” The pitch in his voice stinks of desperation, but there’s something else behind it—anger. The whiteness of his knuckles as they grip the frame of the door tells me he’s trying to restrain himself, but I’m not sure how long that’s going to last.
“Drew, just leave before you do something you’ll regret.”
“Raina, I just want a chance, one fucking chance.”
“And you think this is the way to get that chance? Only after you broke into my apartment?” I ask him, trying to understand why he’s going this hard for a date.
“I was trying to protect you, to protect your innocence, your purity. It shouldn’t go to anyone else but me,” he reveals. However, the wideness of Drew’s eyes let me know he didn’t mean to say as much. His desires are speaking louder than logic.
Anxiety ignites, and now I really want him to leave. “It’s not going to happen, Drew.”
“Raina, Raina, Raina,” he says over and over again, barely above a whisper. “Please.”
“Leave Drew. Now,” I tell him again, trying to make my voice deeper than it is. Drew needs to take me seriously.
“I think the lady asked you to leave,” Rex’s voice booms from somewhere in the lobby.
The color drains from Drew’s face as he takes a step back from my door. Rex walks toward me with a tray of coffee in his hand and a bag of food in the other. He hands it to me before turning to face Drew, who’s trying to slink away.
Rex grabs him by the shoulder and yanks him back to the doorway. “I need you to promise Raina that you’ll never speak to her again right after you apologize.”
