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“Oh my god!” I covered my mouth and ran to the bathroom just in time to throw up in the toilet. He’d been watching me. My head spun and dots danced behind my eyes as my blood boiled with anger and humiliation. He’d watched me as I changed, slept, danced around, and as I took care of my otherneeds.
Martin’s phone rang from the other room, and I sighed with relief. I needed a few minutes to collect myself. I stood up and went to the sink and washed out my mouth. My bathroom stuff was packed away in boxes still, so I just made do with what I had for the moment.
“I’m on my way.” I heard Martin speaking into the phone when I went back into the living room.
“Where are you going?” I moved back to the kitchen to unload my cookware so I could make dinner.
“To bail Hunter out of jail.”
I jerked around to look at Martin quickly. “What?”
“I need to go bail Hunter out of jail because he punched your apartment manager.”
“Oh god.” I groaned, crossing my arms over my stomach, feeling like I was going to throw up again. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. I’ll go get him, Charley. Lock the door behind me.”
I nodded and swallowed hard. My emotions were a riot, and I didn’t know how to process everything I was feeling. Anger because Clint had violated my privacy and forced this whole situation in the first place, regret that Hunter was now in trouble because of the situation, embarrassment because Clint had seen me in various stages of undress, and possibly even more.
Once Martin left the apartment, I sat down on the floor and grabbed my stuffed white tiger. He was my biggest stuffie, and the best one for cuddling when I was upset. I held him close as I cried into his soft black and white fur. Humiliation burned in my chest, knowing someone had violated my privacy to that extent. But even worse, I felt like I’d gotten Hunter in trouble. He defended me and was paying the price for it.
My apartment was still mostly empty except for the boxes that Martin and Hunter had already dropped off. I went for my stuffies because I needed the comfort of having them nearby. I held Zippy, my stuffed zebra, close to my chest. He was by far my favorite stuffie and my oldest.
“Zip, what am going to do? I just wanted to get away from Clint.”
I sighed and pulled him closer, basking in the comfort that the large stuffie provided. “I don’t know if they’ll be coming back tonight. Might as well get to unpacking and change into my pajamas. We might be sleeping on the floor tonight, Zippy. Not that I don’t deserve it for getting Hunter arrested. I hope they let him go tonight.”
I set Zippy on the counter in the kitchen and started stocking my cabinets. Most of the food I had on hand was staples and seasonings. I’d been buying only a few days of groceries at a time to prepare for the move.
After the boxes in the kitchen were all emptied and the dishes were put away, I moved on to the boxes that were marked for my bedroom.
I looked at the small single bedroom that had a large walk-in closet that also housed the stackable washer and dryer. It was perfect, but I didn’t have much furniture to fill the space. I fished my pajamas out of the box and put them on. The black and white footie pajamas had a hood on them that had ears on them, and I had a removable tail that was held on by velcro. I bought the pajamas because I love zebras and because I matched my best friend Zippy.
“We are going to need some new furniture, Zippy.” I picked him up from the counter in the kitchen and my tablet from my backpack. “Come help me choose. We can start planning on what to buy first.”
I sat down cross-legged in the living room with Zippy in my lap as I looked at new furniture online. My daybed had served as my couch in my other apartment, so I would need a new couch. My dresser served as my TV stand, so I would need one of those as well. I had a little nook in my kitchen so I could finally have a table to eat at, and the idea of eating on a card table was depressing.
“I have only a bit of savings, so most of what we need will have to wait, Zip, but it’s fun to plan.”
“Who are you talking to?”
I gasped, glancing up to see Hunter standing inside my front door. I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts and plans for the new chapter of my life that I didn’t hear him come in.
