The entire ordeal of court and getting moved takes all day, and by the time I make my cot and lie down on the rack it’s dark out.
I stretch out and close my eyes and the first thing I see is her. Only this time there’s no look of horror, only a sweet smile just for me.
It’s going to be a long five years.
Three
LIZZY
“There’s really no rent?” I ask as I stand in the three-bedroom home. The house is so new I can I can still smell fresh paint. It doesn’t look like anyone has lived here, but there’s furniture in all the rooms.
“Yep. You just have to keep the place up while the owner is working abroad.” The man says with a shrug of his shoulders. He’s not a big guy, but he’s built. It put me a little on edge when I got here, but he gave me space as if he knew I needed it.
“You checked out so you were an easy pick. You’ve never been in trouble and you’re trying to put yourself through school. The owner figured you’d respect the place,” he adds, probably because of the look on my face. I’m not buying it.
He points to the papers on the counter, which I already read when they were emailed to me yesterday. A girl who worked at the front desk of the hotel I was staying in gave me his number. She told me if I was looking for something more permanent I should give the number a call.
Within seconds of making the call he emailed everything about the house along with guidelines to staying in the home. The rules the owner had were simple. Always keep the door locked and the alarm on even when I was home. No guys or overnight guests were allowed over, which was an odd request but wouldn't be a problem. I plan on staying away from men altogether.
There’s really nothing to think over about the contract. There isn’t much of an option at this point if I want to stay close to the city for school, and I really don’t want to go home. I also don’t want to use the money I’ve been given to sue the Conner family. Apparently I can still file a civil suit if I want to. The lawyer who advised me to told me to take what the Conners offered because I’d never get more. I didn’t want the money, I wanted an innocent man out of jail.
“You can use the SUV in the garage too,” Mike, the guy showing me the place, adds. I look at him like he’s crazy and he shrugs. “It’s not good for cars to sit for long periods of time. They need to be driven, and it’s my understanding you don’t have a car?” He raises an eyebrow at me.
“I don’t. I sold it, but how did you—"
He cuts me off. “I saw you pull up in a cab.”
“Oh yeah, right,” I say as I nod. “I’ll take it.”
I’m sick of staying at the small hotel where I’ve been since Carrie kicked me out. It was overpriced, but it was in a safe area and I hated I had to go. Not that I hadn’t seen that coming. I knew before I got home later that night after dealing with the cops that she’d kick me out. The past month has been hard, and I can’t imagine what it’s been like for Rocco.
My giant guardian angel.
He’s never far from my mind because he saved me and now he’s paying the price. My heart aches every time I think about him and I can’t seem to stop. I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that it went past the guilt and into a longing for him as well.
The same day that everything happened I was thinking about people who know the instant they meet that they’ve met their soulmate. All hell might have broken loose when he came into my life, but the moment his dark eyes locked with mine I knew people weren’t lying.
Mike lets out a sigh of relief when I agree to take the place. He pulls out a pen that reads LR Construction from his shirt pocket and hands it to me.
“You help build this place? It’s so nice, it looks brand new,” I say as I sign on the dotted line.
“Yeah.” I hear a touch of sadness in his voice and I glance up at him. He’s looking around the place as if he’s remembering things about it.
“Why build a home and then not enjoy it?” I hand him back his pen and his copy of the agreement.
“Sometimes life is a fucking bitch,” he says as he shakes his head in disgust. It makes me wonder what happened here.
“Isn’t that the truth,” I mumble in agreement. Life really could be messed up.