Chapter Thirty-Two
Emery
Bursting through the lobby entrance, I head straight for the lifts and press the call button.
My mind is a foggy mess. I can barely put the pieces together of how I got back here.
“Hey! You!” Someone shouts from behind me. “You haven’t paid, bitch!”
The angry footsteps get louder, and I slap my hand over the button again.
More footsteps rush towards me from the other direction, and my chest tightens.
“Miss Grace. Are you okay?”
“I-I…”
“You need to back up right now,” a stronger voice says.
“She ran off without paying! She owes me fifty fucking dollars!”
“Miss Grace?” the man at my side asks again.
“I just need to get upstairs,” I say, my voice uneven and shaky.
“Are you hurt? Should I call Mr. Reed?”
“No!” I yell. “I mean, no. I’m fine. I just really need to get upstairs.”
There’s some more arguing behind me, but I’m too focussed on trying to keep myself together.
“Here, take your money and get the fuck out,” the strong voice says as the doors open, and I dive in.
I press the button for the penthouse, but nothing happens. I bite my lip, attempting to hold in the sob trying to break through and press the button again.
Looking up, both the man who had been beside me and the other man, the one with the strong voice, who turns out to be one of the security guards, stare at me through the open doors.
“Please,” I whisper.
I can only imagine what I look like.
Like a crazy person, most likely, but I don’t even care. I just need to get to the penthouse.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” the guard asks. “Do you need me to call anyone?”
“I’m fine,” I say.
He glances over me again before reaching in and pressing his key-card to the reader, and the button for the penthouse lights up.
“Please call down if you need anything, Miss,” he says, releasing his hold on the doors, and they finally slide shut.
I sag against the wall as the lift carries me up to Sebastian’s penthouse.
When the doors open, Shadow runs to me, but I don’t stop— my body trembling as I make my way through the penthouse on unsteady legs.
Pushing through the door to my room, I grab my backpack and start throwing the few things I have into it.
I can’t get the image of Sebastian out of my head.