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Great. She’d basically a
“I’ll be seeing you guys tomorrow then.” Chait made his way to the front door.
“Hey, Chait. Thanks so much for doing this.” Tessa opened the door to let him through.
“No problem. Same thing tomorrow?”
She smiled. “I’ll text you when my IQ returns to normal and I can think clearly again.”
“Goodnight,” he told her, then nodded at me.
I nodded back. Tessa closed the door and headed toward the hallway. “I’m going to bed. Will you set the alarm?”
“Sure.”
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Goodnight, Hayden.” I’d swear there was something more in her eyes, like she wanted to stay in my room with me. Sadly, I was too catatonic to pursue it.
* * * *
By the end of Wednesday, Tessa and I had practiced until we could easily do everything Chait asked. I would’ve been more impressed though if Chait had asked for something more complex — like levitating my own body. But at least we managed the easy stuff. And we weren’t as exhausted when he left.
I wanted to keep an eye on Tessa at all times, but I needed to delay being discovered as long as possible. Luckily, David or Rena didn’t return to Delia’s. So each night, I hung out while Tessa worked, then followed her home after her shift and parked my car around the corner. She’d sleep with Bree and I’d hide in her room until the next morning when we’d confirm her parents weren’t around.
I would’ve preferred Tessa stay in her room with me, but I let her have her space. It went against my impulses and I hated it. But pressing her to be with me would alienate her and I’d have to sleep at my own house. Without her. I’d be even more miserable. Worse, I’d worry about her.
Even if she lay next to me, it’s not like she would’ve let me do anything. And that would drive me nuts. As if her scent all over the bedding didn’t already drive me half mad.
I intended to see what she was doing Friday night when she informed me she had to work. I began to hate Delia’s, because I had to share her with all her customers.
Yep, I needed to go to that party Saturday night to lose myself with some willing girls. Would Tessa be okay while I was gone? Maybe I’d leave for only a couple hours, just to prove I could be away from her.
I knew there’d come a time when we’d be in danger, but that time wasn’t now. She was still a newbie and no one expected her to make any decisions. Yet.
Friday night at Delia’s was uneventful. Chait showed up but he was alone and didn’t stay long. We went to her house after her shift then said good night and slept in our usual spots.
“We have to find a way to run every day,” I said as we stretched against the chain link fence early Saturday morning.
“You could but I don’t think I can. Hard to do when you’re raising a child. They have needs, like eating and getting to school.” Tessa snorted. I usually hated it when girls did that. So unfeminine. But with Tessa, it was cute and endearing.
“Where is Bree now?” I asked.
“My mom’s watching her. Correction. My mom was in her room with the door closed while Bree sat alone in front of the TV.”
I wasn’t touching that. But I figured it was less about watching TV and more about the mom shutting out her child. “What time does Bree usually get up? Around seven, right?”
“Usually earlier, why?”
“We could do our run every morning before she wakes up, while your parents are still there. We’d have to get up pretty early but it’d be worth it.”
Tessa stopped stretching to stare. “I hate you. I really, really hate you.”
I laughed.
“Thank God that won’t work. These days, my parents are never home, not even early morning.”
At least we could run on the weekends. “That’s enough warm up. C’mon. Let’s run.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Tessa
“Could we do a drive-by and check on Bree before we train?” I asked Hayden. We’d pla
“You think something’s wrong?” Hayden asked. “You seem more worried about her lately.”
“I always thought that deep down, my mom loved us. Now that I know better, it feels wrong to leave Bree with her so much. Not that I think she’s in danger or anything but…”
“You don’t want her around the black hole of emptiness. It’s not really out of our way and it’s not like we’re in a hurry.” He signaled to turn and doubled back. “She can come with us. I bet she’d have a blast watching us spar. Maybe I could teach her a couple defense moves.”
“Really?”
“Sure, why not? She’s a good kid. If she gets in our way or needs some attention, you’d probably appreciate the break from me whipping your ass anyway.” He snickered.
I wondered how it could feel so right with Hayden and yet be so wrong. It was a constant struggle, every hour, every minute to keep my feelings in check.
Not that I was wi
I hoped he suffered as much as I did. But as smoothly as he’d handled things all week, I figured he’d gotten past the stage of wanting to sleep with me. He probably realized that he could never provide for my needs or Bree’s and decided not to hit on me anymore. We’d settled into a routine and got along well. That was it. I knew he liked me and, if I threw myself at him, Hayden being Hayden, he probably wouldn’t refuse.
I told myself it was good that he wasn’t coming on to me anymore.
“Here we are.” Hayden exited the car with me tagging behind.
Mom was in the kitchen cooking, but I didn’t see Bree. A television blared from somewhere, but since the one in the living room was off, the noise probably came from the one in Bree’s room.
“Hi, sweetie,” Mom called out. She had been more absent than ever these past few days. In fact, I hadn’t seen her since our confrontation over Zoe. She’d been staying out later, if she came home at all, and slept in until after I’d gone to school. By the way she greeted me, our fight the other day had been swept under the rug. Back to business as usual.
“Hi.” I set my purse on the counter.
“Oh, hi, Hayden.” She returned to stirring something in a pot that smelled like beef stew. No gushing over him this time. She probably realized that trying to impress someone who’d witnessed our earlier conversation would be impossible. Good. “I wasn’t sure what you were doing tonight and the babysitter has plans, so I arranged a sleepover for Bree at Jackie’s house.”
“Okay, thanks.” Why was I thanking her for being responsible for her own child? “I was going to take her to Hayden’s house with me now. What time is the sleepover?”
“Five. Can you drop her off?”
“Sure.”
“We could bring her pajamas and stuff with us now,” Hayden said. “Hang out at my place for a bit, then maybe go to the park or go swimming. Later on, we’ll drop her off at Jackie’s straight from my house.”
Wow. I wanted to kiss him. “That sounds perfect. I’ll get our stuff.” I turned to go then stopped abruptly. “Uhm, Mom? I haven’t seen Dad in over a week. Does he still live here?”
My mom laughed, a nervous high-pitched noise. “Of course. Why would you ask that?” She hadn’t even glanced over her shoulder to make eye contact with me or Hayden.
I didn’t bother answering. Motioning for Hayden to come, I went to Bree’s room. Something told me he’d rather follow me than be alone with my mother.
Bree squeaked in delight when she saw Hayden. Apparently, whatever made him irresistible to women didn’t discriminate against age. She eagerly gathered her things and we left.
At Hayden’s mansion, he led us down the endless corridor to the gym. He swung the door open and switched on the light. My mouth fell open. The humungous room could fit my entire house inside it. Mirrors covered the majority of the wall space. In the far corner were weights and near that, a punching bag. Along the next wall were hung dumbbells, ropes, nunchucks and some long bands — I couldn’t fathom their use. In another corner sat exercise machines in pairs, from treadmills to ellipticals. In the center were yards and yards of space to spar, with a large, thick mat right in the middle.