Exit Wounds | Noah Sebastian

S I X

"Do you have references?" Noah asks and I can hear the smirk in his voice.

"You are unbelievable!" I tell him slamming my hands onto the steering wheel, causing a passing couple to turn and give me a curious look.

"Wait, wait," he says as if he can sense I'm about to hang up on him, probably because I am. "I'll send you the address and we can talk in person."

My phone buzzes and I look to see and address on my screen. "I got it, I'll see you soon."

I look at the address. It's in Murfreesboro, I work from home so it's not a real problem but I love living downtown. However, I can no longer afford to live downtown by myself.  I'm distracted driving there. I can't believe Caleb and I aren't together any longer. I was so sure we would be forever. I was so sure he wouldn't betray me, but I was wrong, so very wrong.

I double check the address, and the house I'm sitting in front of. House, not apartment.

I'm about to back out of the drive way when Noah steps out of the front door. He's wearing a pair of black joggers that hang low on his hips. He's shirtless, a shirt in his hands and he pushes the shirt over his head as he skips down the steps with his long legs.

"There she is," Noah greets, opening the car door for me, and I push my hair behind my ears before stepping out of the car.  There's still a sliver of skin showing where the shirt hasn't settled quite right that I can't take my eyes off of.

"I thought you had an apartment," I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest.  I watch his dark eyes follow the motion.

"I do," he says vaguely and continues staring at me. I move my hands to my hips. Noah mocks my actions but still doesn't explain any further.

"This isn't an apartment, Noah, it's a house!" I shout at him and yank open my car door.

Noah chuckles softly behind me and shuts my door. "Follow me." Noah walks me to the side of the house where there is a second door. He unlocks it with a key he pulls from his pocket and a set of stairs leads to the underground.

"Are you going to kill me? Finn knows where I am," I tell him as I cautiously follow him into what seems like a basement.

He throws a smile over his shoulder at me as I follow him into his dungeon.  Although, it's not a dungeon at all.  It's a finished basement decorated in natural tones, hardwood floors that cover the space, and a small kitchen.  The kitchen is modern and decorated in grays, the only pop of color the barstools at the counter, they're a dark blue velvet.  It matches a loveseat directly behind it.  Beyond the small living room/kitchen are two doors, a bathroom and bedroom I assume.  It's nice, clean, if a little cold.

"So, this is it. You have your own entrance, you can do laundry upstairs. I'll give you a key to that, too. Don't catch the place on fire. And rent is $500 a month, any questions?" Noah ticks off on his hands, and I wonder absently if he's ever yelled at anyone in his life.

"500? You could easily charge $1200 for this location," I mutter, I don't know why I'm trying to get him to charge me more, but I'm out of sorts.

"Do you want to pay $1200?"

"No, but I don't want this to be a hand out. Don't treat me as a friend, treat me as a tenant," I tell him running my hands over the back of the couch.  It was so soft.

"We aren't friends," he says simply. He watches me walk around the room and my face falls.

"Right, right. We aren't friends. I guess I'll take it, can I move in right now?"

He shrugs, "I don't see why not, rommie." I roll my eyes as I walk up to my car. 

He follows me up and stands next to me at my trunk, "What are you doing?"