"Okay, there's no way you're living here," Jill said, coming out of the bathroom.
"We've been here approximately 30 seconds, what's the problem now?" I asked, hands on my hips. Jill, Katie, Leah and I had finally picked a time to go tour through some apartments that Katie was thinking of moving into, and so far Jill had vetoed every single one. We'd barely just stepped into this place so how could she already write off? I mean, okay, it wasn't the best looking apartment we'd seen today, but come on. At least let everyone walk through the doorway before rejecting it entirely.
"Water damage on the ceiling," she said, arms crossed, daring me to argue. "Disgusting. And if the landlord can't be bothered to deal with the problem before showing this apartment, he's definitely not going to help with anything else that comes up while Katie is living here. Let's not waste any time and move on to the next one."
Leah groaned behind me and Katie shot me a look of exhaustion. Apartment hunting sounded fun in theory, and it was certainly interesting to click through listings online and see pictures, but...actually having to traipse through different buildings, especially on a hot sunny day, was definitely taking its toll. Especially since, as much as I hated to admit it, Jill had been correct about all the apartments so far. They were all pretty gross or not ideal for Katie. Or both.
"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" she asked Leah, shooting her a narrowed eyed look.
"'Course not," she grinned, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You could never bore me. Touring a thousand apartments however..."
"Do you want Katie to live in a moldy cardboard box? It's a necessary evil," Jill said, taking the Leah's hand that hung off her shoulder and leading her out of the tiny apartment. "Come on you two, we still have a few more places to hit so hurry up; this is my only day off this week and Leah and I have plans tonight, don't waste my time by standing around ogling a hopeless case."
Katie and I locked eyes and laughed. Sure, Jill was a little over the top, but you had to appreciate her unique way of showing affection. We followed them out and down the hall.
"She's right. Noah and I have plans to meet up so it'd be nice to finish up earlier rather than later," Katie said, chewing on her pinky nail.
"You don't seem very enthusiastic about apartment hunting," I remarked. She had seemed slightly more chipper this morning, but by now her feet were dragging and with every apartment we visited she looked more and more defeated.
"I know. It's just stressful when I don't make that much, so I can't exactly afford a great place. It's a bit discouraging seeing all these gross apartments are within my budget and nothing else," she said. I noticed her other nails were looked rather ragged.
I linked my arm through hers, effectively stopping her nervous nail biting. "Come on! So these first ones weren't great, but that doesn't mean there isn't a perfect apartment out there for you. We just have to keep looking. And besides, you still have time before school starts so it's not like you need to find a place today. You can always find a room mate too, which could help with finding a better place with a bigger budget."
"I don't know..." she didn't seem convinced. Even I had to admit, I was pretty worn down from all the visits myself and it wasn't even for me. Staying at Blade's house was starting to look pretty good.
"Come ON you guys, stop walking so slow or else we'll never be finished in time," Jill called back to us.
"Maybe we should take a break?" Leah offered as they waited for us to catch up to them at the elevator. "Grab a cold drink or some ice cream before we hit the next ones?"
"Nuh uh. They want snacks? They should have brought some along. We are going to get this done now," Jill said firmly, flicking her long ponytail back. "Welcome to the real world, kids. It fucking sucks. Enjoy."
"We aren't hungry," Katie said hurriedly, ever trying to keep the peace. The elevator dinged and we piled on.
"Maybe you should have been a drill sergeant, Jill," I said, hitting the button for the ground floor. "You certainly have the ability to order people around and be strict as hell."
"Katie asked for my help and that's what I'm trying to do. Not all of us get to live with our rich boyfriends," she shot back.
"Jill!" Katie cried, looking offended for me.
"Don't listen to her, she gets cranky when looking at real estate," Leah said, shooting me an apologetic look. Her comment didn't bother me as much as it usually would have; after all, it wasn't like she was wrong.
"I do not!"
"Yeah, babe, you do," Leah laughed. "You found us a great place, but it was a bit of a rocky road to get there; lots of late nights online and constant apartment tours and irritation with shady landlords and substandard living conditions. Not to mention, the outdated and ugly interior design."
"Excuse me, but who the hell decided to put carpet in the bathroom and the kitchen? Not only was it ugly as sin, but it should be a serious health code violation," she said with a shudder. "Honestly, some people shouldn't own buildings when they have zero taste."
Leah pecked her on the cheek and flashed her a dimpled smile. "I know. Truly horrifying."
Jill just bumped her with her hip, fighting a smile. "Shut up."
"Make me," Leah said, bumping her back. The elevator dinged again and the doors slide open to the ground floor.
"Maybe later," Jill said, as they followed Katie and I out into the main floor. "So Katie, where was the next place?"
*********
"My feet are killing me," I groaned. Jill and Leah had left once we had seen all the apartments on Katie's list--none were viable contenders--so Katie and I decided to grab some ice cream while we waited for Noah to show up. It had been a long hot day of walking around since the early hours of the morning, and considering we got nothing in return for our efforts, it just made the soreness of my feet feel even worse. Even now that we were sitting outside an ice cream shop at one of their tables, under the blissful shade of an umbrella, my feet still ached as if I were still walking around on them. Maybe flip flops weren't a good choice.
"I didn't expect apartment hunting to be this hard," Katie admitted, licking some melted mint ice cream off the side of her cone that had escaped. "Maybe you were right; I think I'm going to have to deal with finding a room mate, instead of living alone. Might be easier to find something more livable."
"You can try looking for both, see what comes up first as a better option," I said, spooning some of my brownie sundae into my mouth. It was so delicious and sweet, and most importantly right now, refreshing. Who needed orgasms when brownie sundaes existed?
"I guess," she sighed.
"You guess?" I asked, spoon paused halfway to my mouth. "Are you having second thoughts about moving out?"
"No! It's just more stressful than I anticipated and the idea of living with a stranger isn't exactly comforting," she said, forcing a smile.
"You lived with me at school and you didn't know me."
"Okay, true. But I knew Jill and she was also in the same room so it wasn't as scary, even if she was at the time."
I laughed. Jill definitely wasn't the ideal room mate last year, that's for sure. "Well it's kind of the same thing, right? You might befriend whoever you end up living with, you never know."
"Maybe. It's too bad I can't live with you or any of our other friends, it would make things a lot simpler and less terrifying. What if I move in with a murderer?"
"Just make sure to get on their good side, and then they'll leave you alone. Hell, they might make things easier for you by taking out the people who get in your way," I said, grinning. "Gotta find the silver lining, Katie. Exploit every opportunity that comes your way."
"Oh yes, I'll be sure to befriend every murderer I meet from now on," she giggled.
"What did I just walk in on?" Noah asked, stopping at our table, eyebrows high.
"Just a regular girly chat," I replied, spooning more ice cream into my mouth. Mmmmm.
"Uh-huh. For the record, if you're befriending murderers, I'd like you both to remember I have never done anything wrong and if I have, I'm very sorry and hope you can forgive me."
"Do you want some ice cream?" Katie said instead, neither confirming nor denying whether he was going to be a potential target for murder. That's my girl; gotta keep boys on their toes.
"Nah, I'm good," he said, sinking down into the chair next to her. "I've eaten so much ice cream this summer I'm almost sick of it."
"Sick of ice cream?" I asked, pulling my spoon from my mouth with a pop. "Perish the thought."
"Give it a few more weeks. You may change your tune," he quipped.
"I don't think so. Kiana's got a real sweet tooth," Katie said, shaking her head. "The day she gets sick of ice cream is the day the world ends."
I put my hand to my heart. "Wow, ouch. I mean, you're right, but still."
"Sorry," she said with a grin.
We sat for a while, chatting while we finished off our much needed cold treats, then we hopped in Noah's car and he drove me home before they went off to hang out at the movies.
When I got home I could feel Blade inside the house, just around the first corner. As I entered, I heard some voices coming that way and wondered who he was talking too. Sounded female, so maybe it was Lexi? Or his mom?
I picked my way across the hall carefully, figuring maybe I could sneak up on Blade and whoever it was and give them a scare. By the time I got to the corner, I had a nagging sensation I knew that voice, but I couldn't place it no matter how hard I tried. It wasn't Lexi, or Talia. It wasn't Mona either--not that I ever expected to see her again.
"Blade, please. I promise you this is the truth," a voice said.
I peeked around the corner, feeling silly, but something about the voice made me cautious.
"I never wanted to hurt you. I was so happy when I saw you that day in Aros' castle, I thought I'd never see you again, and I thought we could have been together like we were supposed to be all those centuries ago," the voice said, insistent and pleading.
A redhead. Pale skin. Lithe figure. Her eyes were red now, but I'd recognize her anywhere.
Eliza.
I bit back my gasp, but neither of them noticed. Blade just stood there, hands clenched to fists at his sides, back turned slightly to me so I couldn't see his face. My heart pounded so loud, I was surprised neither of them had noticed me yet. But of course, this was bigger than me.
"Please Blade, it was all Aros. He threatened to kill you if I didn't leave you alone, I couldn't stand the thought of him hurting you, not when I had just found you. I thought maybe if I left you alone you'd be safe, and that maybe once he was gone I could come clean, but then I was scared maybe you had moved on and--"
"Stop it." He was quiet, deadly steady.
"No, you have to listen to me! I love you, I've always loved you, the only reason I left was to protect you. Yes, I was married when we found each other again, but I didn't love him the way I loved you. I only married him because I didn't think I'd ever find you again. I left him immediately and I've been waiting to find my way back to you. All this time, I've never given up. Please don't tell me you've given up on me, please don't. I never would have left if I hadn't believed Aros when he said he would kill you. Then I heard what happened with your conduit and I knew deep down I'd done the right thing, that he almost--"
"Enough!" he shouted, and I jumped in surprise, covering my mouth before I let out a yelp that would give me away. Surely Blade must know that I was here though, he must have felt me?
"Blade..." her voice broke and I felt for her. God I felt for her. I could hear it in her voice, that desperation, the heartbreak, the guilt. If what she said was true, she had loved him for centuries. She had sacrificed herself to save his life when they were just teenagers, and again when Aros threatened him. That wasn't something that went away, fading like whispers into the night. She had been willing to give up her life for his, had spent her whole life away from him, just to keep him alive, even if it meant she couldn't have him. That was a love nothing could ever touch or break.
"I need a minute," he said, back to that quiet empty voice.
There was silence then, but I could hear her ragged breathing, then a sniffle.
Oh God. She was really here. She really came back for him. My legs began to shake, panic squeezing my chest so tight I could barely breathe.
I hadn't told him.
I knew about her and I hadn't told him about it, and here she was begging him to listen. What if he took her back? What if he still loved her?
"Why now?" he asked.
"When Aros died, I wanted to come to you straight away. But I was scared that maybe you wouldn't be able to forgive me. That you wouldn't believe me. I've wrestled with this for months and finally I couldn't bear it. You needed to know the truth and I needed to see you at least one more time. I needed to apologize to you for the heartbreak I caused. No matter what happens, I needed you to know the truth, that I always loved you. There wasn't a second of my life when I didn't. If you hate me, or don't believe, that's okay. But I needed to at least try."
I was pressing so tight against the stone wall, that if it had cracked and crumbled I would have fallen over. It was the only thing keeping me upright, and I was seconds away from collapsing on the floor. How had this happened? Her arrival was so out of the blue that I still didn't quite believe it. It had to be a nightmare. It just had to be. One of my own making, my guilt ridden subconscious trying to scare me into telling him the truth I'd been sitting on for months.
"Blade you know me...you know me better than anyone..."
"It's been centuries, Eliza," he said curtly, but there was a tremble in his voice now. That stony resolve was cracking apart.
"I haven't changed," she said softly. It got quiet then, and I couldn't help but peek, my curiosity winning out over the parts of my brain screaming ' don't look!'
She was holding his hands, looking up at him with the same tenderness and love on her face that I'd seen in his memories. My gut clenched tight, heart tripping, unable to bear the sight of her tilting, leaning into him to press her lips against his. And for a moment, it was still. I prayed he wouldn't respond, that he wouldn't give in.
He did. Hesitantly. But he did. He kissed her back.
I turned and left, stumbling to the front door unsure of what I was doing or where I was going. It was only when I got to the end of the drive, cell phone at my ear and already ringing as I waited for whoever it was on the other side to pick up, did I realize I had nowhere to go.
"Hey, darling! What's up?"
"Ace?" my voice cracked, a sob rising up despite how hard I was trying to push it down deep, denial hitting me hard, that this wasn't happening, couldn't be happening. "Can you come pick me up?"
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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Much love and good vibes,
xxLaura
P.S. to everyone still reading and commenting and voting I SEE YOU AND I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD