Keela (Slater Brothers #2.5) (5 page)

The problem is, now that I could see past Alec and his wonderful reality shield again, I didn't feel so free. I didn't feel trapped either, I just felt... restricted. I didn't know why I felt that way because Alec was my everything. I wanted to be with him... I just didn't want to rush things and inadvertently ruin things. We jumped headfirst into our relationship, and I felt like we needed to slow way down, but I was terrified to tell Alec any of this because I knew how it would sound.

It would sound like I wasn't certain about us anymore.

I sighed and shook my head clear of my thoughts, and like many times before, I forced them to the back of my mind and focused on the task at hand.

Packing.

A lot
of packing.

“Damn it,” I grumbled.

I placed my hands on my hips and shook my head.

This wasn't a one-woman job.

I walked into my sitting room and picked up my phone from the coffee table. I tapped on the screen of my phone, unlocked it, then scrolled through my contacts till I found the person I wanted to call.

I pressed my phone to my ear and after three rings the phone picked up. I glanced around my apartment once more and said, “It's me. I need your help.”

“Hello? Royalty is in the house!”

I rolled my eyes and turned my head to my apartment door. “Close the door before Mr. Pervert comes out to see what all the racket is.”

Aideen Collins, my best friend, rolled her hazel eyes and kicked my apartment door shut.

I hissed. “No damages. I won't get me deposit back from the landlord otherwise.”

Aideen snorted as she dropped her bag and keys on my kitchen table and walked into my sitting room. “Please, money is the last thing you need to worry about. You're loaded.”

I wasn't loaded with money—Alec was.

“I'm broke, Alec is not. Learn the difference.”

Aideen grinned. “Alec would give you whatever you wanted, you know that. Money isn't an issue with him.”

“I don't need or want his money, and it
will
be an issue if one of us doesn't earn a steady income. Sure, Alec has a lot of money in the bank, but it won't last forever. Not with the way he spends it anyway.”

Aideen chuckled, “I don't think an SUV and a house will break his bank account.”

I shook my head. “The house was three hundred and twenty thousand outright, and the only reason we got it at that price was because the buyers wanted a quick sale. Then there was his SUV that was thirty thousand... altogether that's a lot of bloody money.”

I didn't think I would ever get my head around the fact that my partner was rich. I was used to minimum wage, and surviving on noodles when I didn't get enough weekly hours at my old job. I wasn't used to being able to buy whatever I wanted without thinking of the financial consequences.

I used to work at my local supermarket, but when all the bullshit happened last year I missed too many days without a viable excuse and I got fired. I hated my job, but it paid the rent. I know I didn't have to worry about paying rent now that Alec bought us a house, even if he did put my name on the deed too. I still wanted to earn my own income. I didn't want to rely on him for my finances.

Hopefully my writing would become more than a passion and turn into a full-time job. God knows I needed it.

“Did you tell him how you feel about him spendin' so much money?” Aideen asked as she sat on my sofa, behind me.

I turned to face her. “No.” I frowned. “It's his money, I can't tell him what to do with it.”

Aideen nodded in understanding. “I think you should ease him into the conversation. Just explain what life was like before he came along. Your uncle is loaded, and so is your ma, and you wouldn't take a penny from either of them. He can't expect it to be different with him just because you're both together.”

You would be surprised.

“He thinks a lot of things now that we're together... He went out and bought us a house without me knowledge and he thought that was a good idea. He isn't aware of things right in front of him.”

“You don't want to move out?” Aideen asked, her eyes wide.

I didn't know how to respond so I dodged the question and said, “He never even asked me, he just went out and bought the bloody thing. We're perfectly fine here. I don't see why he wants to keep changin' things when I'm still gettin' used to
him
being in me life.”

Aideen was silent for a few moments before she said, “You have got to tell him how you feel, Kay. You will be miserable if you don't.”

I knew that, I lay awake at night sick with the thoughts of it, but I couldn't say a word to him.

I wouldn't.

“He is so happy about movin' into the new house and to be movin' forward with our relationship... I don't want to ruin that for him.”

Aideen furrowed her eyebrows at me when I looked back up at her and locked onto her concerned gaze. “If you don't level with him, eventually there won't be a relationship left to ruin,” she said, her voice stern.

I was motionless as I sat before Aideen and stared at her with unblinking eyes.

“I don't mean to be harsh,” she started. “But how long do you think it will be before you start to resent Alec for leadin' your life for you?”

I didn't speak, I just sat on the floor and stared.

“You're an independent woman, Kay, and you like being one. I love Alec, I do, but if he doesn't stop decidin' everythin' for the both of you he will lose you.”

I was surprised when my eyes welled up and hot tears fell from my eyes and splashed onto my cheeks when I blinked. I quickly reached up and wiped the tears away, but it was too late, Aideen saw and was on the floor in front of me reaching her arms out and comforting me with a hug.

“How long have you been feelin' like this?” she asked me.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and dropped my head to her shoulder. “A good while,” I admitted.

Aideen sighed as she swayed us from side to side for a few moments.

“I'm havin' nightmares too,” I whispered.

Aideen froze, then after a moment she pulled back from me and stared at me with sad eyes.

She swallowed. “What are they about?”

I sniffled, “Everythin'. Darkness. The Bahamas. Storm gettin' hurt. Just... everythin'.”

I burst into an uncontrollable sob and it must have shocked Aideen who flinched. She regained her composure and quickly pulled me back into a hug. She swayed and hushed me until my sobs became mere sniffles and my eyes ran dry.

“You need to talk to someone, Kay,” Aideen whispered.

I gripped onto her tightly. “I am. I'm talkin' to you.”

Aideen sighed and gave me a tight squeeze.

She said nothing further and I was grateful for it because if she said anything else there was a strong chance I would have gone into detail and told her everything that was going on inside my head. I couldn't let that happen, no good would come from releasing those demons.

It had been thirteen months since I left Darkness and all those horrible people behind me, and as far as anyone could tell I was fine. I appeared fine because I had myself in check, but Aideen saw a glimpse of how fucked up I really was about my past. Now that she knew I had nightmares she would push it until I told her everything. It was bad enough I told her about Alec because now she wouldn't rest until I spoke to him about how I was feeling.

“I'm fine,” I said and cleared my throat.

I forced myself to breathe so I would calm down and stop sniffling, and when the tears stopped I pulled back from Aideen and gave her a small smile. I could tell she wasn't buying it though.

“I'm pissed that you have been strugglin' with this for awhile and you're only now tellin' me what's wrong. Your mental health is important, unload everythin' onto me if it'll make you feel better,” she pressed.

I waved her off. “We can talk soon, I promise... I just want today to go by without thinkin' about all the crap that’s built up in me head. Okay?”

Aideen wasn't happy but she nodded her head anyway.

“Thank you,” I said and gripped onto her hands.

She gave my hand a squeeze then said, “Wait, you're cool with gettin' married still though, right?”

I remained silent and Aideen gasped.

“You aren't?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don't know.”

“Are you gettin' cold feet?”

“No, I'm just sayin' that marriage could be different than datin'. I mean who is to know what could happen? Disney never did a follow up on Cinderella—like, what happened after the shoe fit? Did they get on? Did they get divorced? We'll never know.”

“Keela... are you really worried your future marriage to Alec could go south because you don't know how Cinderella and her lad ended up after they got married?”

Was I?

“I don't know,” I admitted.

“I do. They lived happily ever after, it says so in the end credits of the film.”

I rolled my eyes. “You're a very strange person.”

“Says the woman who just compared a Disney film to her future marriage.”

Oh God, she was right.

I groaned, “Maybe I'm losin' me mind.”

Aideen snorted, “You lost it long ago, sweetheart.”

I sat up and glared at Aideen. “You aren't helpin' me, you know?”

“I was just your shoulder to cry on, I've helped plenty.”

I laughed. “I need your help, not emotionally though. Physically.”

“You mean you didn't call me here to unload on me? Then why did you call me?” she asked.

I was grateful she was changing the topic.

“I need your help to start packin'. We're movin' today and I've done nothin'. Literally nothin',” I groaned. “I was writing so well the past two weeks that I put it off and now it's movin' day and we're aren't movin' ready.”

Aideen blinked her eyes. “You want me to
pack
?”

Did she listen to a single word I just said?

“Yes, I want you to help me pack!” I stated.

“Pack up your apartment? I thought you needed 'help',” Aideen said whilst using her fingers as air quotes around the word help.

“Why the air quotes?” I asked, bemused.

Aideen huffed and lowered her arms. “Because I thought you meant the
alcohol
kind of help, especially after what you just told me. I kind of assumed it would be the
hard stuff
kind of help.”

I stared at my best friend and for the billionth time wondered why I continued our weirder than weird friendship.

“Alcohol kind of help?”

“Yeah.” Aideen grinned. “You know, I help you get drunk.”

I shook my head.

How this fool was employed as an educator to children I would never know.

“It's half ten in the mornin'.”

Aideen shrugged. “It's five o'clock somewhere.”

“There's somethin' wrong with you.”

Aideen groaned. “Don't judge me, term started back on Monday and the kids are drivin' me insane already.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You teach
second
class kids, they're all cuties.”

Aideen growled, “Those eight year olds can be animals, do you hear me? Animals! I caught two boys forcin' another boy to eat fuckin' glue while givin' him a wedgie yesterday. They're evil, I'm tellin' you.”

I laughed. “Find a career that doesn't involve kids then.”

“No!” Aideen gasped. “The angels outweigh the devil spawn ten to one. Besides, I like imparting wisdom on the next generation.”

Wisdom. Ha.

Those poor kids were destined to jobs as strippers and drug dealers as long as they remained under Aideen's care.

“I know you're thinking something bitchy, so I'm gonna say fuck you before I forget.”

I snorted. “You're the strangest person I know.”

“You pronounced coolest wrong,” Aideen teased.

This girl!

I couldn't help but laugh. “Can you be serious?” I smiled. “I need you.”

Aideen exhaled loudly, “Fine, where do you want me?”

“Face down, arse up.” I smirked.

Aideen burst into laughter and seconds later a bark rang from my bedroom.

“It's nice to hear you too, you fat—”

“Aideen!” I cut her off.

Aideen laughed. “I wasn't goin' to say anythin' bad to him.”

Ha ha. Bullshit.

“Yeah,” I laughed, “and I'm Beyoncé.”

Aideen raised her eyebrow at me. “You don't have the arse to be Beyoncé.”

“Then I'll get some of Bronagh's arse—she has enough to spare.” I grinned.

Aideen cackled at the same time laughter started up outside my apartment door. A few seconds later someone knocked on the door. I got up and opened my door without looking through the peephole.

I knew who it was from the laugh.

“Hey, what're you two doin' here?” I asked and greeted Bronagh and Branna with a hug.

Bronagh fist bumped me and said, “Alec called us and said you needed help with packin' so here we are.”

I leaned against my front door and smiled. “Thank you, you're both brilliant.”

Branna rolled her neck onto her shoulders and said, “We know, now let's get to it.”

Ready to work.

I liked it.

I chuckled and closed my door only to yank it back open when a thud sounded against it and something, or someone, yelped. I widened my eyes when Ryder Slater hunched over in front of me and groaned in pain. He was holding his forehead and hissing. I panicked and placed my hands on his back.