ChapterNine
Graves offers to help me move my stuff in while I’m free. I’m not an idiot, so I accept, which means I’m moved in with plenty of time to spare to get back to the gym to meet the others.
“Is this all you have?” Graves looks over at the few boxes of belongings I have sitting on the queen-size bed.
“No, but now I can get the other stuff shipped. Even then, you don’t need to worry about me spreading all my stuff around. I’m leaving most of it back home until I decide what to do in the long run.”
“I don’t mind. Put your stuff wherever you want. This house was my maternal grandmother’s. I’d never met her or ever been here before I found out I’d inherited the house. I still feel a little like a stranger here myself. It might be my house now, but I haven’t quite figured out how to make it a home yet,” he tells me quietly, his hands in his pockets.
I look him over and marvel at the man who can go from confident to almost shy in a heartbeat. It makes me want to peel back the layers and see what he’s hiding underneath.
“Well, I can’t say I knew what I was doing when I started out either, but now I just go with what makes me happy. Calm places for me to chill, bright places to lift my mood, and rooms with lots of light to keep the shadows at bay,” I tell him, both of us surprised by my candid answer.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Do you want to grab dinner together?”
“I would, but I have somewhere else I have to be.”
His shoulders drop. I feel bad, but I really can’t put it off any longer.
“Rain check, though? If it was something I could get out of, I would.”
He waves me off. “Oh no, it’s fine. Let me just grab you a set of keys. The code for the alarm is seven-four-eight-two.”
“Seven-four-eight-two. Got it. I don’t know what time I’ll be back, but I promise I’ll keep the noise down.”
“This is your home now too. As much as I appreciate that, I don’t want you walking on eggshells around here.”
“It’s new. We’ll find our groove. And thank you for giving me a shot and everything. I didn’t realize how brutal the housing market was going to be here.”
“The revitalization project has made the city a more desirable place to live.”
“So it would seem. It’s just weird how much has changed after being away. In my head, it was this ageless place trapped within a snow globe, holding all my memories with it. Now it’s an odd mix of familiar and new, and my brain is trying to play catch up.”
“You grew up here?”
I nod as I follow him down the stairs. “Yeah, until I was eighteen.”
“How come you left?”
I look at him and hold my hand out as he places the key in my palm. His skin barely skims mine, and yet it feels like static energy pulses between us.
“I ran from my ghosts.” Jesus, why do I keep blurting out the truth with this guy?
He’s silent for a moment, analyzing my words. Speaking again, curiosity in his voice, he asks, “Did it work?”
I shake my head. “Not really. Turns out it wasn’t the streets I grew up on that were haunted. It was me.”
He nods as if he understands exactly what I’m talking about.
“I’ve gotta go, but I’ll see you later or tomorrow if it’s late.”
“Sure. Drive safe.”
His words make me smile. Maybe this house-sharing thing won’t be so bad after all.
* * *
I use Hank’s office since it’s bigger than mine. He’s offered more than once this week to swap with me, but I refuse every time. Hank might not technically own the gym anymore, but he will always be the heart of the place. Besides, I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.