The thought of that lowlife having Aspen’s panties to jerk off with leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. One I won’t tolerate.
Once again, I’m glad I studied the layout of this place, and I know where everything and everyone is. That’s one thing my father taught me, know your surroundings, always. Closing my laptop, I listen to the running water in the bathroom and decide I’ll make the quick trip to visit the janitor right now.
A few minutes later, I’m exiting the elevator onto level C, which houses all the staff. The hallway is mostly empty, but I know the small apartment the janitor is staying in and head straight toward it. When I get to the door, I lift my hand and start banging my fist against the metal until I hear a grumpy voice coming from the other side.
“Jesus, stop already… I’m coming.” The door swings open, and an angry-looking man greets me on the other side. “What the fuck—”
I don’t let him get more than that out. Stepping into his space, I shove him backward, pushing myself into a small apartment. Clearly, I woke him up. He isn’t wearing anything but a pair of old shorts, his face has red creases on his skin where he laid, and his eyes are still foggy with sleep.
Recognition sets in, and his anger disappears, turning to fear. Closing the door behind me with a kick of my foot, I turn my full attention to the man in front of me.
He might be twenty years older than me, but I’m taller, more muscular, and most definitely better trained in fighting. He doesn’t even see my fist coming until I hit his cheekbone with bone-crushing force.
With a pained grunt, his head snaps to the side, and before he can recover, I follow up with a left hook to his chin. His eyes roll back, and his whole body goes stiff. Like a rag doll, his body crumbles to the floor, his head hitting the hardwood with a loud thud.
I wake him with a swift kick to the kidneys. He looks around, disoriented, cradling his stomach in pain. When his eyes land on me, his face goes even paler.
“Next time I tell you to fix something, you fucking fix it. Now, where are her panties?”
At my question, his eyes go impossibly wide. So wide, I think they might pop out of his sockets. With trembling hands, he points his finger to his coffee table, where I find the small pink piece of fabric. I snatch the panties from the table and stuff them in my pocket.
The man never even tries to get up as I step past him and head toward the door. “Tomorrow, you fix her room. Clean it up well, and make it look nice, got it?”
“G-got it!” He nods, looking like he is about to piss himself.
That’s what I thought.
Leaving the douchebag on the floor, I see myself out of the apartment. I hate the fact that this asshole has a nicer place than Aspen, but that’s not something I can’t help right now. At least she’s going to stay warm in my bed tonight.
At this time of night, the hallways and elevators are deserted. The only sound echoing through the empty halls are my own footsteps as I make my way back to my apartment.
When I get back to my place, my room is completely quiet. The door to the bathroom is open, but the light is turned off, and the water is not running anymore. The faint smell of my soap lingers in the air, which is the only sign left that someone took a bath recently.
The lamp next to my bed is turned on, illuminating most of my room. I frown when I find my bed empty.
Where the fuck did she go?
Stepping into the attached bathroom, I scan the small space. The bathtub is drained, a wet towel draped over the edge, and a small pile of dirty clothes is stacked in the corner. Her soiled clothes remind me I didn’t lay out anything for her like I told her I would. Which means she either helped herself or is running around naked. I smirk at the thought.
A rustling sound next to my bed catches my attention, and I spin around. My eyes land on the small body on the floor, curled up into a ball. She is wearing one of my hoodies and a pair of sweatpants. They are so big on her, she could pass as a pile of laundry with feet sticking out. I walk over to her and nudged her leg with my foot.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She rolls over and looks up at me, half asleep. “I told you I would sleep on the floor. Where did you go?”
Ignoring her questions, I order, “Get up on the bed.”
“No, I’m fine down here.” She turns away from me again like a petulant child.
“Either get up on the bed or give me my clothes back,” I warn. “You wanna sleep on the floor, do it naked.”
“Ugh. Fine,” she huffs and scurries off the floor. Crawling on the bed, she curls up on the edge of the mattress.
“On second thought, maybe I’ll have you naked on the bed as well. You know, just in case my dick gets cold, and I need a place to warm it up.”
“Don’t you have a microwave you can put it in?”
“I prefer your pussy. Last time I microwaved my dick, I burned the tip.”
A tiny giggle escapes her lips, but she still doesn’t turn over to look at me. “I’m tired and sore, Q. And I’m about to get my period. Can we please not do this today?”
“Fine. You can keep the clothes for now, but I can’t guarantee that I won’t be peeling them off your body in your sleep.”
“Okay.” She yawns. “That’s fair…” she trails off, her voice laced with sleep. After that, the room falls silent.
Just when I think she has fallen asleep, her tiny voice fills the room once more. “I didn’t wear a wire. I wish you would believe me.”
“Even if I believe you, it won’t change anything between us.” And it won’t… nothing will ever change the war between us. We will always remain on two different sides.