TAINTED HEARTS (ENGLISH)

TAINTED HEARTS 24

Chapter 24

He drove the car into the building and stopped at the parking lot. He sighed, looking troubled, then glanced at me. He brushed his hair upward with his fingers. After combing, he shook it, making droplets of rainwater that had dampened his hair scatter.

“I have no intention of bringing you here. But I have no choice. You might get sick if you don’t change your clothes.”

I scanned the whole parking lot. It was a high-rise condominium. I looked back at him. In his eyes was hesitation about letting me come up.

“Where are we going?”

“My unit,” he replied shortly.

I went silent for a moment, thinking why he was like this. That he was hesitant to let me go up even though it was his own unit we were heading to.

“Is that where you two live? Is that where you two sleep?” My voice was weak and hoarse from the cold.

Something in my body ached when I asked that. His brows furrowed when he saw how cold I was. He averted his gaze and shook his head.

“I live here alone,” he said. “And she doesn’t sleep here anymore. She has no key to my unit.”

We sat in silence inside. He still hadn’t gotten out. A moment later, he called someone on the phone.

“I’m stuck. Is there someone in your apartment?”

“Where are you stuck?”

He cleared his throat again and looked at me. He turned his head to the side, avoiding my gaze before speaking.

“We’re stranded in the flood. I’m with my girlfriend. Can I borrow your unit for overnight?”

His phone was on the dashboard and on the loudspeaker. He turned to me. He adjusted the jacket around me when he noticed it was slipping off. Still not satisfied, he also handed me a T-shirt—probably already worn by him because it smelled of his cologne. He used it to dry my still soaking wet hair.

“Girlfriend? Addisson?”

His hand stopped suddenly in mid-wipe. Nervously, he swallowed when our eyes met. I didn’t comment. I just bit my lower lip and looked away.

“f**k you, Jax! You know she’s not my girlfriend!”

His face was crumpled. He cursed at his friend while wrapping his T-shirt around my hair to stop the water from dripping down my body.

“Then who? You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”

The man on the phone laughed, making Lennox shake his head. He grabbed the phone and turned off the loudspeaker.

“She’ll be with me next week. I’ll introduce her when we get there.”

He licked his lips and looked at me.

“Mind your own woman!” he said. “I didn’t call you to gossip! If you can’t lend me your unit, get lost!”

He hung up on his friend and let out a deep breath. My lips pursed when I saw how troubled he really was.

“I’m fine. Let’s go up.”

I smiled when he looked at me. So what if that woman used to sleep there? That was the past and had nothing to do with his home now. Besides, if I acted up, we might both get sick. I glanced at his side and remembered his wound.

“I’m really fine, Lennox. Like you said, she’s not staying there anymore.”

He looked away, but I pulled his arm. At that moment, I didn’t care anymore because I needed to treat his wound. That was more important than anything else.

“Let’s go!”

He didn’t move, so I went ahead, opening my door and stepping out. I smiled again once outside. With a sigh, he finally nodded and followed me.

“I’m sorry. My things are new, and I also had the whole unit cleaned,” he explained. I smiled again.

I had to stop myself from feeling hurt because that was all in the past. Before I came into his life, there had already been something between them. What mattered was the present. Nothing was going on between them anymore. Nothing tied them together.

He held my hand as we entered the elevator and all the way into his unit. He even had to get the key from the front desk because he said he’d left it there when he had his furniture replaced.

The unit was small but clean. Just one bedroom, but the furniture was large and expensive. It was true—the bed was new. The living room furniture looked new as well, some pieces even still wrapped in plastic.

“Come here. I’ll get you clothes.”

He opened the walk-in closet. I came closer and peeked inside. No trace of a woman. Not even a single dress or piece of underwear.

“Change first.” He handed me a large shirt and boxer shorts that I wasn’t sure would even fit me.

“Change here in the bedroom. I’ll shower in the living room bathroom.”

He didn’t wait for me to answer. He rushed out as if avoiding setting our bodies aflame.

His bathroom was clean and spacious, with a bathtub too. I turned my eyes away from it. I imagined Addisson there, soaking in the water, bathing.

She was beautiful, and I couldn’t believe Lennox would choose me over her. No matter how I looked at it, they matched. Same age, and judging by her looks, she clearly had a lot more experience in bed.

I hurried my shower because my mind was going in all directions. I dried myself and put on the white V-neck shirt he lent me. It was so big it looked like a dress on me. I was about to wear his boxers, but they slid right off me. In the end, I decided not to wear them and just left them in the bathroom.

When I stepped out, Lennox was already in the bedroom. He’d changed into shorts and a white T-shirt that looked just like what I’m wearing. His eyes went to my chest, visible because I wasn’t wearing a bra. I had washed it earlier while bathing and hung it in the bathroom to dry.

“Hmm?” I hummed.

I observed what he was doing. He was at the shelves with books, looking for something.

“What are you looking for?” I asked curiously.

He was pulling out the books one by one.

“I hid something here. I can’t find it anymore.”

He searched frantically, brows knitted as he dropped the books onto the floor. I peeked into the shelves and also reached for a book.

“What is it? Let me help you look.”

He froze as I reached for a book. He turned sharply toward me. There was something in his eyes when he snatched the book from my hand.

“It’s hard to find. It’s small. I’ll just ask the cleaners if they took it.”

“Okay.” I shrugged.

“I didn’t stock food because I wasn’t staying here. I’ll just have something delivered. Get some rest first.”

I sat on the bed as he walked out. I lay down and didn’t realize I’d dozed off. A faint light in the room and a bit of rustling woke me. It was Lennox, putting the books back on the shelves. But he was still checking and feeling around the shelves as he did.

“You still haven’t found it?”

He turned quickly when I spoke. As if caught committing a crime. I blinked when I saw him pale, stammering.

“You… you’re awake. Let’s eat first.” He sighed, then pressed his fingers against his eyes.

When I sat up, I saw plates of food on the bedside table. I looked back at Lennox.

“I already talked to the police earlier. Don’t worry, he won’t be able to come near you again. I made sure he would rot in jail.”

I smiled. I had already detailed to the police what my mother’s former partner used to do to us. Aside from us, others also came forward to complain of theft and burglary. His drug use also came out. So I could finally breathe because the charges stacked up against him ensured he wouldn’t get out.

“Thank you—wait! Your wound!”

He smirked and lifted his shirt to show me his side, already bandaged.

“I cleaned it earlier after I showered.” He grinned.

My shoulders slumped, and I pouted. I wanted to be the one to clean it. I forgot and instead bathe and sleep first. He laughed loudly and ruffled my hair.

“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”

We ate. Quietly. We only talked again after.

“Is it safe for us to go home now?”

He nodded and faced me.

“Yes. But if you’re comfortable in my house, you can stay there a while longer.”

He stood again and circled around his room. I didn’t ask, but I noticed his eyes still shifting. Probably still searching for that small thing he mentioned. How small could it be that he was having such a hard time finding it?

I stood to clean up after our meal. While he searched the room, I washed the dishes. I didn’t dwell on it anymore and let him be. Some water splashed on my shirt because I opened the faucet too strongly. Since the shirt was white, the skin of my chest showed through. I finished up quickly so I could change.

“I’m soaking wet now,” I muttered at my own clumsiness.

I peeked out the living room window and saw the heavy rain still pouring. I had already called Mama earlier to tell her we couldn’t go home. She was worried, but I explained we’d found a place to stay.

When I opened the bedroom door, Lennox had his shirt off. He didn’t notice me enter. I stared at him as he sweated, still searching for whatever he was looking for. His body was so toned that I was sure he could carry me with one hand effortlessly.

Instead of going to his walk-in closet to change, I walked up to where he stood. I swallowed hard when he turned to face me. Our eyes met first, then his gaze dropped, and I saw his lips part slightly as his eyes fixed on my clearly outlined chest.