Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Honest to God, if you don’t come home right now, I’m going to call the police on Kayla.”
“What?”
“Hannah, please, I need you to help me sit that stupid bitch down and listen to reason. Please. We got an eviction notice today!”
“Are you kidding me? How? We pay our rent every month!”
“No, we give our money to Kayla, who supposedly pays the rent. The notice from the landlord says we’re three months behind! I don’t know what to do! I mean, I have enough to cover it in the bank, but then I won’t have any money for school in the fall. All of our names are on the lease, this could majorly screw with our credit.”
Worry filled me and I looked around the room, hoping to spot Leo. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
“Okay. I’m so sorry to ruin your night like this, I know you were meeting Mr. Brass’s surrogate parents tonight, but this is an emergency. Please apologize to him for me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”
I hung up then chewed on the edge of my phone, my mind pinging between the missing rent, what was going on with Kayla, and finding Leo.
“Hannah,” Judith said from right next to me. “Is everything all right?”
“I—no, no it isn’t, and I need to get back home to deal with some issues.”
“Is someone hurt?”
Not yet, but when I found Kayla, I was going to strangle her.
“No, just roommate drama, nothing life-threatening but I really need to be there for a sit-down with them. Can you give me the address here, please, so I can call a cab?”
“Don’t be silly, I’ll have one of my drivers take you back. But I think it might be a good idea if you waited for Leo to return.”
“I don’t want to rush him, but I really do need to get home and have a meeting with my roommates.”
“I understand. Just wait here and let me call my driver.”
“Are you sure? I can catch a cab.”
“Really, it’s no problem at all.”
Taking out her own phone, Judith began to text as I sent Kayla a text as well, asking her where she was. I didn’t want to let her know about the eviction notice, she’d just avoid us so she didn’t have to face the music, but I was baffled as to why she hadn’t paid the rent. She had a trust fund that deposited ten thousand dollars a month straight to her bank account, in addition to whatever money her parents sent her. There is no reason she couldn’t send the landlord a check for less than a grand.
It wasn’t until I was in the back of a luxurious Bentley on my way back to my apartment that I sent Leo a text, letting him know what was going on. When I didn’t get a response, I leaned back in my seat, really wishing he was here with me. Everything was easier when Leo was around, probably because he took care of everything, but I missed more than just his need to care for me.
I missed him. His laugh, his kiss, the way he always watched me with what I imagined was love.
Chapter 14
By the time we pulled up to the apartment, I was feeling decidedly mopey and pissed. Mopey because Leo hadn’t returned my text—he was probably still busy with Fernando, so that was fine—and pissed because Kayla hadn’t returned my text or call either. She’d posted some pictures of herself at some party a few hours ago, taking a selfie with some chick I recognized from the movies.
Great, we were getting evicted and Kayla was off partying with movie stars.
I thanked the driver as he let me out, absently noting the people staring at me again. When I looked up at the building, I found a few people looking out their windows at me and nervously smoothed my hair behind my ear. I’d become something of a sensation in my apartment building and Joy liked to cackle about the rumors that I was some overseas movie star in hiding, a model, or a princess. Kayla, on the other hand, hated the attention I was taking away from her; she was used to being the object of envy, and went out of her way to try to upstage me.
I hadn’t seen it at first, but after she changed into a beaded gold evening gown that would have fit right in at the Oscars before Leo was due to pick me up, then answered the door with her most flirtatious giggle, I caught on. While Kayla claimed that Leo was ugly and not her type, she sure went all out to try to get his attention when he came over. We’re talking everything from making sure his favorite beer was always available, to touching him if she was able to get near enough to sneak a grope or ‘fall’ around him.