chapter 15


    “She is staying at the storage lockers a block from here.” He dobbed on me. Tobias’ eyes dared


    me to try and lie my way out of it. I knew better than to try. How did he know though? No one knew, not


    even the manager as it was a weekend, and I hadn’t even had a chance to tell him about my car


    needing to be stored there. Feeling flustered, my hands became mmy, and I felt a bead of sweat run


    down the back of my neck. Did someone turn on a heater? I was suddenly starting to panic, I could feel


    my heart rate rising, hear the pounding inside my head. I was about to be fired; I was going to lose the


    Try and get a job at Costco?


    “I’m sorry, please don’t fire me. I need this job.” My words sounded pathetic and desperate. But I


    didn’t have a choice. I lose my job, I have nothing. Maybe they should fire me. I just wish they would


    speak instead of staring at me, they were making my anxiety go through the roof. I know what’s


    “We aren’t firing you, Imogen. We are just disappointed you didn’t say anything earlier. We could


    have helped sooner,” Theo said.


    I dropped my head in my hands, relief flooding into me. I wasn’t going to lose my job. How could


    they help though? I got myself in this situation, I can get myself out of it. I don’t want help; they just


    need to let me be. I can handle this.


    “I promise I won’t trespass again.” They both looked at me like they thought what I said was


    absurd. I suppose it kind of was, who lives where they work? Not a normal person, but hey I never


    imed to be normal.


    “No, you won’t. I spoke to Tom who said you would refuse any help, so I took it upon myself to not


    give you a choice,” Tobias told me. I stared, confused.


    “You won’t be staying at the storage locker. Actually, there is no longer a storage locker. I have told


    him to not let you back, and I took the liberty to remove all your belongings to your apartment,” Tobias


    continued.


    “I don’t have an apartment?” I told him, confused.


    “I have moved you into our apartment building. You will be staying on the floor below us. This is


    nonnegotiable and if you don’t ept our help, I will fire you,” he stated.


    Why would Tom say that to them, now they were dangling my job above my head like a carrot on a


    string.


    I crossed my arms across my chest, defiant. This was absurd. I have barely had any contact with


    them outside the workce, and now they were telling me I had to ept their offer of help for my job.


    Why the sudden interest in my life? Did Tobias follow me after work on Friday? I just couldn’t wrap my


    head around how he knew where I moved on to.


    Not having much choice, “Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. This was so degrading and


    embarrassing. I have never epted a handout, and it was killing me inside now I was being forced


    too.


    Tobias nodded his head, epting my answer. “Theo will take you home and help you unpack; I


    will see you in the morning.” He chuckled for some unknown reason. I raised an eyebrow at him. Theo


    motioned for me to follow and I did. Walking into the foyer, Theo grabbed my handbag that I kept under


    my desk and helped himself into it, fishing out my keys.


    “We will go get your car from the storage locker, then head to your new apartment.” I rolled my


    eyes at him but followed him anyway. The elevator trip down to the ground floor was silent, when the


    doors opened, Theo grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the exit. I must admit I like the


    feel of him holding my hand though is hand was a little chilly. He kept rubbing circles into the back of it


    while he tugged me along.


    Once outside he walked through the park cutting through the bush, taking my short cut towards the


    storage facility. Has he been this way before? I couldn’t really picture Theo walking through here, and


    what possible reason would he have to walk through the bush to a storage facility? It is literally the only


    thing there on the other side it.


    Being dragged along behind him, I had to jog to keep up with his long strides. When we came to


    the mesh fence, he stopped. He appeared to sniff the air for a second. I observed him closely, it was


    such a strange thing to do. I went to tell him where the entry was, when he spun around and walked


    towards the broken bit of fence. He stopped for a second and ran his fingers over a piece of wire that


    was sticking out. The same wire that shed me open.


    “I take it this is where you received that cut?” I nodded, but how did he know? I could barely see


    any blood on it. Shaking my thoughts out of my head, he pulled the mesh aside and I stepped through


    the opening.


    Once I entered, I walked over to my car, which was still sitting in the carpark inside. I turned to


    retrieve my keys, knowing I would have to use myst twenty dors in my ount to put fuel in my


    beast. When I turned around hand out, I stopped. Theo cocked his head to the side examining my car.


    “This is what you drive? It has more dents than a golf ball.” I rolled my eyes at him and snatched


    my keys from his hands. Unlocking my car, I walked around to the passenger side. Theo followed and


    watched as I frantically tried to clean the passenger footwell. Throwing clothes and empty bottles of


    liquor over the seat and into the back. When I finished, I stood back and motioned for him to get in.


    “What?” I asked when he just stood there staring. He shook his head and climbed in. The seat was


    all the way forward and his knees were nearly pressed to his chest. He pulled the lever to slide the


    chair back but grabbed the wrong one and he was suddenly thrown backwards with enough force his


    head hit the head rest and he was nowying down. I snortedughing at his unamused face. He


    cocked his eyebrow, not finding the funny side. I mmed the door and walked over to the driver’s side


    and hoped in. Theo was adjusting the chair and finally managed to get the seat to slide back giving him


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    enough room to put his legs down. Regardless, he looked squished in my Civic.


    Putting the key in the ignition, I turned it over. My car started and the fuel light turned on. Pulling


    out, I started driving to the closest gas station. Theo looked around my car, going through the loads of


    crap I had stored in it. Opening the glove box, I went to warn him, but it was toote. Paperwork fell all


    over hisp and the floor. Theo held up the glovepartment door in his hand that was now no longer


    attached to the car.


    “You have to be gentle with her,” I said, rubbing my dash. “Now stop going through everything.”


    “Gentle? There is nothing gentle about this car. What did you do to it? It’s falling apart at the


    seams I’m surprised it even runs.”


    “Leave my car alone. Hey, I said stop going through my stuff,” I eximed as he started


    rummaging through the back. Turning back to the front, he held out a pair of my panties and an empty


    bottle of vodka.


    “Looks like someone was having fun back there,” he retorted. I snatched my panties out his hand,


    now bing annoyed at the invasion of privacy. Pulling into the servo, I got out and popped the cap.


    Just as I reached the servo doors, out stepped Theo. “Come on, I paid already. Let’s see if that death


    trap will start again,” he said ignoring me and walking past me towards my car. I threw up my hands,


    annoyed, and stomped after him.


    Getting back to the car, Theo walked to the driver side. “You don’t know where we are going, hand


    the keys over.” I looked at my keys that were clutched in my hand. “I’ll be gentle, I promise,” he said,


    emphasising the word gentle. I tossed my keys at him and got in the passenger side. The drive to the


    apartment block wasn’t long, only about ten-minutes. When we pulled up out the front, I gasped.


    The ce looked more like some fancy hotel. All white with beautiful hedges and gardens full of


    roses. It also had a roundabout driveway with valet out the front. He pulled up next to the man out front.


    The bloke looked disgusted when Theo tossed him the keys. I suddenly felt more embarrassed


    knowing a stranger was going to see the state of my car.


    Theo walked over, my handbag slung over his shoulder like he owned it. Reaching towards me, he


    grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the entrance.