“Tonia, I don’t want my brother to find me. I... I ran away.”
That’s not totally a lie, is it? At least I don’t need to tell them Alec was the one that tried to choke and kill me. Tonia looks a bit confused, and I can tell she’s thinking hard right now. She turns her head to Bobo, frowning, and after a while, I understand they’re arguing. But soon, Bobo starts eating again, ignoring her. Tonia eventually sighs.
“Okay, I get it. For now. To be honest, we moved you out of the hospital for that reason, anyway. We were worried about having some unidentified guy looking for you... I take it that you’re hiding from your pack then?”
“Yes... Sort of. Can we... just not mention it for now?”
Tonia frowns. I can tell she’s not happy with my response and is still thinking long and hard, but she doesn’t ask any more questions. So I just concentrate on eating my omelet, and that’s it.
After a while, I’m done, and we are both silently drinking -tea for me and coffee for Tonia- while Bobo finishes his third plate. It looks like his stomach doesn’t mind the burnt sausages.
“Tonia, where are we?”
“Oh, this is your apartment.”
I almost drop my cup of tea from the shock. What does Tonia mean “my” apartment? Did she make a mistake?
“What? Tonia, I don’t have an apartment. And surely not something as... impressive as this!”
I wouldn’t even dream of having such a large place to live in! The whole basement could fit in the bedroom alone, and everything looks so new and modern, and high-quality, and... And now I am enjoying some fragrant tea by a great glass-wall, with a full view of the city. A month ago, I was used by my pack like a slave, doing chores all day, and my brother was ready to sell me to cover his debts. I don’t own anything, nothing at all.
But Tonia just smiles.
“Well, you do now. The Boss arranged this place for you. The whole apartment is yours! Oh, of course, you can tell us if there is anything you don’t like, and we can always have it replaced...”
“Tonia, I can’t have an apartment out of the blue, this is ridiculous. You have no idea how poor I actually am. I really appreciate you trying to help me, but this is... This is too much.”
She rolls her eyes with an exasperated look.
“Nora, for someone so cute and tiny, you can be unreasonably stubborn, you know that? Listen now, baby girl. You’re the Boss’s mate. You got nowhere to go as far as I know, and for some unknown reason, you’re hiding from your useless pack. Now, the Boss is the most powerful man in this city, and trust me, buying an apartment like this is nothing for him. I mean it. Just consider it as him lending you a room, okay?”
It’s not okay, even if she says it like this, but... Indeed, I don’t have much choice either. Where would I go otherwise? I really don’t have anyone I know that I could trust...
But being here doesn’t feel right either. Everything is too... too much. I feel like I’m stepping in a shoe that’s way too big for me.
After breakfast, Tonia gives me a tour of the place that I’m now supposed to live in, temporarily, as I insisted. I’m glad there are not too many useless rooms like in those huge luxury houses. There are three bedrooms, the biggest one occupied by me, and one of the tinier rooms by Tonia. Apparently, Bobo sleeps wherever he wants, but I suspect he’s guarding my room, anyway. There’s a big kitchen where we had breakfast and a dining room for eight people. Then, Tonia takes me to another place: a study! With a desk, a computer, and more bookshelves! I can’t help but take a tour to see all the books, making Tonia laugh.
“You give her a latest-generation, super cool computer, and all she cares about are the books. You were born in the wrong century, baby girl.”
“I don’t really care about computers; I just love reading!”
“I can see that. Well, you can always use the computer if you want more. Come on, there’s one more room.”
The last room turns out to be... a living room. I stop at the entrance. There’s a large sofa with multi-colored cushions, a large TV, a game station, and even a stereo with a shelf full of CDs and DVDs.
“Oh yes, Bobo and I didn’t know what kind of music you like so... Nora, what the hell? Why are you crying?”
I just can’t stop.
It’s all coming back to me. I could never even step into the Jade Moon’s main house living room before! And now I have a full room I can use all I want?
“I’m... I’m okay. Sorry, Tonia I just got a bit... overwhelmed for a second.”
She looks at me suspiciously, but I’m just busy wiping off my tears. Bobo rubs his head against my leg, trying to cheer me up.
“Okay, Nora, stop crying. You’re making me want to punch some people, and I don’t have names yet, so I can’t. You know what you need right now?”
I shake my head, confused.
