I went home frustrated and couldn’t find sleep that night.
“What are you doing today?” Chris asked me as we sat down to breakfast the next day.
I looked between him and my brother as I hesitated on my answer.
“I was thinking of checking out some apartments,” I said softly.
I wasn’t sure if I could swing rent and bills and everything but there were a few places that I’d found that could fit into my budget.
Ky let out an unhappy grunt but surprisingly didn’t say anything. I suspected it was the fact that Chris had placed his hand over Ky’s that kept the words from slipping out.
“That sounds good. How about I go with you? I don’t have to be at the bar until five,” Chris said with a small smile.
“Yes, that would be nice. Thank you.”
Well, it turned out all the apartments I could possibly afford weren’t all that great. I didn’t need something amazing, but I did need something that was mold free and didn’t have strange stains all over the carpet and walls. We didn’t even stay two minutes in the last one because you could hear the couple next door fighting. And not the muffled kind of hear. It sounded like they were standing right there in the room with us. There was no way that I’d have Chry in some place like that.
“Ingram,” Chris said after we’d all gotten settled back into the car. “I can’t let you do this.”
“I know, Chris. I will keep looking.”
“No.” His head whipped back and forth as he said the word. “I get that you want to move out and have your own space and everything. I don’t want you to go. Ky doesn’t want you to go. But we understand. So will you at least let us help you a little? We can pay the rent and that way you can get a place better than… whatever the hell we’ve been looking at.”
I sighed and hung my head.
“Just for now,” he went on when I didn’t say anything. “When you get on your feet and feel like you can really handle it, we can talk about working something out then. Please?”
“Okay. But nothing too crazy. Promise me, Chris.”
“We’ll see. Let’s just go look at a few places first.” He winked at me as he pulled out his phone and began to search for some places he would be more comfortable with.
His eyes lit up a few minutes later and then he was making a call.
We decided to grab a quick lunch and then an hour later, we were back on the beach and pulling in front of what looked like a tall apartment building.
“It’s not right on the beach but it’s close to Ky and me. These are privately owned condos, but two of them are available to rent right now.”
“Chris, this is too much,” I told him knowing that something like this was way out of my budget and probably would always be.
Though no one had said it, I got the feeling that Chris didn’t have to worry about money much. He didn’t flaunt it or buy things excessively but I was smart enough to know that working at the bar didn’t buy him a beachfront house. And I suspected the only reason he did work was because he wasn’t the type of person to sit around all the time.
That said, I didn’t want him spending that much money on me.
“What do you think, buddy? Want to live real close to Uncle Ky and Uncle Chris?” Chris turned in his seat so that he could look at Chry while he spoke.
“Yeaaa,” Chry said as he clapped his hands excitedly.
I decided to indulge him for now.
Both condos were pretty much identical. As much as I hated to admit it, they were beautiful, though. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a cute little kitchen. Basically, perfect for Chry and I.
The lady that showed us around certainly knew how to show them off, too. I was sold even though I kept saying it was too much in my head.
Chris told me he thought it was a good idea but didn’t push me too hard. The smile on Chry’s face as we stood in the second condo was really tugging on my heart. He even told me which room was going to be his.
“Ahhh. Okay. Fine. But only until I feel more secure and get more hours. Deal?” I told Chris, my body vibrating with nerves and excitement. I had a feeling that I would probably never be able to afford this place on my own, but right now I decided to let go and take the help because I felt so happy at the moment.
The woman pulled the paperwork out to get the ball rolling. I stood there while she explained everything to Chris and they talked out the situation. We all agreed that it would be best to put it in Chris’ name because of his credit and income and other things that I wasn’t all that sure on yet.
