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 clammy, 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 last piece of normalcy left in my life. Then what? I didn't know what I would

do. File bankruptcy maybe? 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 coming, just get it over with already. Rip that band aid off quick.

“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

claimed 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.

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 my last twenty dollars in my account 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 now laying down. I snorted laughing at his unamused

face. He cocked his eyebrow, not finding the funny side. I slammed 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 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 too late.

Paperwork fell all over his lap and the floor. Theo held up the glove compartment 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 exclaimed 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 becoming 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 place 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.0000000