"Hey." She smiled brightly, and I silently envied her carefree happiness. "Are you ready?"

I nodded my head.

"Good. I think we've already secured the job for you, but Darren wanted to meet you first."

"Thanks for this." I motioned to the outfit I wore.

"It looks good on you." She smiled rea.s.suringly, and I knew she understood how hard it was for me to accept help. She eased the door closed quietly, and in a hushed tone, asked, "How's it going with Liam?"

I shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I've mostly been in my room, though, so it isn't like we've really interacted."

"I want you to know that Liam can be..." She paused, searching for the right word. "Intense. He's hard to get to know, and he'll do his best to force you to hate him, but don't let that get to you. He really is a nice guy if you can push past his bulls.h.i.t."

"Noted." I nodded, but I really had no interest in getting to know Liam. Living there was only a temporary situation, and I wasn't looking to make friends, not even with Ollie and Talia. Making a connection would make it hard to leave, and I couldn't afford that.

She appraised me quietly for a moment and finally said, "Don't let him try to bulldoze you. Liam needs someone that won't back down from him."

"I really don't plan on hanging out with him, so..." I trailed off, hoping she'd let the subject drop.

She smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah, I get it. You're not planning to be here permanently."

"How'd you-" I started, but she quickly cut me off.

"You're easier to read than you think," she explained.

I inhaled a shaky breath and looked away.

She clapped her hands together and pointed over her shoulder at the door. "Shall we go?" she asked.

"Yeah." The word came out as barely a whisper.

I followed her out of the room and down the steps. I heard the echo of Liam and Ollie's voices, and when we rounded the corner, we saw them sitting in the family room.

Liam was reclined on the couch with his arm tossed across the back of it. He looked relaxed, and he was actually smiling. When he glanced up and saw us his smile quickly disappeared.

Ollie noticed and glanced over his shoulder at us. "Ready?" he asked, his own smile growing.

"Yeah, we're ready." Talia bounced over to his side and bent to kiss his cheek.

Liam stood and left the room without a word.

I shook my head at his actions. It hadn't even been a full day, and I could tell already that living with him was going to test the limits of both of our patience. I kept reminding myself that I was doing what I had to do. I couldn't let his behavior get to me, and if he was friends with people like Ollie and Talia he couldn't be that bad, right?

I followed Talia and Ollie out the front door and to their beat-up VW camper van parked in the driveway.

It didn't take us long to get to the restaurant. It was a small little shack of a place called Mo's. The outside was painted teal, and it had a bright yellow door, which made it impossible to miss.

"It's a local place," Ollie explained, unbuckling his seatbelt and reaching for the door handle. "We hang out here a lot and know pretty much everyone that works here, so it seemed fitting to try and get you a job here."

I nodded at his words and slid the back door open before stepping outside.

My palms were sweating, and my heart raced.

Talia closed the van door and gave me a rea.s.suring smile. "It's okay, you're basically already hired. There's nothing to be nervous about."

"I don't know why I'm scared."

Lie.

I knew exactly why I was scared-because it didn't matter how many miles I put between Blaise and myself, I was always going to worry about him or one of his henchmen, for lack of a better word, popping up somewhere.

I might've had the freedom to walk around on my own and breathe in the fresh air, but I'd never truly be free. I'd always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Ollie came around the side of the van and tilted his head slightly. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." I steeled my shoulders and lifted my chin. "I needed a moment."

Ollie reached for Talia's hand and tugged slightly so she fell into his chest. He caught her easily, and her giggle filled the air. Ollie lowered his head and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. There was something so sweet and effortless about their relationship. I didn't even know them that well, or at all, really, but it was obvious they were perfect for each other.

"This way." Ollie nodded, and they started toward the building.

I trailed behind and kept my head low; my long, dark hair provided an excellent shield.

Ollie held the door open for Talia and then me. When his hand landed on the small of my back, I gasped and jumped away.

"Sorry." His hand fell like he'd been burned.

I shook my head. "Don't be."

I am going to have to work on being so jumpy.

"Darren's office is this way." He stepped in front of me, taking Talia's hand.

The interior of Mo's was more bright colors and shiny wood floors. It was packed with the evening crowd, and there wasn't an empty seat at the bar.

We reached the door, and Ollie rapped his knuckles against it.

A male voice called out, "Just a second!"

The door swung open a moment later and a guy stood there. s.h.a.ggy, brown hair hung past his ears, and his chin and cheeks were covered in several days' worth of stubble. His green eyes were bright and alert, and he had an easy smile.

"You must be Ariella." He held his hand out for me to shake.

I nodded and slipped my hand in his. "Ari."

"It's nice to meet you." He let go of my hand. "Shall we talk in here?" He nodded back at his office. At my panic-stricken look, he added, "Ollie and Talia can join us, if you'd prefer?"

I glanced at them and shook my head. As much as I wanted their presence, I didn't need it. I couldn't need it.

I'd found the strength to leave Blaise; I had to find the strength to stand on my own two feet.

Darren stepped back, clearing a path for me into his office.

"Have a seat, please." He indicated the plain gray chair in front of his desk.

I took a seat as he moved behind his cluttered desk. There were so many pieces of paper strewn across it I didn't know how he could ever find anything.

"Talia and Ollie explained your situation to me, and I want to help in any way I can. Have you ever waited tables?"

I shook my head. "No, I haven't. But I'm a quick learner." I flinched at my own words; I was sure he'd heard them plenty of times.

His lips rose in a slow smile. "I'll have Rebecca train you. She's one of my best waitresses, and she also bartends, so you'll get training with both."

"Thank you for this. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"I'm happy to help." He held his hand out to me once more to shake.

I stood and started toward the door.

"When can you start?" he called out.

I turned back around. "Tomorrow?"

"Excellent." He smiled broadly, displaying perfectly-straight, white teeth. "I'll see you at eleven o' clock?"

I nodded. "See you then."

I opened the office door, expecting to b.u.mp into Ollie and Talia, but they weren't there. Instead, they were seated at a table, side by side. Talia laughed at something he said, and Ollie nipped at her chin before going in for a kiss.

I found a soft sigh pa.s.sing through my lips.

I couldn't help but be slightly envious of their easy relationship. I hadn't had that, and I feared I never would. When you're surrounded by toxic people as long as I have you start to feel like you're one of them.

I joined the happy duo and pulled out the chair across from them.

"How'd it go?" Talia asked, pressing her hand to the side of Ollie's face and pushing him away so she could speak to me. He was undeterred and simply grabbed her hand in his before pressing his lips to her cheek.

"Good." I smiled. "I start tomorrow. You guys are life savers."

"We do what we can." Ollie grinned. "You ready to head out?"

I nodded, rubbing my hands together nervously beneath the table. "Yeah, unless you guys want dinner or something."

"Nope, we're good." He stood and held his hand out for Talia. She beamed up at him, and I wish I had a camera so I could've snapped a picture of the look that pa.s.sed between them. Maybe if I ever got my hands on a sketchbook I could draw it.

They dropped me back off at Liam's house, and I waved goodbye as I headed inside.

It was dark out by then, and the stars shimmered above like a thousand tiny little diamonds. I took a brief moment to look up and appreciate it before heading inside.

The house was mostly dark, save for a lone lamp glowing in the family room, but Liam wasn't in there.

I didn't bother looking around for him; I figured the less he saw of me the better.

My hand glided against the railing, and my feet padded softly on the wooden steps. I was used to being quiet, of hiding in the shadows, and I figured it was a trait I'd never lose.

I headed down the darkened hallway and pushed open the door to the guestroom.

I stopped short, staring down at the floor and all the bags sitting on it.

"What the h.e.l.l?" I muttered to myself.

Fear coated my veins, sticky and suffocating, but logic quickly overrode it. If Blaise were there, there wouldn't be shopping bags on the ground. No. There'd be a gun held to the side of my head.

I bent, rifling through the plastic bag closest to me.

Clothes.

Women's clothes.

In my exact size.

I picked up an ivory-colored crocheted-looking crop-top. It was beautiful, and the price tag still dangled from it. My eyes zeroed in on the numbers there, and I promptly dropped the top. That was a whole heck of a lot of money for a top.

I whipped around and pushed through the doorway.

"Liam." My voice echoed off the high ceilings. "Liam. Where are you?"

I hadn't even been there a day, and I already wanted to strangle my roommate. Well, I guess technically he was more like my landlord.

He was the last person on the planet I needed buying me clothes, and how the h.e.l.l did he even know the right size?

"Liam," I bellowed, my steps thundering off the steps.

I did a quick pa.s.s through the downstairs and didn't find him, so I headed outside.

It too was empty, but I caught sight of the stairs and decided to head down them to the beach. Something told me I'd find him there.

Sure enough, down aways on the beach stood a dark figure staring out at the water. The height and build of the guy made me certain it was Liam. His head was tilted slightly back toward the sky, and a beer bottle hung loosely in his grip.

"Who do you think you are?" I yelled as I stomped toward him. Sand kicked up in my wake and stuck to my toes.

His head swiveled to me, and in the dark I couldn't make out the expression on his face.

"What the f.u.c.k are you talking about?"

I stopped in front of him and glared up at him. He wasn't much taller than me, but enough to try to appear intimidating. If only he'd known I'd dealt with far worse men than him. He didn't scare me. Not at all.

"The clothes," I said slowly, like he was stupid. "Who do you think you are to go and buy me clothes? I don't need your charity."