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Paul joined me on the balcony later that morning and sat down next to me with a heavy sigh. “How are you doing, kid?”
I forced a smile and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He rubbed his jaw and stared out at the morning sun coming up over the city. “I thought about what you said about not wanting to go back there. I have a friend with rental properties here and I called her before coming out here. She’s got something available right now. It’s tiny but she said it’s nice.”
“If I can afford it, I’ll take it.” I’d already made up my mind. I wasn’t going back to that house.
“She’s going to do me a favor and let you rent it for less than what she’d usually charge. Whatever you can’t make, I’ll cover, Ellie. Don’t worry about it.”
I turned to face him. “You don’t have to do that, Paul. I know that I put you in an awkward position by coming to you, crying about your son. You don’t have to do anything more than what you already have.”
“Just let me help. You did the right thing, coming here. It makes me feel a little less like a failure to be able to help you.” He saw me start to argue with him and held up his hands. “I don’t need you to comfort me and try to make it better, Ellie. I should’ve made more of an effort for you.”
“Thank you. For everything. I don’t know what I would’ve done last night without you.” I stood up and stretched, ready to force myself to do anything besides sitting and stewing. “When can we see the apartment?”
“Right now, if you want. She gave me the lockbox code.”
I nodded. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to get out of that house as soon as possible.”
“Of course, it’s okay with me. Let me get changed and we can go.” He looked at my rumpled dress and frowned. “Do I need to swing by the house and get you something to wear?”
“Unless you’d rather not be seen with a mess, I’m okay going like this. I want to get my life sorted as soon as possible.”
“You’re not a mess, Ellie.” He reached out and squeezed my hand. “Alright. Let’s face this day.”
The apartment was just off campus and it was in a historic building that had serious haunted vibes. It wasn’t so much an apartment as it was a large closet but I loved it for all the things it wasn’t. Like how it wasn’t next door to the guys and how it wasn’t on campus where everyone had seemed so eager to trash me the night before. Paul set everything up with his friend and I had a new place to live before lunch.
“I’m going to pack up your stuff.” Paul stood in the open doorway and blew out a quick breath. “It’ll be a little while before I’m back. Are you going to be okay here?”
I nodded as I turned in a circle, looking at my entire apartment in that one move. “Yeah, I think so. Thank you so much, Paul.”
“Even if I didn’t love you, kid, I made the demon spawn who hurt you. It’s the least I can do. Call me if you need anything while I’m out.” He wrapped me in a tight hug and ruffled my hair. “I’ll be sure to have Connie right shotgun on the way back.”
I squeezed him hard and swallowed a lump of emotion. “Thank you.”
After he left I called Mom. She answered and before she could say anything, I just blurted out the entire story. I realized I could still cry, and did. When I finished, she’d already booked a flight to come be with me for a few days.
“You can show me around campus and we can throw bricks through those jerks’ windows. You know, the normal mom’s visiting campus activities.” She sniffed. “I love you so much, Ella Rae. You are so special and you deserve the world. I never wanted you to learn how much men suck but it seems that lesson doesn’t skip anyone.”
I cringed at the name and dug my fingers into the naked mattress that came with the apartment. “I love you too, Mom. Besides making a monster of a son, Paul isn’t so bad.”
She grunted. “Yeah, yeah. Paul’s great. We all love Paul. I’m glad he was there for you, baby, but I’m coming now. This is a mom project.”
“I’m glad you’re coming.”
“I’ll always come when you need me. No matter how old you are, I’ll always be your mom, Ella.” She sighed and I could hear her going through her drawers as she spoke. “My mom wasn’t always there for me when I went through hard things. She had this idea that to be an adult, I needed to face everything on my own, no matter what it was. I know I raised you right, Ella. You’re more of an adult than I’ll ever be. But you’ll never have to face life alone as long as I’m still kicking. I will always come when you need me. Even when you don’t need me, sometimes. You know that, right?”
My eyes burned with unshed emotion. “I know, Mom. I love you. Thank you for coming. I think I really just need your hug.”
She groaned and I could hear that she was crying. “Maybe I won’t murder those boys after all, not since I got to hear that because of them.”
There was a knock on my door. “Someone’s here, Mom. I’ll call you back.”
“I’ll see you soon!”
I opened the door, expecting Paul. Instead it was Natalie. I’d texted her to let her know that I was moving to a new apartment but I hadn’t stopped to explain anything. She was already there, standing in front of me with a tub of ice cream bigger than her head and two plastic spoons.
“Can I come in?”
