Page 110 of Ruin

I jog downstairs. I find Aunt Elle at the dining table, case files spread out on it.

“Hey, I need to go out for just a short while. You okay to watch Gigi? She’s sleeping, so she won’t bother you while you work.”

She looks up from her reading, smiling. “Of course I am. And Gigi could never bother me. You know that.” Her eyes focus in on my face and line with concern. “You okay?”

I realize that I’m tapping my foot with restless energy. I stop. “Yeah…I just need to talk to Zeus.”

She nods but doesn’t say anything, and I appreciate that.

“I won’t be long.”

“Take as long as you need.”

I grab my car keys and leave the house.

On the short drive to Zeus’s, Little Mix’s “Nobody Like You” plays in my car, the words pricking at my heart.

I pull up outside his apartment. Get out of my car and walk the short distance to his door.

Reaching it, I ring the bell. Then, my brain decides to work.

What if he’s not here? Or worse…what if Mindi’s here?

Shit. I really didn’t think this through.

God, I can be irrational at times.

I need to get out of here.

I step back to leave when the door opens, and he’s standing there, wearing dark gray trackpants slung low on his hips and a fitted black T-shirt. His hair is damp, like he just had a shower.

What if he just got out of the shower because he got all sweated up from having sex with Mindi?

“Hi,” he says.

I note a hint of caution in his tone, and pain leaks into my chest. My hands clench up into fists, nails biting into my skin.

“Are you alone?” I blurt out.

His brows come together. “Currently? Or in life?”

“Funny. I mean, do you have someone in your apartment right now?” Specifically, in your bedroom.

Eyes holding mine, he slowly shakes his head. “Nope. Just me here.”

“You sure?”

He glances over his shoulder before looking back at me. “Yep. You wanna check?” He steps aside, widening the door.

“No.”

“You sure?”

“Yep.”

There’s a beat of silence. Then, another.

“Did you come here to just check if I was alone?”