Losing Pieces of Me by Rose Briner Read Free Book Online Page B

his arms and hugs me against him.  As much as I want to stay as far away from this man as possible, his arms around me feel good and he smells incredible.  I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let him comfort me.  After all, his brother is part of the reason why I am so upset right now.
       I sniffle a few times and gently push away from him so I can turn to clean my face.  I still feel like crying, but I at least have a better handle on my emotions for right now.
    I turn to look at the boxes I was working on and instead of facing Jayden, I walk back over to them and resume what I was doing.  Most of the things I’m boxing up are my clothes and the few things I pulled out of my room so I take my time folding my clothes before placing each article inside the box.
       “Talk to me, Mireya, tell me what’s wrong,” he pleads as he sits himself on the arm of the sofa so he’s right next to me.
       “I have to move, I can’t afford to live here any longer.  Katrina left, and I can’t afford to stay here anymore,” I reply with a shrug, there’s no way I’m going to tell him that Katrina has been missing for three months now.  That ever since the night we met, she’s been gone.
       “She left you here all alone?”
       I nod my head, twisting the shirt I’m holding in my hands.  I’m stretching the hell out of it, but it doesn’t seem that important right now as I look around me and realize I’m losing what little I had left in my life after Katrina left.
       “Where are you going to go?”
       I shrug again, I can’t bear to look at him as I throw the shirt I’m holding down into the box and pick up the next one choosing to do the same thing and before I even realize what I’ve done, I’ve thrown an entire pile of shirts into the box and I’m laughing hysterically.
       “Why didn’t you tell me you needed help?  I could’ve done something to help you, I don’t want you to be living out of your car,” he says as he comes to stand before me.
       “And how would that conversation have gone, Jayden?  Hey Jayden, I know you are super rich and have lots of money, care to bail me out?”
       He laughs softly as he smiles down at me, “Yeah, that does sound pretty ridiculous when you put it like that.  But, at least if you had told me, I could’ve done something to help you sooner.  How much longer before they kick you out of here?”
       I sigh as I close the now full box and start to tape it up, “Maybe a week or two at most.  The manager was here a few days ago yelling at me about how far behind I am on the rent.”
       “Just exactly how far behind are you?”
       “Two months,” I whisper softly as I push the box away from me.
       “Here, allow me,” he says, lifting the box and placing it in the corner of the room like it weighs nothing.  Watching him, it occurs to me that the thing probably does weigh nothing to him.  He’s that tall and in shape.  Sure, I’ve only ever seen him wearing a dress shirt, but he looks like he’s well built and takes good care of himself.
       “Come over here and sit down,” he says as he holds his hand out for mine so he can help me get over the pile of crap I have on the floor.
       I allow him to pull me over to the table and sit me down.  He sits there for a while tapping his finger against the table. Clearly he’s nervous, but why?  Shouldn’t I be the one that’s nervous?  I pretty much stalked this man and his brother, and yet for some reason sitting here with me he’s the one who looks extremely nervous.
       “Are you okay?” I finally ask him when he doesn’t move to start a conversation.  That’s why he’s called me to sit here, it has to be.  If he only just wanted to talk, he could’ve talked while I continued to pack.
       “Not really, no.  I was hoping I had more time before I had to bring up heavier subjects with you,” he says as he rests his elbows against the table and fixes his gaze