with her mother and her
mother’s new boyfriend.
By the end, it had become more than clear
that they didn’t want her around.
Of course, she’d always sensed that her
mother would’ve liked to have been rid of her. But once Eric and her mother moved in
together, that sense of not being wanted had magnified until she’d basically
been hiding in her room in the attic of their home, trying to stay out of their
way all the time.
So when Ivy called and told her about
this apartment she needed to sublet, Lanie had taken it as a sign.
Moving to the Boston area should have
been a good thing.
This new apartment should have been a
wonderful chance at a fresh start.
But now, one stupid mistake had ruined
all of that. She wished that Cullen
Sharpe had never tried to do her a favor and get her that interview with
Brayden Forman in the first place.
What
kind of favor was that?
The
guy is a jerk and Cullen should have known better. I wish I’d never called Brayden and even
tried to set up that interview. I
had no business trying to get a job with him.
Lanie balled up her hand into a fist and
struck her pillow. And then she
made a loud, frustrated groan.
Somehow, in the midst of her groaning,
she heard a faint buzzing sound.
Oh
my God.
It was her phone ringing again.
Immediately, Lanie’s pulse began racing
as she picked up her phone from the nightstand next to her bed and saw the
all-too-familiar number.
Brayden
Forman.
Why? Why would he be calling her back?
She quickly declined the call.
But a few seconds later, the buzzing
started and his number reappeared insistently on her phone’s screen.
She declined yet again.
Her heart was practically beating through
her ribcage now.
What could he possibly want—to humiliate
her some more?
“Oh God, just leave me alone, please,”
she whined.
And then his number popped up again, so she
rejected his call once more.
Eventually,
he’ll have to get the hint and leave me alone. He’s got better things to do with his
time than harass me.
There was a long pause, which steadily
grew longer until Lanie realized he must have given up. Strangely, her heart sank a little. It was as if, on some level, she
actually wanted him to keep trying to call her.
Are
you insane? You want this? You want that jerk in your life?
She felt confused, anxious, sweaty and
out of sorts as she sat up in her bed and stared at the now mute cell phone in
her hands.
And then, a loud buzzing rang out loudly
from the hallway.
“Oh, shit!” she cried.
It was the intercom system.
It buzzed incessantly, as if someone was outside
the building, standing at the entrance and holding down the buzzer.
It couldn’t be him, though. There was no way he’d come to her
apartment just to stand out there and buzz her intercom. It made no sense. Had to be a coincidence.
How on earth could Brayden Forman even
know where she lived? She hadn’t
left a copy of her resume or anything.
He didn’t know.
Getting slowly off the bed, she tried to
calm her breathing.
It’s
not him. Just knock it off,
Lanie. Relax.
And yet, if it wasn’t Brayden out there,
then who was it? Who was outside in
the darkness buzzing her apartment?
Whoever it was, they definitely wanted to
get inside.
Lanie walked slowly to the door to her
apartment and pressed the intercom button down to speak. “Hello?” she said, her voice quiet,
subdued. “Who’s there?”
And then she heard the sounds of the door
to the building being opened and someone walking up the staircase.
They’d been let inside.
They’d gotten into the building and now
she could hear the footfalls on the stairs as that person came up to her floor.
I’m
not answering.
My
door’s locked and if I stay quiet, they won’t know if I’m in the apartment or
not.
Except
you already answered the intercom, silly. So they do know you’re here.
Lanie made another frustrated whine
mother’s new boyfriend.
By the end, it had become more than clear
that they didn’t want her around.
Of course, she’d always sensed that her
mother would’ve liked to have been rid of her. But once Eric and her mother moved in
together, that sense of not being wanted had magnified until she’d basically
been hiding in her room in the attic of their home, trying to stay out of their
way all the time.
So when Ivy called and told her about
this apartment she needed to sublet, Lanie had taken it as a sign.
Moving to the Boston area should have
been a good thing.
This new apartment should have been a
wonderful chance at a fresh start.
But now, one stupid mistake had ruined
all of that. She wished that Cullen
Sharpe had never tried to do her a favor and get her that interview with
Brayden Forman in the first place.
What
kind of favor was that?
The
guy is a jerk and Cullen should have known better. I wish I’d never called Brayden and even
tried to set up that interview. I
had no business trying to get a job with him.
Lanie balled up her hand into a fist and
struck her pillow. And then she
made a loud, frustrated groan.
Somehow, in the midst of her groaning,
she heard a faint buzzing sound.
Oh
my God.
It was her phone ringing again.
Immediately, Lanie’s pulse began racing
as she picked up her phone from the nightstand next to her bed and saw the
all-too-familiar number.
Brayden
Forman.
Why? Why would he be calling her back?
She quickly declined the call.
But a few seconds later, the buzzing
started and his number reappeared insistently on her phone’s screen.
She declined yet again.
Her heart was practically beating through
her ribcage now.
What could he possibly want—to humiliate
her some more?
“Oh God, just leave me alone, please,”
she whined.
And then his number popped up again, so she
rejected his call once more.
Eventually,
he’ll have to get the hint and leave me alone. He’s got better things to do with his
time than harass me.
There was a long pause, which steadily
grew longer until Lanie realized he must have given up. Strangely, her heart sank a little. It was as if, on some level, she
actually wanted him to keep trying to call her.
Are
you insane? You want this? You want that jerk in your life?
She felt confused, anxious, sweaty and
out of sorts as she sat up in her bed and stared at the now mute cell phone in
her hands.
And then, a loud buzzing rang out loudly
from the hallway.
“Oh, shit!” she cried.
It was the intercom system.
It buzzed incessantly, as if someone was outside
the building, standing at the entrance and holding down the buzzer.
It couldn’t be him, though. There was no way he’d come to her
apartment just to stand out there and buzz her intercom. It made no sense. Had to be a coincidence.
How on earth could Brayden Forman even
know where she lived? She hadn’t
left a copy of her resume or anything.
He didn’t know.
Getting slowly off the bed, she tried to
calm her breathing.
It’s
not him. Just knock it off,
Lanie. Relax.
And yet, if it wasn’t Brayden out there,
then who was it? Who was outside in
the darkness buzzing her apartment?
Whoever it was, they definitely wanted to
get inside.
Lanie walked slowly to the door to her
apartment and pressed the intercom button down to speak. “Hello?” she said, her voice quiet,
subdued. “Who’s there?”
And then she heard the sounds of the door
to the building being opened and someone walking up the staircase.
They’d been let inside.
They’d gotten into the building and now
she could hear the footfalls on the stairs as that person came up to her floor.
I’m
not answering.
My
door’s locked and if I stay quiet, they won’t know if I’m in the apartment or
not.
Except
you already answered the intercom, silly. So they do know you’re here.
Lanie made another frustrated whine
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