Friend-Zoned (Friend-Zoned 1)

I have two would-be breaking and entering suspects in my house and one of them is bloody and bruised.

I hear Nat opens the door and Molly steps inside. She looks at Ghost then Max and says, “Sounds like a party I wasn’t invited to. ”

I rest my forearms on the kitchen counter, lean forward and chuckle “I’m so sorry about the yelling, Molly. I hope we didn’t wake you. ”

She takes in my exhausted appearance and tuts, “Child, you need to sit yourself down before you fall asleep standin’ up. Let Molly make you a tea and fix the boy up. ”

I take her hand in mine and kiss it. I quietly say, “Thanks, Miss Molly. ”

Molly makes tea for me and Nat. Ghost declined and she brought Max a glass of water and some aspirin. She takes her time cleaning Max’s wounds with peroxide. And when he doesn’t flinch she pats his cheek and tells him, “You earned yourself some cupcakes, young man. ”

Max smiles and splits his lip again. He turns to me and says, “Hear that, Tina. Molly says I get cupcakes. ”

I chuckle as Molly takes her leave. I hug her for a long time.

Best neighbor ever.

As soon as I shut the door I point a finger to Ghost. “Explain. ”

Ghost leans back on the sofa and shrugs, “Nik wanted you protected so we came to see how secure your apartment is. ” He points to himself. “And here we are. Inside your apartment. So, it’s safe to say it’s not so secure. ” He looks at Max and says, “I didn’t want Max to come but he insisted. ” He looks at me and smirks “And you beat him up. ”

I feel panic swell in my gut.

Oh, Nik is going to kill me. I beat up his brother. Who is now slightly loopy on my sofa.

I fall into a dining chair with my shoulders slumped.

Today has not been a good day.

I cover my face with my hands. Ghost starts to talk again, “Listen, I’ve taken note of everything you need for your place to be secured. I’ll get all the stuff tomorrow and install it during the day. When you get home tomorrow night, I’ll be waiting for you to show you how to use it. ” He squeezes my knee, I remove my hands from my face and open my eyes. He says softly, “You don’t want to fuck with Omarr. He’s unpredictable. We’re just taking precautions. If today went as planned, you won’t ever hear from him again. But we’re not taking the risk. He’s taken a liking to you, Tina. ”

Nat reaches over to take my hand and says rasps, “That sucks, babe. ”

I lower my head and nod. I say dejectedly, “Okay. When you find out how much the security stuff costs just sent an invoice over to the store and I’ll pay for it. ”

His eyes narrow and he tilts his head. He looks at me for a few seconds then shakes his head softly and orders, “Okay, so get your shit. We’re leaving. ”

Excuse me?

“Excuse me?” I reply.

He glares and repeats slowly, “Get. Your. Shit. You aren’t staying here tonight. ”

I don’t know what to do about this. I don’t want to stay anywhere else. This is my apartment!

So I say the first stupid thing that comes to my mind. “But I have a cat!”

Ghost looks to Bear who is sitting on Max’s lap staring stupidly at him. Max is staring stupidly right back at Bear.

He asks patiently, “Do you have a cage for your beast?”

I nod.

He nods right back as if to say I don’t see what the problem is.

Nat squeezes my hand and I look up at her. She gifts me a sympathetic smile. I’ll go. For her.

I sigh and say quietly, “Okay, let me pack some things. ”