Blaze & Bind (Surrender to Them 10)

The next day

I was looking forward to sleeping away as many of the forty-eight hours as possible once I got back to the apartment, especially after such a hard shift with another one in front of me. That wasn’t easy, of course, when my bed was the couch in the middle of the living room. It certainly wasn’t restful when Billy started up with his girlfriend. Somewhere between round two and three, I managed to give Billy my share of the rent and ask him to keep it down. He didn’t, so I popped in some earplugs, covered my head with a quilt, and finally managed to pass out when Gerard went to bed for the night. Gerard woke me up at some point the next morning to tell me that he was heading downtown to run some errands. I didn’t hear any noise from Billy’s room, so I took out the earplugs and dozed off again. I was just about to enter dreamland when a knock at the door pulled me back to the land of the living. I was somewhat surprised when I realized the gorgeous brunette at the door was Billy’s little sister, Rachel.

“You gave the rent to Billy?” Her eyes reflected a hint of panic. “Yesterday?”

“Yeah. Why?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively. “I’m sure he’s in his room if you want to see him.”

“I—don’t think he is.” She looked down at the floor.

“Hold on.” I left the door open and stomped down the hall towards Billy’s bedroom.

I knocked on Billy’s door several times, but there was no response. I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye and turned my head to see Rachel standing at the end of the hall with a perturbed expression on her face. My gut told me something wasn’t right, even if I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. I grabbed the doorknob and found it unlocked. When I pushed the door open, I was greeted by an empty room, drawers hanging open, and a closet that looked like it had been pillaged. I stepped into the room to investigate, and it didn’t take me long to understand that Billy wasn’t there—based on what I saw, it looked like he left in a hurry with no intention of returning. His furniture was there, but the necessities and the few valuables he had were gone. I walked back into the hallway with a purpose in my step.

“Okay, what the fuck is going on here?” I came to a stop several feet from Rachel. “Where’s your brother?”

“He eloped.” She looked down and exhaled sharply. “He left our Dad a voicemail…”

“Oh fuck.” I shook my head back and forth. “That—fucking prick.”

“You really gave him the rent money yesterday?” She lifted her head slowly, and I saw the look of panic return.

“Yeah, and I’m guessing you’re asking because he didn’t give it to the landlord.” My jaw tightened involuntarily.

“No.” Her eyes closed, and she grimaced.

Okay, I shouldn’t take my anger out on her. She obviously didn’t know he was going to skip town with our rent money.

“I can’t believe Billy eloped…” I walked into the living room and quickly cleared my stuff off the couch.

“You’re not the only one.” She sighed as she sat down.

I was angry, but I was also slightly distracted by the beautiful brunette in front of me once the initial shock wore off. The years had turned Billy’s little sister into a gorgeous young woman. I remembered her as a bashful teenager that blushed every time she tried to talk to me. Billy used to joke that she had a crush on me. She might not have had the curves to capture my attention back then, but that was no longer the case. Even in a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, they were mesmerizing. Her soft, pouty lips looked so enticing that it was hard not to think about kissing them—and imagining them being spread for something else. It had been a long time since those kinds of dirty thoughts went through my head within minutes of meeting someone—although Rachel wasn’t a total stranger. She was, however—Billy’s sister—and he was one of my best friends, even if I didn't feel like he deserved that title at the moment.

“Okay, so Billy eloped and stole our rent money.” I exhaled sharply. “Fuck!”

“I came to talk to the landlord about getting him out of his lease, but I didn’t know he had roommates.” She shook her head back and forth. “That makes it a lot more complicated.”

“I’d prefer not to be homeless.” I chuckled under my breath. “I’m sure Gerard feels the same way.”

“Gerard? He lives here too?” It looked like the color drained from her face the instant she heard his name—and more of that color vanished when she repeated it.

“Yeah, he’s been here longer than I have. You must not talk to your brother much.” I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“No, I usually only see him when he stops by to ask our Dad for money.” She exhaled sharply. “Okay, so maybe this isn’t the worst thing in the world. If you two can cover the rent this month, that’ll give you some time to find a new place…”

And put a hole in my bank account—especially if we have to cover Billy’s part of the utilities as well.

“I gotta talk to Gerard.” I leaned forward and put my head in my hands. “Fuck—this sucks.”

“I’m sorry…” She sighed. “Billy has never been very responsible—I think someone’s at the door.”

“That’s gotta be Gerard.” I looked towards the door as it opened. “Assuming that Billy didn’t change his mind.”

“Right.” Her lip trembled slightly. “Gerard…”

I get the feeling there’s something between them that I don’t know about.

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