Chapter 5

Aspen

It’s beena slow morning and I wipe down the already spotless counters as Bianca wipes down tables and clears away dishes. I look to the door for what has to be the hundredth time this morning but my guys still haven’t come in yet. I shake my head; I shouldn’t be calling them my guys.

I’ll never admit it but I look forward to seeing them every day. Their sweet flirting and sexy smiles. I want to accept their invitations more and more every time that they ask me out but then I remember Adeline. She’s been worse lately, losing weight and getting weaker every day. I need to focus on her right now.

Still, maybe a night out with those two would do me some good. I know that’s what Bianca keeps telling me. She pushes me in their direction every time they come in.

The bell chimes as the door opens and I look up to see Flynn and Roman walking in.

“Morning, Kitten!” Flynn says in a silly sing-song voice as soon as he sees me.

I bite my cheek to keep from smiling back at him.

“Morning.” I say.

“Hey, Aspen? I’m going to take my break now if that’s ok?” Bianca asks as she walks back behind the counter, already taking off her apron.

She disappears out the back door before I can answer her and I turn back to Roman and Flynn, already typing in their usual order.

“Your usual?” I ask as I finish typing in their order.

“That’d be great, Kitten.” Flynn says as he leans on the counter.

He swipes his card while I get started on their order.

“We wanted to talk to you about something.” Roman says as I place their coffees down in front of them.

I turn to the pastry case to grab their food, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow.

“We know about Adeline.” He says simply.

I swallow around the lump in my throat as I slowly place the last pastry in the bag.

“We want to help.” Flynn says.

“Help how?” I ask.

“We have money. We could give it to you. Pay for her medical bills or whatever you need.” Flynn says.

“And why would you do that? I can’t pay you back. It would take me ten lifetimes to pay you back.” I say as I place the pastry bag down in front of them.

“Go out with us. Give us one night and we will cover all of the medical expenses. Just name your price and we’ll pay it.”

Pain lances through my chest as I take in their offer. Sex. That’s all they want from me. Here I thought that maybe they actually cared about me. That they were being sweet coming in here every morning to see me but it was all just a game. They were only interested in one thing. Sleeping with me.

I look away before they can see the tears in my eyes. I blink rapidly, trying to clear them enough so that I can answer them. God, I feel so stupid. Believing that they were different from the other guys who hit on me.

“Fuck you.” I say between gritted teeth.

“What?” They ask in unison.

“I said, fuck you. I’m not a prostitute and you can take your offer and shove it up your asses.” I say as Bianca walks in the back door.

She shoots me a startled look and I take off my apron as I make my way towards the back door. I know I can’t go outside; they’ll just find me there but I can’t stay in here with them. Not when I feel so raw, so angry at myself for thinking that they could really be interested in me.

Bianca takes one look at my face before she grabs her own apron and goes back out to the counter to get rid of them. I hear her tell them to get lost as I lean against the wall, out of their sight. They argue with her, wanting to talk to me, to explain themselves, to apologize but she’s not having it. I smile when they finally leave. Bianca is a good friend.

I finish out the rest of my shift without incident. Bianca can tell that I’m upset and something happened but she doesn’t press me on it. We split up the tips at the end of our shift and she walks me back to my apartment in silence. It’s nice to have the company.

I walk into the apartment and jump when I see Adeline curled up on the mattress. She shouldn’t be home yet and I rush over to her immediately.

“What are you doing home already?” I ask.

“I wasn’t feeling well so they let me leave early.” She says.

My stomach sinks at her words. She’s been getting worse the last few weeks but she’s still been able to go to work. To function.

“Maybe we should make another doctor appointment.” I say in a shaky voice.

When she only just nods her head, I know things are really bad. Tears form in my eyes and this time I can’t hold them back. I curl up behind her on the mattress and just hold onto her. She feels warm and I just feel so helpless. I don’t want to lose her. I don’t want to be all alone.

Roman and Flynn’s offer floats through my mind. Even when things were really dire, I never once considered prostituting myself. This is Adeline though and I would do anything for her. If one night could save her then isn’t it worth it? It will be one night of my life but it could mean that Adeline lives another sixty years.

I tuck the blankets tighter around us as Adeline sleeps and I ponder what I should do. At five I get up and get ready to go clean offices. Adeline is still asleep so I make her some food that she can heat up if she wakes up and is hungry. I log into the hospital system and schedule an appointment for Adeline to be checked over tomorrow afternoon. It will be a rush for me to head there and then to work but I haven’t missed an appointment yet and I’m not going to start now.

I change into my cleaning clothes and kiss Adeline on the forehead before I head out the door, locking it behind me.