8. Derek

CHAPTER EIGHT

Derek

I can't do this. I was trying to be a good person and let this girl have my unused room. I'm still not sure why I offered. When I saw Indy lying in that hospital bed alone with nowhere to go, I felt like I had to do something.

But now I'm just twitchy.

Indy is chaos. In the nine days she's been here, I've found wrappers lying on tables, unwashed dishes in the sink, takeout containers in the fridge, and she leaves laundry in the washer after the cycle is done. She even told me to give her my underwear because she was doing a load.

Not only that, but she lights candles. I came home two days ago to the house filled with lit containers of wax and poisons and nearly had a heart attack. I asked her if she knew if her candles contained any hazardous ingredients, and she just gave me a quizzical look while proudly stating that candles are made of wax. Wax. She is in my home, setting glass jars of mystery chemicals on fire. My house is a mess, my underwear is mixing with hers, and my safe, quiet haven now smells of burned candle toxins.

She consumes junk food almost constantly. And it's never a normal snacking experience. She opens things with her feet. She throws cheese puffs in the air and catches them in her mouth, then cheers for herself each time she's successful. And if she's not, she fucking picks it up, blows on it, and eats the dirty piece while shrugging and talking about a ten-second rule. That isn't a real rule. I told her as much, and she booped me on my nose. Booped. I didn't know what a boop was until she laughed, tapped my nose, and went,

"Boop."

I stare out the windshield of my vehicle, looking at my garage door. I don't want to go in there. I mean, I do. But I want to go back to my house from ten days ago. I want to walk in, preheat my oven, put my clothes in my clean washer, shower, and watch a documentary. And have the fucking house not smell of fucking candles and her. God, she smells good. All the fucking time. It doesn't matter if she's sweating or fresh from the shower. I'm inhaling deeper whenever she's nearby, which is fucking weird. This morning, I found myself leaning against her door frame to have a conversation with her, which is weirder. And I am refusing to even acknowledge my moments in the fucking shower.

Grumbling to myself, I get out, slam my door shut, and walk into my house. Opening the door, I hear some weird ass wind chime-sounding music. The scent of those damn candles invades my nose and I'm already dreading going further inside.

"Holy mother of…" My breath catches in my throat as I take in the sight before me. Indy, dressed in nothing but a sports bra and underwear, stands in the empty corner of my living room. The soft glow from the sun's rays shining in through the window shadows over her smooth skin, highlighting every curve and dip of her petite body. As she bends over, I can't help but admire how her panties cling to her perfectly round ass, accentuating its alluring shape. A wave of desire washes over me as I imagine running my hands over those smooth-looking cheeks and–

"Oh!" she gasps, causing me to jump and try desperately to find any excuse to explain my staring. I've got nothing, so I default to anger.

"What the hell are you doing?" I snap harshly as I gesture to the open window. "Just putting yourself on display for the entire neighborhood?" She looks from me to the window and shrugs.

"I'm in workout clothes. What's the problem?" I raise a brow.

"Those," I gesture to the pink and black outfit, "Are underwear." She looks down and then back up at me.

"No, they're workout clothes. I don't like things on me while I do my mobility exercises. It can make my movements more difficult." Okay, that makes sense, but now I look like a pig. I mean, I am one, but I refuse to have her look at me that way.

"Just don't do it near an open window," I mutter.

"I thought you weren't going to be my brother." She raises a brow.

"I'm not being your brother," I grumble and head to the kitchen.

"Ohhh, so it's dominating daddy then?" I whirl around and stare at her in shock. Her eyes dance with delight as her massive grin spreads across her face.

"Oh my god," I groan as I continue toward the kitchen. I need to eat before I go to the gym. "Do not call me that." Indy's laugh is so bright, and its effect on my body enrages me. Something red catches my eye, and I notice her bracelet. "Would the pink bracelet clash with your underwear?" I ask while looking in my fridge for lunch.

"Oh, no. I wear these as levels of how I feel for the day." I stop hunting for my lunch and look back at her.

"So, you're feeling red today?"

She waves me off. "They're just something I do to measure my pain tolerance. It's silly."

It's not silly to her. I can tell by how she covers her wrist with her hand, hiding the bracelet from me. I'm about to say something about it when she interrupts my thoughts. "Why are you home? I thought you worked late on Tuesdays."

"Uh… yeah, I do. I have a couple hour break this afternoon though. I came home to eat lunch before I head to the gym. Which, by the way, have you seen the black container of chicken and rice that was in here?" I watch her wince.

"Oh, was that yours?" I give her an annoyed stare.

"Well Indy, I don't know, it was in my container, in my fridge, in my kitchen, in my house. You tell me."

"Sorry," she smiles nervously. "I was starving, and it looked like the fastest thing I could heat up and—"

I wave my hand. "Forget it. You've taken over everything else in my house. Why would my food be any different?"

"Derek," she says softly as her small, warm hand touches my forearm. Fuck, that feels good, too good. Shit, she can't touch me! "I'm really—"

"I need to go." I interrupt, ripping my arm away from the warm current coming from her touch. "Close the curtains if you're going to be doing that while half naked. I'd rather not give my neighbors a reason to pay attention to my house." I mutter before walking back out of the house and toward my vehicle. Once in the driver's seat, I smack the steering wheel. I can't do this. I hate not having my house, my food, and my schedule, but her getting closer and closer to me is too fucking much. I'm going to end up snapping and losing my shit.

Glancing up, I see her standing at my window. Our eyes lock, and her smile brightens as she waves at me with both her hands.

"I gotta get the fuck out of here," I grumble, backing out of the driveway. Deciding to go back to Hel's, I turn on my radio and try to get the thoughts of Indy out of my head. As usual, it's not happening. That smile and wave. I'm trying to remember the last time someone waved me off. Justine? No, she never did. Justine was never there to say bye or hi to. Indy knew I worked late today. How? How had she noticed that? Justine never did.

"Why do I fucking care?" I growl, shaking my head of thoughts of that fucking smile and racing back to the shop.

"So, how is she?" Ash asks as I walk into the shop. Seeing him takes me by surprise and puts me on edge. Like he somehow knows I stared at Indy's ass.

"Good?" I say slowly while setting my bag down. "She's taken over my entire house and ate my lunch." Ash laughs softly.

"Sounds about right. What color is she today?" Color? My mind goes back to earlier this afternoon when she covered her wrist.

"Red," I state, and he nods.

"Good, she's coming back down. Listen, if she's messing with your house, I can come get her." My eyes snap up to his, and I raise a brow.

"She's an adult. She can leave if she wants." Ash leans back in his chair. His black eyes set on me.

"She's also my baby sister," he says, and I don't miss the warning tone. "So if I need to come get her, I will." I shrug, acting as though I'm not affected by him in the least.

"You know where I live. Trust me, you want her, go for it. Not going to hear me complain. Ow! Goddamn it, Janie!" I yell while rubbing the back of my head where she just smacked me.

"Stop acting like she's some unwanted puppy!" She snaps between the two of us. "Ash, you know she can't move around as well in your place. Derek, you offered your house. If you want to take that back, fine, but everyone needs to stop playing hot potato with her."

"I'm not playing hot potato with her." Ash sighs as he rubs his temples. "She's just being stubborn. She won't let me help her find her a place, and she won't stop pouring her money into that damn non-profit, so she's constantly broke and refuses to take any money from me!"

Non-profit? She's never mentioned a non-profit, though I'm usually trying to find ways to avoid speaking to her. Or looking at her. Or thinking about her. It's obviously going well.

I roll my eyes at Janie and Ash's back and forth. "Alright, alright! That's enough outta both of you." I say, while standing up. "My fucking god." I shake my head as I grab my backpack. "You know what, you're back now, and I need a goddamn break. Janie, consider this day one of my vacation." Janie blinks her blue eyes at me.

"Derek, you can't leave."

I laugh and shrug. "Actually, Mama J, I can. You promised me time off when Ash got back, and here he is." Janie frowns, and I know she wants to say something. But I don't give her a chance. I need to get out of here. I need to get my life back in order and figure out what to do to make it so Indy is no longer consuming all my space. My routines, my meals, my shows—it's all been ripped from me by this tiny, raven-haired woman.

A tiny, raven-haired woman that smells like purity and peace, and has a voice like a saint and the ass of a sinner.

This is exactly my fucking problem. I need to rub one out… or twelve. This is getting fucking ridiculous. Maybe I could split the house and build her a kitchen, and then it'll be like a duplex, and we'll never have to interact again.

"Come on, D." My brother's deep, annoyed voice groans over the speaker of my vehicle.

"Fuck off, Jackson. I ain't in the mood," I say as I look at the darkening skies, hoping to get home before it rains.

"D, pops isn't doing well."

"I told y'all to tell me how much you need for a home health aide, and I would pitch in, but I ain't going back to Virginia." I snap as I turn into my driveway. There's no escape for me anymore. I'm feeling claustrophobic, and I'm going to freak the fuck out. I mean, what do I need to do? Move to another country?

"I don't know why I even bothered," Jackson grumbles.

"Me either," I grunt back before disconnecting the call and getting out of the vehicle. I slam the door shut and storm up the walkway when I hear my smoke detector going off.

"Goddamn it, what now?" I growl as I run into the house. Instead of the candle smells I've been choking on all week, I smell something burning, and there's smoke in the kitchen. I walk in and see Indy reaching for the window, but she's too short to reach over the large sink and lift the window.

"What the fuck is going on?" I snap while reaching up and disconnecting the smoke detector. I walk back to the front door and open it to let the smoke clear out. "Is there any way I can have just one thing in my life that's not fucked up? Just fucking one. Everywhere I turn, I'm fucking reminded that my schedule and routines are gone. That I can't have my food, hours, or washer." I look around as the smoke begins to clear the room. "And now, I come home to find you trying to burn the goddamn house down. There are instructions anyone can follow on each of those containers. How is it even possible you fucked them up?"

Indy lifts her down-turned eyes, and fuck, no. No, no, no!

"In—" She waves her hand between us, her cheeks pink and eyes glassy.

"Forget it," her voice cracks as she turns and reaches for the pan on the stove.

"Wait!" I yell, but it's too late. Indy screams and drops the hot pan when it burns her palm. I rush over and lead her to the sink, turning the cool water on before placing her burned hand under the water and reaching into a cabinet for my first aid kit.

"Hey," I say firmly, looking back at her. Fuck, she can't do this. Her tears spill over her cheeks, and it breaks me. "Shhh…" I drop the kit on the counter before grabbing her and pulling her small body into my arms. "Indy, come on, it's alright." She lets out a loud sob against my chest, and I feel her tears soaking into the cotton of my shirt.

"I–I'm so sorry Derek!" She sobs out and fuck me. Don't I feel like a dick.

"It's okay! Come on now," I say as softly as I can, pulling her away to look at her. The pain in my chest is almost incapacitating. "Let's see," I stare at her shaking hand. It's so small and delicate compared to mine. "Ah, this ain't too bad." I try lightly while grabbing a rag and wetting it. "Hold that for a minute while I get rid of whatever got burned."

She sniffles loudly as she wipes her face and whispers, "It wasn't your food." I raise a brow at that. "I ordered some groceries. I was… I was trying to replace the food I'd eaten earlier, but I'm not very good with much beyond baking, and I was in the laundry room trying to separate our clothes because you were freaking out this morning about the clothes being together. I guess I took too long, and the alarm went off." Fresh tears travel down her cheeks. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to screw everything up, and I promise I won't touch anything. I'll just stay in the back until I find a different place."

Asshole, you're a mean fucking asshole. How dare you make the literal sweetest human in the world cry.

"Indy, it's fine. You're fine. It's just… I've been here alone for a long time. I'm not used to sharing my space."

She shakes her head, wiping the tears away. I resist the urge I have to wipe them away for her.

"And you shouldn't have to for me," she lets out a forced laugh and shakes her head.

"Why did you even ask me to come here? You demanded it, but you obviously don't even like me."

"I never said that," I mutter, and she gives me a dry stare that causes me to groan.

"Indy, what do you want from me? I was trying to be nice. You needed a place more accessible. Fox made it a point to remind me that."

"Oh." She stands straighter, and her body goes tense. "That makes more sense, Fox guilted you. Well, I'm feeling better now, so your obligation to help the sick little helpless Indy is over. You can sleep soundly, knowing you did a good job." Woah, I had no idea Indy knew how to snap back.

"Now, listen here. I didn't say you were an obligation." She rolls her eyes, and I fight an urge to snap at her for it.

"I'll be gone tomorrow morning," she states before brushing past me and heading down the hall.

I scoff, "Really? Tell me, little darlin', where are you going to go?" She stops at her door, and I wait for her to spin around and snap at me again, but she doesn't. Instead, she takes a deep breath before glancing over her shoulder at me.

"I don't know yet, but I've clearly worn out my welcome here. Lucky for you, you don't have to worry about where I go, right? Not my brother, not my daddy." She gives me her normal high-wattage smile, but her splotchy face and red-rimmed eyes betray her true feelings. She looks sad.

"Thank you for your generosity, Derek. I'll never be able to repay you for this." And with that, she walks into her room and shuts it behind her. Leaving me out here wishing like hell I could erase the last twenty fucking minutes.