11. Aeri

I don't feel like a bad bitch. Lea got me the job at Purgatory, and nobody said a word about it. Last night, I went in early, and she showed me around, introduced me to Toji, the scary bouncer guy at the door, and some of the other staff. She swears Toji's nice, and he seemed fine tonight, but his size is still a bit unsettling.

She also let me know I need to make sure I'm in uniform before I come onto the floor. Apparently, there are two sections of Purgatory, and we work in the VIP section, which is very big on the theme and discretion. It's marketed as 'a hell of a good time ' and is only accessible by invitation. We don't know who is under the masks, and I guess that's kind of the whole point.

I don't care much about that. It isn't really my business one way or the other. What is my business is the fact that I made one hundred dollars last night just in tips alone. And that is just a cut of what Lea made as I shadowed her, with the odd tip I had thrown at me by a few patrons when I ran their drinks to them in the lounges. That doesn't include my hourly wage, which is almost double what I make at the coffee shop.

At this rate, I'll be able to get back on the road in no time.

If I'm still functioning, that is, and with the way I'm going right now, I'm not sure I will be. That and there's always the matter of my car.

Rolling over, I grab my phone off my nightstand and silence my alarm. It's five in the morning, which means I need to move my ass or risk being late. It also means it's probably too early for me to text Ruin about my car.

With a sigh, I force myself up and drag my feet as I make my way to my closet to grab everything I'll need for the day. Lea had gotten me the job at Purgatory as a way to help me make more, and I will, but for some reason, I had the bright idea that working both jobs would be even better.

You can't beat two paychecks, right?

Maybe…

As of right now, I'm heavily regretting that decision.

I grab my backpack and stuff my outfit for Purgatory along with my accessories into it before grabbing an outfit for the coffee shop. I'd told Olga I couldn't work until close anymore, and she'd seemed more than okay with it. But money or not, I didn't have the heart to quit. Her and her husband had been so kind to me, and they hired me because they needed help. I'd feel like an asshole going somewhere else and leaving them without help again, just because I need more money.

The house is quiet as I make my way to the bathroom, but I still keep my eyes peeled. I've been extra careful since my run-in with Talian, but that seems like it might have been a one-off. From what I can tell, he stays out pretty late, even later than me, and I worked until two in the morning.

After a quick shower, I head to the kitchen to grab a snack to eat on the way. I hadn't eaten anything for dinner last night. Work had been busy, and I hadn't even thought about it, but now my stomach is not happy with me as it bubbles and gurgles. It's a wonder I haven't woken the whole building.

I snag a banana, just something to tide me over until I get to the bakery, where I can grab something a little more filling and head out.

Or try to.

Instead, I turn around and slam right into what feels like a brick wall.

"Shit," I squeak as I fall back, hitting the ground hard.

Fuck, that hurt. My tailbone is definitely going to be bruised after that.

Looking up, I find Kai looking down at me like I'm shit on the bottom of his shoe.

Ugh, of all the guys, it had to be him. Honestly, I would have rather it been Talian, even naked.

"You should watch where you're going," Kai spits before turning away and continuing down the hall as if he hadn't just knocked me to the floor. I hear his door click closed a second later, and I shake myself from my shock.

"Asshole," I mumble as I stand, grabbing my banana from the floor where I dropped it. At least I didn't land on it. That would have sucked.

I stretch, trying to assess the damage and hiss when I feel the sting on my ass. Yeah, hardwood ain't no joke. I'm going to feel that for a while, but it's not unbearable. I can stop at the corner store and grab some painkillers on my walk to the bus.

Crap, work! I'm going to be late.

"Are you okay?"

The sound that I make is halfway between a scream and a yelp, like someone kicked a puppy or some shit. I almost smash my banana on my chest in an attempt to keep my heart from escaping.

Turning around, I find Bast standing in the hall opposite the way Kai just went.

"Sorry," he breathes, looking down at the floor the second my eyes meet his. "I heard a bang and came to see what was going on. I was worried maybe Talian was up to something."

It's sweet, really.

Bast's always so quiet and reserved, and I know he's super shy, so the fact that he came to check on me brings a smile to my face despite my literal run-in with Kai a moment ago.

"Don't apologize. You startled me, is all," I assure him, and he peeks up at me. "I just had the misfortune of running into Kai, literally."

His head snaps up at my words, his gaze going down the hall where Kai disappeared not even a minute ago, and I realize he didn't get my joke.

"It wasn't anything he did," I tell him, taking a step toward him before I think better of it. I don't want to get too close. I know he's friendly enough with the others; the walls are thin, and I often hear him talking and even laughing with them. But something about me, probably the fact that I'm a stranger, makes him keep his distance, and I don't want to scare him off.

"I wasn't watching where I was going, and I ran into him," saying it out loud makes me remember my poor tailbone, and I wince, rubbing at what I can only assume will be a bruise tomorrow.

"He's such an ass. I'm sorry about him. He just…"

"He hates me." I finish for him before he can find a way to sugarcoat it. It's obvious in the way he looks at me, and it has been since the day we met. While I have no idea what I did to him, that doesn't change the fact.

"He doesn't hate you," Bast says, shaking his head. I raise a brow, daring him to keep lying to my face. "Okay, so you might not be his favorite person, but that doesn't have anything to do with you personally."

I can't help but laugh at that. I know he's trying to make me feel better, but honestly, it sounds a hell of a lot like a bad breakup. It's kind of like the whole ‘it's not you, it's me' line.

"Yeah, that sounded pretty lame, didn't it?" Bast chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck, but it sounds almost forced.

"It did, but that's okay. You're just being nice, but don't worry, Kai's asshole personality doesn't hurt my feelings any." He looks up, and I almost forget what I was saying when he willingly meets and holds my gaze, momentarily becoming lost in his blue eyes. "I've dealt with assholes like him all my life."

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I regret them. While not particularly detailed, they do reveal a bit more of my background than I intended to give anyone I met. And where most people might brush it off as a throwaway comment, that doesn't seem to be the case with Bast. No, not only are his eyes a beautiful piercing blue, but they also seem to be able to see right through me. As if able to read the truth of my words right off my very soul…

Fuck, I hope not.

It takes everything in me not to squirm or look away. Despite my discomfort under his scrutinizing gaze, I can't deny I like Bast. Contrary to the picture his appearance might paint with his tattoos, lip ring and platinum blond hair, something about him is calming, sweet, and gentle.

So, regardless of the fact that I don't want to be seen, I can't make myself hide from him. Not when I might never get this chance again.

"Kai might be an ass, but you're safe here, Aeri." His words catch me off guard, and I step back, away from him.

He doesn't move to follow me, but he doesn't look away either. "Nobody will hurt you, I promise."

I never said anything about someone hurting me.

At first, I thought he was still talking about Kai, assuring me he wouldn't be a problem, but something about the way he worded that second part makes me think I'm mistaken. He didn't say Kai wouldn't hurt me; he said ‘nobody.'

"I—I…" Panic works its way up my throat, damn near choking me as his eyes continue to hold mine.

I need to get out of here before he sees more. I can't afford for him to read me like a book.

I don't want to see the way he will look at me if he does.

"I have to go to work," I tell him in a rush before I make a mad dash for the front door, praying to any god that will listen that he doesn't follow me.