16. Owen

Chapter sixteen

Owen

I was so embarrassed. This was Damian's vision, his life, and his future, and somehow, I'd imposed myself onto it. When I looked around and saw the empty apartment, I knew the vision I'd seen of his new home, with all my stupid design elements tucked here and there, would be reality.

Worse, so much worse, were my clothes and belongings. I'd known Damian for all of three days—not even that long—and I'd thrust myself into his life, into his home. I was mortified.

I left him alone, mostly because I knew he needed the time, and found a little coffee food truck not more than a block from his apartment. I got us the same coffees we'd ordered this morning. When I returned, he was already waiting for me. "You got me coffee?" he asked, smiling.

I nodded and handed it to him. "Come on, then. Let's see if my stuff made it to the house. Hey, what did you see while we were holding hands?" he asked .

I sighed as I climbed into the passenger side of his car. "I'm so sorry, Damian. I-I saw my stuff in your home. I don't know if it's at your house. Maybe, hopefully, it's not, but I kinda get the feeling it is. We'll have to move it all back to my apartment if it is. I mean, it's not like I own a lot of stuff, you know. I've only been in Seattle for a few months, and I didn't bring much with me, and—"

"Owen," Damian said, interrupting me. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. Let's go see what happened."

I nodded and took a drink of my coffee, willing it to calm my nerves. Yeah, I liked Damian. I liked him a lot, but I wasn't someone to jump into a relationship. Damian hadn't asked if I wanted to live with him. I hadn't agreed to live with him. I just wanted to help him transfer his belongings.

The magic thing was new to me, although I was beginning to wonder why it wasn't freaking me out more. In college, I'd taken a world's religions class, and we'd studied about reincarnation, which resonated with me. I mean, recycled spirits made sense, especially now that I'd met actual dead people.

I wondered if maybe my soul had experienced magic before for me to be so calm about it now.

I sighed as Damian pulled into his driveway, the old iron gate closing behind him. This home truly was amazing. I also knew this home was worth megabucks .

I followed Damian into the house. He was all but skipping to get inside and see it. I was anything but excited. Reticent, if I was being honest.

Sure enough, the moment we walked in, the pocket doors were all standing open, allowing us to see all the rooms at once. I groaned when I saw the Irving Shapiro watercolor my grandfather had left me in his will, now hanging over the fireplace. The painting hadn't even come to Seattle with me. My mom was going to come unglued when she found it missing.

I groaned when the little bronze statue of a unicorn, something I knew I'd given to charity, sat on the mantle in the library. Ugh, again and again, as I saw my personal belongings interspersed throughout the rooms. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Damian," I said again when I turned and saw his smiling face.

"Come upstairs. I want to see my stuff up there," he said, and I reluctantly followed him.

Whereas my stuff shouldn't be in the house, the transformation to this floor was amazing. It was like some home design star had come in and planned the space, reupholstered his old furniture, and placed it in the rooms to maximize their beauty, making the space a comfortable mix of rustic and modern.

I didn't say anything, but I was so happy the first floor was traditional again, although I sure as hell intended to get help moving all my own stuff back to my freaking place soon .

"It's beautiful, Damian. It feels so, well, like you? Can I say that after only knowing you a few days?"

Damian came over and embraced me. "You can say it over and over 'cause it's correct. This is better than I ever could've hoped for, and I think I owe you for it all."

I sighed but felt happy for him. "Come on, let's go to the attic."

I let him pull me up the stairs. I stared at the space. It was exactly how I'd seen it in my mind. I didn't linger, only went toward the bedroom and new bath before slipping into the gigantic closet. "Ugh," I groaned again. "Damian, my clothes are here," I said. "I'm so sorry."

Damian laughed and again embraced me from behind, "Don't worry, I'm sure we can work it out," he said as my phone rang.

I saw it was my landlady and cringed. "I better take this. She's going to be wondering why all my belongings disappeared, although I have no idea what I'm going to say to her."

"Hello?" I answered.

"Oh, hi Owen, good news. A couple just viewed your apartment and want to take it tomorrow. I already had them sign the lease. I was surprised you wanted to move after such a short time, but I guess this was just serendipitous. Congratulations! I'll return your deposit and the prorated rent. Oh, and thanks for doing such a good job cleaning it out. I swear it's better now than when you moved in. "

She hung up without waiting for a response, and I stared at Damian, my mouth hanging open.

"What's wrong?" Damian asked.

"Um, I guess you just got a roommate."