Scout: Devil's Rose #11

Chapter 9: Violet Monroe

Is this really happening in my life right now?

I didn't think that when I agreed to talk with Major he would end up living in my apartment. What a turn of events. If it's any consolation, he's hot as fuck, so I could get used to it. We have so much to figure out.

Where is he going to put the things he brings over? I'm a known maximalist, I have no room for anything of my own, let alone another human being. Where is he going to sleep? Because he can't sleep on the couch, that's just weird.

If Harper were to walk into my room, it can't seem like he's been sleeping on the floor because that would be weird too. But I also don't know him well enough to sleep in my bed, right? Like is that a thing that people do without having had sex? I am pretty certain that it's not.

What is Harper going to think? I know that initially she was ecstatic, but I also don't want to overstep any boundaries with her. I don't know how long Major staying over is going to last mostly because I don't know how long it will take for us to catch Kai.

Maybe when I get more comfortable with Major, I will stay over at his place some nights, so that we aren't in the way of Harper too much. I don't want to cause an issue or get in her way of living because she has to worry about a guy being around, especially a guy who is in a motorcycle club.

She's an open-minded person, but this is extremely new to both of us. Major has a literal gun. I don't know how comfortable she is with that.

I'm so glad that I cleaned Harper and my apartment a couple of days ago, so it's not a total wreck for when Major walks in. I don't want him to think that I can't take care of myself, not that I can, but I've got to give off the right impression.

He's coming over with a couple of bags in about ten minutes, and when I got this text telling me this, I instantly freaked out. Harper isn't here, thank god, but she's going to be home pretty soon.

How are we going to play this off as if we're obsessed with each other? I might have overexaggerated how much I liked Major. Part of me wanted Harper to know that I was okay.

I'm tired of her worrying over me, and I thought that maybe this would stop her from being concerned. I think I overdid it though. I'm sure she thinks that I want to marry this guy which I do not want to do.

I take another bite of my chocolate bar, knowing that I'm going to break out tomorrow.

I can deal with some pimples. What's happening this instant is not something I can deal with without chocolate.

I hear heavy steps outside my door and a thunk, which I think is one of Major's bags. He knocks on the door causing my heart to beat a million miles a minute. When I open the door, he grins at me, settling me slightly.

I wave him inside and get him to put his bags down in my bedroom before giving him the "grand" tour. That takes about two minutes because the place isn't that big.

I stand in the middle of my bedroom, rocking back and forth on my heels.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I ask Major, unsure how to go forward from here.

He chuckles, stepping closer to me.

"I don't have any ideas."

"I do have a puzzle that I've been working on, but I'm not very good at working with someone when it comes to puzzles. We could read but that kinda sounds boring right now."

"Or we could do something entirely different," he mumbles, his face dipped down to mine.

I gulp, staring into his blue eyes. His fingers run over the fabric of my skirt, his pupils dilating.

"What?" I whisper, forgetting that I can speak.

His eyes flick over my shoulder to the color-by-numbers that I have drying on my desk.

"That," he asserts, pointing to it and stepping around me to move toward it.

I turn around, my chest heaving.

Okay, maybe I do like him more than I thought I did. I don't think this is going to be as hard as I thought, pretending to like him I mean.

I run my tongue over my bottom lip and walk across my bedroom to where he stands, gazing over my artwork. He sits at my desk and goes to work, taking it over, but I honestly don't mind. That wasn't my thing anyway.

I was mostly doing it because Clara bought it for me, hoping that it would cheer me up. If Major wants to do it, he's more than welcome. I can watch a movie instead and not have to entertain him.

It's not like I would mind doing that or talking to him, but I'm honestly tired. I'm ready to crawl into bed and not get out until the next morning. So knowing that Major is more than happy to paint and let me do my thing is comforting.

"I'm going to take a shower and get ready for bed," I announce, "feel free to grab anything from the fridge or whatever. Harper knows that you're here, and she does want to meet you so don't worry about bothering her."

"Okay, thank you. Before you go, I wanted to acknowledge the awkwardness of this. We both know it's for your safety, but I don't think either of us was expecting this, so it's gonna be an adjustment.

"Especially for you because I'm moving into your space. You don't have to be anyone but yourself. You don't have to entertain me. You just live your life, and I'll be here, protecting you," Major speaks calmly.

I sit on the edge of my bed, soaking in his words for a moment.

"Thank you for saying that. I appreciate you doing this. I know not all of this is for me and that you have an end goal of finding Kai, but this is beyond what I thought was going to happen.

"I didn't think you would care this much about me. And yeah, you're right. It's going to be an adjustment, but I trust you. It sounds crazy because we just met, but it's true," I respond, matter of factly.

"Thank you for your trust. I promise that I won't do anything to break it."

And while I've heard it a thousand times before, while people have lied to me when saying that, I can tell that he's true about it. I have a feeling that he's the kind of guy that only says something when he means it.

He means this, and he's committed to it. As much as that sort of scares me, to know that he isn't going to break that trust, it's also refreshing. It's scary because of the weight that holds, but I deserve that.

I deserve to be around someone who isn't going to break my trust for their benefit.

Major turns away to focus back on the color-by-numbers, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I gather my clothes for after my shower, not wanting to walk out in just a towel quite yet, and head into the bathroom for another few moments alone.

This has got to be the craziest time of my life. I know I've been through worse, but that's not what I'm comparing. I'm comparing every other second of my life against this one and none of them are as crazy as this.

If my mother and father knew about this, they would explode. They would think I've officially lost it. They thought I lost it when I left LA, but I don't think they ever thought that this is what I would be facing in Westmoor, Texas.

I had no idea that this is what I would be dealing with. I guess a person never knows what life is going to throw at them.