Penitence (ON HOLD)

Chapter Nineteen

I'm finally back and I finally made it to one hundred votes!! I just want to say thank you to everyone who waited patiently. I was in some serious writers block. The other day someone messaged me and asked me when I was going to update. It really made me think about where the book is going to go. Soo everything is planned out now and you all won't have to wait so long for Chapter 20. Your votes and comments are appreciated.
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I've been missing Anderson's presence around the apartment.  Even though he was abusive, he was still my provider and my protector. I'm not some helpless little girl, but everyone needs a little bit of protection.  Whether it be an abusive boyfriend, an overprotective brother, or an alarm system, these things just give people a sense of peace.

These past few days I have been cautious. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it feels like something bad is about to happen.  Anderson told me to be prepared and I am, but anything could go wrong. What if I accidentally leave the food here? What is someone knows about the other door to the apartment? What if they actually catch me?

Truthfully, I don't know who they are. Every time I'd ask Anderson about it he would dodge my questions, but that didn't stop me from listening in on his conversations with Vivian. Eavesdropping still didn't help much. They were careful about what they were saying and how loud they were talking. Most of what I heard was just a bunch of arguing.

For some reason, I feel like Vivian has something to do with the people Anderson was warning me about. She was never around the apartment as much as Anderson and that seemed to make him agitated.

At the same time it still doesn't make any sense. Mr. Costanzo would never let her get that close to me if he knew that she was the enemy.  This situation had me confused from Trent being my cousin all the way to Mr. Costanzo having family members.

It sounds pretty stupid when I put it that way. Everyone has a family. I guess the thought never crossed my mind. He has a way of making a conversation so intriguing, but he never brings up anything about himself. Costanzo is so selfless that it makes it impossible to hate him.

That's the thing that I don't get. Why didn't Vivian try to work it out with Mr. Costanzo? I know that my mother is money hungry, but a blind man can tell that she doesn't really love my adoptive father. If she wanted to be rich that bad, why didn't she just kill off my adoptive father and steal his money? With the connections that she has, she'd probably be able to get away with it.

I have no idea what Mr. Costanzo saw in her. My mother has always been a beautiful woman. If I walk in the street with her right now, people will think that we are sisters. The point is that sometimes looks are important, but Mr. Costanzo seems like a man who wants much more than that.

Maybe we're both good at picking people who aren't as kind-hearted as they seem at first. Anderson wasn't abusive when we first met and my mother could've been a totally different person in high school.

"Nina, open up. Your father sent me to come check on you." Trent's voice startles me out of my thoughts.

I know Anderson told me not to open the door, but I have been shut up in this apartment for too long. Besides, I deserve to have some kind of company. Also I'm pretty sure that Trent isn't involved with the people Anderson was talking about.

"Hey." I say, opening the door and smiling up at him like an idiot.

"For a minute I thought that you weren't going to open the door. How have you been?" He asks.

"I've been good." I say peering cautiously outside.

Everything looks normal which makes me relax a little. I'm still a bit nervous about being around Trent though. Part of me is still attracted to him and the other part just wants to be his friend. I lock the door and turn around only to be pulled into Trent's strong arms.