Heartbeats

Chapter 10

“Gin, get up.”

“No.” I told him, dragging the covers so over my head.

“Gin.”

“Go away,” I mumbled

There was an exasperated sigh before a weight crushed me against the bed. I struggled under the covers, trying to dislodge the weight. Placing my feet under him, I pushed until he fell off the bed.

I threw back the covers and sat up, breathing the fresh air. “What the hell?”

Reach sat on the floor, a sheepish smile on his face as he rubbed his elbow. “Laurel called.”

I rubbed my weary eyes, trying unsuccessfully to wake up. “Yeah? So?”

“She said Joseph´s considering selling. Still not a hundred percent, but she assured me he´s about ninety percent there.” He stood up, and I noticed he was already dressed for the day, his hair still wet from the shower. “Anyway, she says she´ll be here around noon to show us the apartment.”

I stretched before nodding.  “Now get out. I´m going back to sleep.”

By two, we were sitting in the new apartment´s small dining room, waiting for the pizza to arrive. Joseph had finally caved, and we were waiting for him to gather the papers.

The apartment was a hundred times better than I ever imagined. It was the penthouse for God´s sake. A penthouse in Manhattan. It made me disregard all the security dangers and instead focus on the view. A wall of windows faced one side, and if you angled your face just right, you could see the statue of liberty to the side.

I knocked the window with the back of my hand, feeling satisfied when my fingers connected with the thick barrier. The penthouse had the potential to be a security nightmare, as the closest exit was the roof, from where you had to jump a rather large and intimidating gap to reach the next building. It had more than enough windows so we would be sitting ducks if anyone decides to start shooting us. However, Laurel´s cousin had thought ahead on almost every aspect. The windows were reflective and bullet proof. We had access to every camera in the building, strict security guarded the lobby, and the best alarm system money could buy. The doors and locks were reinforced, now almost impossible to pick.

Even if it did make a huge dent in our bank accounts, the penthouse itself was beyond amazing. The decoration wasn´t exactly rustic, but in no way was it modern, giving it more character than it would if it was either way. We each had our own bedroom, with an en suite bathroom and closet. The living room was small with a nice plasma TV placed in front of the sofas, a small dining room connected with the kitchen, and finally a room solely made as a gym with two mirrors placed on one of the walls.

Laurel and Reach were chatting away a few seats from me, while Cam sat in front of me, sullenly staring down at the table. Her phone´s ring suddenly cut through the room.

Cam was staring expectantly at me, not realizing it was her phone ringing. If there was a phone that rang even less than mine, it was Cam´s. Realization dawned on her face, and she started searching her bag for the device. Glancing at the screen, and then towards me, she stood up and walked to the living room.

The dining room was now quiet. I met glances with Reach, and noticed his worried frown which probably matched mine. Straining my ear, I barely heard Cam´s murmuring.

“Yeah we know… No, but…. New York….” A few seconds of silence. “WHAT?”

I didn´t have to strain to hear the last part, which Cam had screeched. I quickly got up from the table, hurrying towards the living room. I head Reach and Laurel´s chairs scrape the wooden floor as they mimicked me. Cam was standing up, facing the windows, a hand tangled in her hair. She turned when she hear us enter, her widened eyes the only sign of distress.