A Compelling Motive (h.s.)

thirty three

I carry the bag of groceries just purchased up the stairs, my lips puffing a breath up to blow the stray hairs away from my face. But my eyes spot a note on the door and my heart falls to see a note I'd been dreading.

Eviction Notice.

Since my departure from being in my family, it was only a matter of time until my father stopped paying for my place. This apartment is way out of my price range to live on my own. I'm frustrated and I hate to impose on anyone, much less Tiana.

I put my key in the door and set the groceries on the counter, my hand shutting the door after reading that I have 30 days to move out.

Before I even remotely think of what to do, I call Tiana. My head rests on the back of my couch, my eyes closed, and I nearly sob to her. My life is crumbling bit by bit and I'm in need of glue fast.

"Rhi, come live with me. I've been meaning to look for a new place and my lease is up in a few months. We can look for a place fit for both of us. Besides, I don't want you alone right now. Not with everything that just happened," she sighs, teetering around the touchy subject. It's been weeks, but that doesn't make it less difficult to talk about.

"I just want to cry," I say, tears falling down my cheeks. I'm not ready to sob about anything, but I know if I hold it in that it will be worse in the end. I'm blocking out my emotions because letting them flow will make everything harder than what it already is. At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

"Just come over now. We'll pack later," she says, my head nodding despite her actually seeing it.

"I'll make tea and we can watch a few films," she says, and I can hear the hint of her smile across the line.

"Okay. I'll be there in an hour," I tell her, hanging up soon after.

As I pack a bag, I shuffle through my bedside table to find a hair tie. I spot the flip phone in the drawer and I sigh, pursing my lips together as I do so. It's not that I've given up hope, but there is only a one in a million chance that he may actually call.

I don't like to think about it.

The phone is tossed in the bag and I grab my keys, locking the door and walking out of the apartment. I pass the bookstore and see the new Holden Shepherd novel displayed in the window. It's clear that it was his publisher that dropped it, but it doesn't make it any less weird to see it.

Tiana welcomes me with open arms and hugs me tight, her hand running down my back as a comforting gesture. We make small talk and she offers me a glass of wine and I accept, her body leaning on the counter as I sit behind it. We make small talk; nothing deeper than a few sentences here and there.

"Have you read it yet?" she asks, pointing to the book. I just nod, not wishing to talk about it further.

"What's wrong? You always love talking about these books. It's my distraction with you," she says, nudging my shoulder with a light fist.

"Just...not happy," I lie, but she believes it. I knew she would, considering the circumstances. Little does she know the actual meaning of the book.

In the time I've spent away, it was hard at the beginning. The last moments I spent with Harry was the hardest and most agonizing time of my life, which says a lot considering how I grew up. The call he made while with me was one I will always remember. His acceptance to the job was not easy, and it still isn't. He's fearful of the repercussions: Q taking his word back and still somehow finding me, Jackson coming after me, as well as he himself never seeing me again. There are so many things we've thought, but never said aloud. It wasn't needed; we knew of the inevitable.