Runner (Riders of Apollo #3)

Chapter Five: Raphael Flores

He's watching me again and he's not even trying to be subtle.

He's not hiding behind cameras or anything, his gaze is so intense I can feel it. I flick my eyes over to catch him in the act and he doesn't even flinch nor make a move to hide the fact he was staring at me. His blue eyes are as enticing as always, bringing me in but simultaneously shutting me out, the ones I love yet have no chance with.

I turn away from him and congratulate my best friend on her little girl, knowing how excited she is. We've spent long nights just talking and the way she talks about that baby brings me hope for my own future. I hope I can find someone I can actually settle down with, maybe adopt a little one or two, it really depends on how everything plays out. As of right now, I'm happy to play the uncle/godfather that spoils her with things and smothers her in hugs.

"Have you found a house yet, Runner?" Sav asks as she digs into her second plate of food and takes some of mine.

"I think so, yeah. Can you come see it with me? I don't have very good judgement."

"Sure. But it is your house so it's you that has to like it. You know that, right?"

"I trust you." She shakes her head and laughs, ruffling my hair swiftly afterwards before taking more of my food. 

Okay, rude.

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"Wow, this place is stunning!" Saviour exclaims as soon as we reach the front foyer of the house. It's relatively small with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open space layout. I really like Sav's house so I tried to find similar ones and this one fit all the criteria, it is stunning.

"You and your husband can bring your little baby into the world here. There is the perfect bedroom for a newborn just upstairs." The real estate agent is a perky red head with lots of freckles and slim body, she's wearing a pantsuit and a blinding smile and I think she's really sweet.

"Oh, we're not together. He's my best friend and I'm helping him find a house. You know men, they never know what they're doing."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry for assuming... I just thought..."

"No worries, lovely!" Saviour is absolutely glowing in her short white dress and Rider jacket with her knee high boots that store her two most deadly weapons. Her bump is very little and can only be seen because her dress is skin tight so the assumption could've been dangerous since Sav hardly looks pregnant.

That could've gone very badly, we're just lucky that pregnancy has mellowed her out. We wander through the rest of the house and I really fall in love with it. It's definitely more of a family home than a bachelor pad and I probably should go for something smaller but I really like the feel of this place.

"What's the price?" I ask, resting against the kitchen counter and watching as Saviour scours the paperwork in front of her, the real estate agent standing beside her.

"375K, you can pay in full or put down a deposit of 10-20K and set up a mortgage." The real estate agent replies excitedly, showing me the paperwork. "You'll need a guarantor." I look over at Sav who just nods in agreement, it takes a bit to read through all the paperwork and sign everything I need to before she hands me the keys and declares the place mine.

I am officially a homeowner.

Next step, become a dog owner.

I squeeze Saviour into a hug before blaring some Spanish music and dancing around my kitchen with her, twirling and laughing as we fuck about. "Let's go get you a dog!" She cheers as the song concludes, skipping out the front door and watching me lock it.

"Where are we going?" I don't actually have a clue where to get a dog from, I never looked into it. I never really notice how much I rely on her until I remember everything she's done for me. She claims I've done a lot for her too but I can't imagine what.

"There's a rescue centre up the road, I was looking through their website but Reign said I wasn't allowed a dog yet so now I get to live through you and squeeze your dog whenever I want."

"Why aren't you allowed a dog?"

"The baby is on her way and he wants to make sure we can properly concentrate on her for the first few months, learn the ropes and then we can get a dog. It makes sense, I doubt we'd want to deal with a new dog and a newborn at once. Doesn't mean I don't get to play with yours though, let's go!"

It takes all of ten minutes to find the little dog rescue place hidden behind a huge Target. We head in and I look through all the cages. I don't want a little dog, I know that much. My madre had one of those chihuahua things and it always used to bite me and yap - definitely not what I want.

We walk passed quite a few dogs, ranging from Great Danes to Pomeranians and I start to lose hope until we get to the back of the kennels where I find a gorgeous long-haired golden retriever with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his tail wagging, his entire body wiggling in excitement at the unexpected arrival.

"He's only eight months old. The owner brought him back because he was too excitable, I guess he didn't realise that that's how puppies are." I ask for the woman to open the cage and he comes bounding out and jumps up at me, allowing me to rub behind his ears and laugh as he licks my face and barks excitedly. "He really likes you." She laughs as I basically get tackled by him but I don't care.

He likes Saviour too so I decide that I need him, signing the paperwork only minutes later and buying everything he needs at the closest Target before getting Sav to drive him back to mine. "So, what's his name?" Saviour asks as he sprints around the garden and rolls his golden fur in the recently mown grass, turning it green in spots.

"Kota. It was what my hermanita wanted to call the dog my padre promised to get her. He never did but if I ever see her again and she gets to see him, I'd like her to know that I didn't forget." (little sister, father) I haven't seen Maria in years now, I try and call her sometimes but a lot of the time she declines.

She works on Wall Street now, a banker, taking after our father. She was always really close to him, his favourite child while I was just the extra. I suppose at one point he wanted me to take over his business but when he found out I was gay, I was immediately discarded. The rest of my family just stood by and watched as I got kicked out, disgraced and abused so I gave up on all of them.

But Maria was the only person that I loved, she's my baby sister and I always wanted to protect her from everything but she rejected me as well. She's married now, at twenty-two, with a little boy. I wasn't invited to the wedding and I found out about the baby a year after he was born, shows how important I am to her.

I brush it off and smile at my new pet.

Maybe things will work out.