Cards Of Power

Chapter Two

"So it's a real deal?" "Yes. If you want to move there according to the lady it's completely furnished. The bills are about one hundred a month at least they are for her and you're not legally attached to the apartment so you're free to move there if you want to. It'd be especially helpful if you got the job. Would you like me to call her and see if you can get a tour and learn about the job?" "That would be incredible. Also you are incredibly supportive of everything." "Well each person has their own life and things happen. Personally I just don't want to put someone's life on hold or anything like that." I can't help but smile as I reply, "well thank you very much. Call me back when you get an answer." "Of course."

I leave my bedroom and Nickolas looks at me with a smile and says, "did you get any information?" I tell him everything and his smile widens. "I got some info as well. The old lady who lives there is struggling due to her old age and she's moving out to live with her daughter. She obviously needs some help with the store and some company folks paid a lot of money for the building. Thanks to the company folks she never had to worry about the business going under and only had to worry about the monthly bills. Unfortunately she couldn't remember what company they were from and even though this happened like thirty years ago she doesn't know why they bought it. One more thing. It's actually a three bedroom loft but the third bedroom already has been rented and there's a half bath downstairs in the actual shop. Before I hung up she said the shop closes in an hour and I could look at it then."

"Okay if my landlord arranges a meeting should we pretend we don't know each other since you were offered to look as well and it might seem suspicious?" "I think we can play it off as we know each other and just so happen to both be looking for a new place and job which is technically true." I nod my head and my phone rings. I answer it and my landlord says the lady is expecting me in an hour when it closes. We both decide to look at the apartment and see what I would need to bring if I moved and agree that after we check out the bookstore we need to go shopping for Nickolas. Nickolas decides to leave about ten minutes earlier than me so we can pretend we happened to go to the same place. We might not even need to do that but considering he ran from the police a couple hours ago I don't think we can be too careful. I put my phone in my pocket and leave locking my door. I walk to Maple Road which is actually pretty far from my apartment. I really need to learn to drive or figure something out so I'm not out of breath and my sides and feet aren't killing me. I arrive at the bookstore panting. "Oh hey! Are you alright?" I look up at a familiar voice to see who I think is Nickolas but looks completely different. "Nickolas?" "Yup it's me." "I'm fine just not used to walking this far from my apartment." "That could be problematic," Nickolas mumbles. "What was that?" "I asked what you were doing here." "Looking for a job and possibly a new place to live." "What a coincidence me too!" We walk towards the door and see an elderly lady behind it. She opens it with a bright smile. "You must be the two who are interested in the offer. Come on in and make yourselves at home." Once we're inside she asks if we're both interested in the job and when we say yes she guides us around the store and explains things. "You're both hired. Here's a list of the hours of the store. Now let's look at the loft shall we?"

Nickolas and I look at each other and decide to just go up the stairs. We arrive in what looks to be a living room. The old lady shows us all around the loft including the bedrooms, kitchen which has a laundry area behind it, ending back in the living room. "So what do you think?" "It's lovely," Nickolas says. I'm about to reply when I notice a blonde is in the room. "I'd wager my friend and I could both move in tomorrow if that's alright with you." My attention is brought back to the lady and I smile and nod in agreement. "Alright. I'll give the keys to one of you. You'll need to get another copy however. "So these two people are going to be my roommates," the blonde asks nervously. "Starting tomorrow yes," the lady replies already heading down the stairs. "Sorry if this seems rude but Nickolas and I have things to do and we need to pack. Perhaps we can talk tomorrow?" The blonde simply just nods.

Nickolas and I leave the bookstore going our separate ways so he can buy some clothes with the money he borrowed from me and I can go home and pack. Once I'm home I call the landlord and he arranges a medium sized moving truck and gives me forty boxes that he personally counted. Considering I don't really have much besides clothes I think it's too much but Nickolas will also be packing up some stuff. I pack all of my clothes into six boxes and text Nickolas to ask if he's fine with spaghetti for dinner. He tells me he has no problems with it so I don't have to worry about making anything since we have leftovers. I look around the boxes to see I was given a ton of tissue paper and newspapers. I wrap most of my dishes leaving enough for dinner and put them in a box. I move the box closer to the counter so I can put the rest of the plates in after they've been washed. I hear a knock on the door and look in the peephole to see Nickolas with several bags. I open the door and he comes in with a grin. "Looks like you've been busy." "Well we are moving tomorrow. So what did you get?" I look in one of the bags to see what looks like several pairs of dark blue jeans. "Jeans and t-shirts. I find them comfortable. Plus they don't stand out."

I heat up the spaghetti in the microwave and put it on two plates. "Want anything to drink?" "What do you have?" "Water and milk." "I'll take milk." I grab two glasses and fill one with water and then pull the milk out of the fridge. "You're in luck this is the last of the milk." "Well that's convenient." I bring the cups to the table and we eat in a comfortable silence. Once we're done I grab the dishes and walk over to the sink. "Alyssa I think something's wrong with me." "What do you mean?" "I can't stop thinking about that blonde man. He's so hot I think I'm going to melt." I nearly drop the dish soap I was holding and bust out laughing. "What?" I just wasn't expecting you to say something like that let alone so direct." "Well how could I not find him attractive with the slight wave of his blonde hair that reaches his ears and goes slightly in front of his black glasses on the left side, his sky blue eyes, and those freckles against his white skin makes him super cute." "I don't know if I should be impressed you noticed all of that or concerned that you might've stalked the guy." "I call them like I see them."

We continue to talk about various things while Nickolas packs his clothes in a box and I dry the dishes and put them in the two boxes. I check around the apartment to make sure there isn't anything I'm missing. Once I'm satisfied I call the places I need to in order to have my mail and things sent to the bookstore. "You have everything?" "Yup do you?" Nickolas nods before speaking, "it still feels so weird that today I basically somewhat became a criminal, made a new best friend, and found a new place and job." "I know how you feel. Minus the part about being a criminal." "Is it okay if I stay the night?" "Of course." I get one of the blankets from my bed and give it to him. I go into my room and go to bed immediately after putting my phone on the charger. Surprisingly it doesn't take me long to fall asleep. When I wake up I immediately get dressed and grab my phone and charger. I go to the living room to see Nickolas is also dressed in other clothes. I put my phone on the table along with my charger and head to my room to get my dirty clothes. "I already put my clothes from yesterday in the washer since you said you wanted to do laundry before we left yesterday." "Thanks." I put the clothes in the washer and about two hours later we head outside to see the truck there. We put everything inside and I call my landlord to let him know that I've gotten everything.