Page 29 of Taste of Forever (Vampires of Sanguine #3)

Heather

H iking up the hill and trudging through the woods turned out to be a great way to burn off the anger and adrenaline. I felt calmer by the time I reached my car in the parking lot.

When my phone pinged with a voicemail, I thought it could be Laith and considered leaving it until after I got some sleep. But curiosity won out, and I listened to the message while letting my car warm up.

“Hi, Miss Polk. This is Tina from Laurel Canyon Apartments. I’m calling to inform you that we have not received a rent payment for this month.

Please call me back as soon as you get this.

If we do not receive a payment by the end of the week, we will be forced to give you a notice of eviction. Thank you, goodbye.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it, confused. Justin was in charge of making the rent payment. I’d sent him my portion last week. Could he have forgotten? But how? It was the first and most important bill that everyone paid.

I dropped the phone in my cup holder with a huff, then backed out of the parking space and onto the road home. At least my mood had gone from ragingly pissed to simple frustration.

It was about 3 a.m. when I made it home and had to do my usual circle to find parking. This time I didn’t have to go too far away, thankfully.

Ever since the night Soren grabbed me, I’d been extra vigilant about any movement or presence in the shadows. He never had popped out of a dark corner since then, but I guess he didn’t need to, since he could just waltz up to me at work.

A fresh spark of anger hurried my steps. It never crossed my mind that Laith would also be someone I’d need to watch out for. Someone else trying to control me as they stalked me from the shadows. Creeping in my windows. Following me to work , for fuck’s sake.

I probably should have figured he’d keep pushing boundaries after that first night.

It was obvious in hindsight, which made me feel like an idiot.

If he followed me home once, what was to stop him from doing it multiple times?

I might have had a Master’s degree in chemistry, but I was clearly as dumb as a box of rocks when it came to people’s intentions.

My mind kept ruminating on Laith’s betrayal, the humiliation of what he had seen me do in the bedroom, as I stuck my key in the front door on autopilot. I hadn’t even bothered to glance in the windows to see if the lights were on.

They were on, and Justin was still awake.

I heard a commotion as I opened the door, a sudden smashing of keys at the computer and some frantic mouse clicking. By the time I stepped inside, Justin spun in his computer chair to face me, his face flushed and his breathing a little heavy.

“Hey.” He greeted me with a strained smile. “You’re home early.”

I tried not to sigh too loudly as I closed and locked the door. “I told you, I worked a partial tonight. Went to a bar after to unwind for a bit.”

“Oh. Right.”

I took in the state of him. His pants zipper was up but the top button was undone and he was sporting an erection.

“What?” he demanded.

“Nothing.” Truly, I didn’t care if he was watching porn and jerking off late at night. While it used to upset me, especially when he turned me down, I’d become resigned to it. “Hey, I got a voicemail from the apartment manager and they haven’t gotten the rent yet. What’s that about?”

His flushed face instantly paled. “They called you ?”

“Yeah. I’m the primary on the lease, remember?”

“Um, shit.” He rubbed his face. “Sorry, Heather. It must have slipped my mind. Send me your half and I’ll pay it asap.”

I stared at him. “Dude, are you losing it? I already sent you my half.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Jesus Christ, Justin.” I whipped out my phone and pulled up my banking app. “Here, see? I sent it to you right after I got paid.”

He looked at my screen and frowned. “That’s weird. It must not have come through on my end because I never got it.”

“How’s that possible? It’s the same automatic transfer I have set up every month.”

“I dunno. Maybe try it again?”

Discomfort prickled at the back of my skull like a warning. “No. The money never got kicked back to me or anything, so I’m not sending you a second payment. Are you sure you didn’t get it?”

“Positive.”

“Let me see.”

“What?” He said it in the same defensive tone as moments earlier.

“Let me see your account. Maybe you didn’t see it.”

“I definitely didn’t get it.” He was still in front of his computer, blocking the screen and turning ever so slightly as I moved through the apartment—taking off my shoes, setting my purse down, touching the frame of my family photo, taking out my phone.

“Why are you being so shifty?” I asked.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he shot back. “I’m not shifty. Why are you coming home at three in the morning?”

I gave him an incredulous look and in the silence that followed, a tinny, feminine voice piped up from his headphones on the desk.

“Hey, where’d you go, BigJ69? ShadowDaddy is about to overthrow you as the highest tipper for the night. You don’t wanna miss my cute little asshole!”

Justin said absolutely nothing, but his expression told me all I needed to know. My nerves were already so frayed about Laith and the rent, that I couldn’t react with anything but tired resignation. And deep down, I wasn’t even surprised.

“BigJ69, huh? Sounds like I interrupted something.”

“No, that’s not me,” he sputtered. “It’s not live or anything. It’s a recording. Just a random clip I found.”

“Oh yeah? Let me see.” I moved toward the computer, reaching for the mouse and he knocked it away.

“Don’t touch my shit. I don’t need to prove anything to you.”

I crossed my arms, stunned as to why he couldn’t own up and take accountability for a single thing. And why had I put up with it for so long?

“Are you lying to me about the rent too?”

“I’m not lying!”

“Did you spend the fucking rent money on tipping cam girls?” My eyes narrowed, remembering what Soren had said. “Did you lose your job and not tell me?”

Justin barked out a laugh that sounded forced and fake. “You’re fucking crazy. Do you feel high and mighty accusing me of all this shit when you’re the one coming home at 3 a.m.?”

“You know what? Whatever. I’m done.”

I marched to the bedroom and pulled a duffel bag out of the closet. Justin stood in the threshold, watching as I packed clothes.

“Didn’t realize you were this dramatic,” he muttered.

I ignored him, filling my bag with essential clothing and shoes before heading to the ensuite to gather my toiletries. He came into the bedroom then, still observing me with an air of ridicule.

“You’re not actually leaving.”

I zipped my skincare items and makeup into a travel bag and dumped it in the duffel before I answered.

“I’ll call Tina in the morning and tell her I’m off the lease. You work out with her if you want to stay and find a roommate, break the lease, whatever. Not my problem anymore.”

“What the fuck, Heather? I can’t afford to stay here or break the lease!”

“Should have thought of that before you blew all our money, BigJ69. Excuse me.” I moved past him, dropped the duffel at the front door, then returned to the bedroom to put my laptop, headphones, all my needed electronics, into my work backpack.

Only then did I hear a soft, “Look, I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.”

His quiet, sad tone pulled at my heart strings. It almost melted the hard edges of my anger like it had done so many times before. Almost.

But finding out what Laith had done was a breaking point for me.

Not just his stalking, but for every single time I let someone steamroll over me.

This wasn’t the first time I was certain I’d caught Justin in a lie—nor the second or the third—only for him to deny it and accuse me of being unreasonable.

I had to thank Laith in a way. It felt like the wool over my eyes had been thrown back and I could finally see everything clearly. I saw how manipulative Justin was, how he denied any wrongdoing until real consequences slapped him in the face.

And I wasn’t going to throw myself under the bus to save him from those consequences anymore.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about getting laid off, okay?” Justin said while I packed. “I was gonna figure something out. I still am! I just need a little time, okay? I’ll pay you back for the rent.”

I sighed, rolled up the cord of my phone charger, and stuck it in one of my backpack compartments.

“I know it’s embarrassing to not be the provider or whatever, but if you would have just told me the truth, I would have supported you.

I would have happily taken over the rent, touched up your resume, if you had just…

treated me like a partner instead of an invisible ATM.

Did you at least apply for unemployment benefits? ”

“Uh, no.” Justin shuffled uncomfortably behind me. “I don’t qualify because I actually, kind of…quit.”

“Oh, wonderful.” I shouldered the backpack. “Good luck with everything, Justin.”

“Heather, come on! Don’t do this.”

I started to leave the bedroom, but my momentum rocked backward. I glared over my shoulder. “Let go of me, Justin.”

“Look, please don’t go.” His voice cracked and he blinked quickly, though I saw no tears in his eyes.

“I’m sorry about everything, okay? I just didn’t want to stress you out.

I promise I’m working on something big and we won’t have to worry about rent or anything soon.

If everything goes right, you won’t have to work at all! ”

“I don’t even want to know what kind of crypto scheme or whatever you’ve fallen for. I’m done, Justin. We’re done.”

I turned and twisted, trying to pull out of his grasp, but he held firm on the backpack’s top handle.

“Don’t say that. You don’t mean it. You’re just pissed right now and I get it. When you’ve cooled off, we can talk about it. Take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch to give you space.”

I thought my anger had lowered to a simmer, but those words were like gasoline pouring onto embers. My resentment demon, rather than whispering doubts into my ear, now took possession over my entire body.

My arms slid out of the backpack straps and I whipped around, fists clenched.

“You don’t know what I’m feeling now because you’ve never bothered to fucking ask,” I said in a low, furious growl.

“You’ve never cared about how I felt unless my feelings were inconvenient for you .

You’re selfish and immature. You’ve taken me for granted throughout our entire relationship.

I have bent over backwards to make your life comfortable and happy for years, and you’re content to just take from me.

Oh yeah, sometimes you’re nice enough to make me think you could care, or you could be thoughtful, but coffee and pastries don’t win you any boyfriend awards.

You’ve never really listened. You’ve never once put me first while I have diminished myself for you over and over again.

So listen carefully because this is the last time I’m saying it: I. Am fucking. Done.”

I turned and headed straight for my purse I left on the living room side table, grabbed it, and then the duffel bag I left by the front door.

The photo of me and my parents passed in my periphery, but I couldn’t risk crossing the room to grab it.

I didn’t think Justin would physically prevent me from leaving, but I didn’t want to take that chance.

If I was leaving, it had to happen right now.

With a hard yank, I pulled the front door open. “You hear that, Soren?” I yelled into the empty living room. “I’m fucking done with you too, you piece of shit!”

From Justin’s view, I must have looked actually crazy, but what did I care? I took my luggage and walked away from the last five years of my life.