Page 124 of The Compass Series

DAMIAN

M y driver pulled up to Kevin’s home on Thursday afternoon.

I spoke with Stella, who told me she was moving her things in on Wednesday.

Since I didn’t want to cross paths with her move, I waited a day to get my things inside the home.

More than a home, it was a mansion. The kinds of homes I sold on the daily to wealthy people who made absurd amounts of money.

The kinds of homes I’d mocked my whole life, saying no one needed that much space to live in.

Over twenty thousand square feet of land, right on the coast that included a beautiful white sandy beach. There was a massive outdoor swimming pool, a basketball court, a tennis court, and even a sauna house. Also, there was a guesthouse where Kevin’s former housekeeper, Maple Woods, lived.

If sixteen-year-old Damian would’ve pulled up to the house, he would’ve believed he was in an alternate universe. Grown-up Damian still felt the same way.

It slightly pissed me off, seeing how much some people had when so many others suffered.

Life was such bullshit sometimes, and it wasn’t fair how it all worked out.

I didn’t deserve to live in a place like that house, and I damn sure knew it was fucked up that a man I never knew was forcing it to be my temporary home.

I wasn’t a stranger to temporary homes. Truthfully, they were all I’d ever known.

Before I entered the house, I shot Stella a message that I’d arrived. I felt it was only right to give her a heads-up that I was in the house. I’d be creeped out knowing a stranger was just walking around the place I was supposed to live.

She texted back right away. With emojis.

Almost every single message she sent me had an emoji attached to it.

That pretty much summed up the type of person she was.

You could tell a lot about a person based on their usage of emojis.

For Stella, it seemed as if she was trying too hard with the number of smiley faces she sent after every sentence.

I was more of a solid period kind of texter.

Unlike Stella, I used short words and got straight to the point.

She wrote paragraph after paragraph as if she was crafting the next great American novel.

I told her I was heading over. She told me okay, along with what she was unpacking, what she was ordering for dinner—asking if I wanted anything—and then she told me how many rings were around Saturn. Okay, maybe not the latter, but she might as well have.

I began unloading some boxes from the car. The rest of my crap would be coming in after the wedding, so I only had a few things to take in.

My driver helped with the boxes, then headed out for the night.

I knew Stella was somewhere in the house because her car was parked outside, but it took hours for us to even cross paths.

When we did, it was as I sat at the dining room table eating my dinner.

Stella’s meal arrived at the front door, and she went to retrieve it.

When she came back toward the kitchen, there was no way for her to miss me.

She looked at me and paused, seemingly shocked as she took a step back.

This was it. The perfect opportunity to invite her to join me for a meal, so I would seem less like a dick and she’d be more likely to finish the six months of the deal.

Go ahead, Damian. Offer her an invite.

“You just gonna gawk or sit?” I spat out.

She frowned. “Not with that attitude.”

“Then stop staring, Cinderstella.”

“No problem, Beast.” She walked away in a hurry, leaving me sitting in the darkened room.

I couldn’t blame her. That wasn’t the warmest invitation I’d ever extended.

Then again, I wasn’t one to invite people to eat with me.

Over the years, I’d learned to enjoy my solitude.

For so many years of my life, people sent me away.

Now, I never let people close enough to have that opportunity.

Besides, I liked being alone. Loneliness was safe.

People couldn’t hurt you when you were by yourself.

Stella plated her meal in the kitchen and returned into the dining room.

Please keep walking.

Of course she didn’t because Stella liked to talk.

“I think we need ground rules,” she stated, picking at her food with her fingers.

“I thought our rules were to avoid one another?”

“Yes, but we can’t do that all the time.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s silly.” Solid reason, Stella. “Plus, roommates have rules. Like grocery shopping. Do we do that together?”

“Absolutely not.”

“And laundry?”

“I do my own.”

“What about guests? If you are going to entertain women, or men, or well, I mean anyone in a romantic way, you can let me know, and I’ll stay in my room the whole time.”

“And same with you.”

“I won’t be having Jeff over. I think it might be too odd.”

I nodded because I didn’t care.

She raised an eyebrow. “Is there…?”

“Is there what?”

“Someone in your life?”

“You’re asking if I’m single?”

“Yes. Not that it matters, but, well, if your person?—”

“I don’t do relationships.”

“Says the man about to marry a stranger.”

“It’s a marriage, not a relationship. Two equally different things.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “But don’t you kind of wonder why Kevin chose to put us together? I mean, I know there’s a reason, but I’ve been unable to connect the dots.”

“His logic doesn’t concern me. I’m only in this to get the money. After the six months, I’ll be on my way.”

She lightly snickered as if I said something amusing. “Come on. You have to be somewhat curious about why he did this.”

“Not in the least.”

“But—”

“Why do you keep talking to me?” I snapped. “It’s clear as day that I don’t want to engage in conversation.”

“You’re so rude.”

“And a jerk and an asshole, yes. How many times are you going to state the obvious before you take a hint and let me be?” Her mouth parted, and I tilted my head, cutting her off before she could reply. “Good night.”

I was cruel to her, but I couldn’t help it.

Whenever I looked at her, I was reminded of how my father chose to raise another instead of me.

She stood for the life I could’ve had, and that pissed me off.

She was so happy and well put together. Approachable, kind, sunshine, and happiness. It wasn’t fair.

I never had the chance to feel the love she received from a man who owed it to me. It wasn’t her fault, but I was bitter. Bitterness had a way of shooting off a person and hitting innocent bystanders. Stella was just in the crossfire of my hatred for Kevin Michaels.

The later the night grew, the odder and more uncomfortable the whole situation began to feel.

I’d been in my fair share of foster homes growing up, and those first nights were always the hardest. I’d always overthink how long the arrangement would last before the family chose to give me up.

I hated that a feeling I thought I’d never have to experience again was returning in such an odd way.

When I headed to my bedroom, I lay wide awake until the sun came up, and I went into work, exhausted beyond compare.

I bet Stella slept better than I had inside the home that raised her. Unfortunately for me, I was left wide awake with my nightmares.

The workday was mundane, as all workdays had been.

I felt emotionally exhausted from being an introvert who needed to pretend to be an extrovert while selling homes to filthy-rich snobs all day.

The moment I could relax my face after fake smiles and over-the-top kindness, I felt a bit better.

Resting bitch face was my default after a full day of work.

Plus, when one had a resting bitch face, most people didn’t find the need to approach you for conversation. Stella was still unable to read the room, but she’d learn quickly.

After work, I dreaded going back to the house to live another day in the make-believe world that Kevin had crafted. The wedding was in the morning, but I had yet to wrap my head around that fact.

When the driver pulled up to the property, I saw a random car parked in the driveway.

Well, I’ll be damned.

The asshole came.

Connor brought Aaliyah with him, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thankful for their presence.

Since I’d arrived in California, everything felt foreign to me.

I felt as if I were in a place where I didn’t belong and where no one understood me.

So, seeing their familiar faces brought me a comfort I didn’t even know I was missing.

“How did you find out where I was staying?” I asked Connor as he climbed out of his rental car.

Aaliyah wasn’t far behind him, and he waited until she was right beside him to start approaching.

He never walked ahead of her, always side by side.

If they were walking through a door, he’d hold it open for her.

If she coughed, he already had a glass of water ready for her to sip.

I bet most people didn’t notice the little things that Connor did for his wife, but they always stood out to me.

I didn’t believe in love until I saw how it worked for them. They made it look easy.

“You don’t think you’re the only one who’s a good detective, do you?” he joked, walking over to me. He patted me on the shoulder because he knew how I felt about hugs.

Aaliyah already looked as if she was seconds away from bursting into tears. Her kind heart always lived in the viewpoint of her brown eyes. Kind of like Stella’s. Not that I was learning anything about her heart or kindness. It was just something I observed.

Aaliyah smiled so big that I felt the warmth. She was already looking like a mother. She pulled me into a hug because she knew how much I needed it.

“I’m sorry this is all happening in a whirlwind,” she whispered to me. “I know you and Connor have a more brotherish relationship, but if you need a sister to talk to, I’m here for you.”

“I’m good.”