𝑻 𝑯 𝑬 𝑵 𝑨 𝑵 𝑵 𝒀 (18+)

four.

A M A R A

Bills.

They were the bane of my existence and every month when they came around all I wanted to do was hide and lock my doors so they wouldn't know I was home. At this point in my life, they haunted me in my sleep and I couldn't even enjoy an occasional night out without thinking about how it was going to affect my credit score.

I tossed the few lazily opened letters onto the coffee table in front of me and groaned. This month my bills came with an overdraft and an argument. The living arrangements this nanny job came with were unexpected but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. It was something to get used to but what I hadn't expected was for my boyfriend to be the most uncomfortable with it.

When I came to his apartment and dropped the news that I had finally gotten a new job, his excitement waned when I mentioned I would be moving out of my shared place with Zaria and into a two-story mansion with my boss and his two kids. I tried to put myself in his shoes. If I had a twenty-three-year-old girlfriend that was strapped for cash and occasionally willing to do anything for it, would I also be overly concerned?

On top of that, the job came with living with a man she hardly knew, in a house thirty or so minutes away from her friends and significant other. Considering today's climate, even with Kosta's approval I wouldn't be so sure that this guy wasn't a creep. Why had he and his wife been getting a divorce? Was it amicable? Did he cheat?

I considered every possible scenario and while I was thankful he had my best interest at heart, his visceral reaction to my very good news was unwarranted and that wasn't fair to me. "You can barely lift a five-pound dumbbell Mar," He reminded me sarcastically. It was a dig at my physical strength or lack thereof and it took everything in me to refrain from feeding into his insults.

I wasn't one to ignore red flags and in the seven months I've been with Luis, this was the only time I could say I saw one. That and his inability to put the toilet seat down after he used the bathroom. I watched him stroll into the kitchen in search of a snack from my peripheral vision. I wanted to go home but he'd driven me here and Zaria was still at work so I couldn't ask her to pick me up.

I groaned and switched off the tv before joining him in the kitchen. He gave me a nod to acknowledge my existence then went back to mindlessly scrolling through his Instagram feed. "I know you're upset, but I need to go home. I haven't finished packing and he's sending a truck for me in the morning."

Luis scoffed and walked into the living room, "so I'm guessing you forgot you were supposed to meet my parents this weekend? What am I supposed to tell them?"

Shit. I had completely forgotten about that. To make matters worse I was supposed to meet them months ago but I had an exam due the same day we were supposed to drive up to Sacramento. Disappointment flashed through his eyes, followed by anger. The vein in his neck popped and he fisted the bottle of water in his hand making it crackle.

"I'm sorry. I know this is really inconvenient but I don't have much of a choice. The only other option would be to drive down there afterward, stay for a little and then drive back up but—"

"It's an eight-hour drive Mar. No fucking way would I be coming back the same night," He interrupted.

"I know which was why I was going to say that it wasn't a good idea before you interrupted me." I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath, "I'll make this up to you. He doesn't need me this weekend so we can drive up then! I'm not blowing this off intentionally Luis, timing has just been really shitty."