“Yes. Definitely.”
“Not like you have to or need to? But you want to?”
“I want to. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.”
“How so?” he asks.
“Well, you know I’m not experienced, so I didn’t know what to expect. It was intimidating, but I feel better than I thought I would. I didn’t feel awkward or weird.”
“That’s good to hear, Cassius. I want more than anything for you to be comfortable here. Eventually, this is going to be second nature for us. I can already tell.”
I smile at his praise, because yes, thatwaspraise. And there’s only more to come.
“You did an amazing job today. I look forward to tomorrow.”
“So do I.”
He gets up, offers me his hand, and helps me to my feet.
“You’re free to leave. The front door will lock automatically when you go, and the gate will open once you pass the water fountain. I’ll text you the code for the gate in the morning.”
With another small smile, and a slight head nod, he leaves.
So I go to my room, change into my clothes, and head home.
Chapter Thirteen
Cassius
I sleep most of the day, since there is no reason to be awake. When I do wake up, it’s almost time for Chrissy to get out of school, so I figure I’ll pick her up and we can grab a snack—breakfast and lunch for me since I haven’t had anything to eat yet.
There’s an open parking spot up front, by the doors, so I park there, hoping she’ll see me and I won’t have to get out and wait in the cold. I mess with the cell phone and connect it to the car. I’d already set up most of it and updated my address with them, but I download some games and want to see what other apps I can get.
I would love to get Chrissy and Cammy cell phones when I get paid on Friday, but we all agreed it would be best to wait until we move out so the witch doesn’t find them. I hate it, but it makes sense.
I’ve already been browsing apartments and have found so many nice ones. The problem is, they’re expensive and thoughI can afford it now, what if this doesn’t work out? What ifhedecides he doesn’t want me to do this anymore, then we’re screwed. There’s also the issue of Cammy being fourteen. We need to find a way for Mom to not make a big deal of her coming with us. But that’s a headache for another day. It’s not like we’re moving out tomorrow.
To me, what makes the most sense is to save money, as much as I can, suffer through staying with my mother, and see what we can afford to buy—a small house or a condo. Something, that if I lose this job, would be easier to afford in the long run. If I don’t have this job anymore, paying rent or a mortgage around here would be difficult, especially if I’m let go all of a sudden. I can’t risk putting us out on the street with absolutely nothing. But the idea of having to pay rent for the rest of forever is also daunting, which is why I’m leaning toward a house. Put as much down on it as I can and then one day we won’t have a payment on it. Paying rent for a full year would also be smart, because it would give us time to figure something out if needed, and it’s easier to afford that than a house.
The kids start flooding out of the doors, and I can’t see their faces from where I’m at, so I get out and flag down Chrissy when I spot her. She smiles so big it makes my chest warm.
“Hey, kiddo,” I say, giving her a side hug. I open the front door for her and close it once she’s in. “How was school?” I ask when I get into the driver’s side.
“Meh. It was okay. Oh—but in science, this kid Johnny who shouldn’t even be allowed to touch chemicals, made an explosion!”
“An explosion? That sounds dangerous.”
“I mean, yeah, it is. The fire alarms went off and everything. Everyone had to evacuate.”
“Sounds intense.”
“It was a nice break.” She shrugs, looking out the window.
“I thought you liked science?”
“I mean, yeah, I do, but I like not doing schoolwork better.”
I huff a laugh and ask, “You hungry?”