Page 9 of Towering Contract
ChapterSeven
ZELLY
The alarm sounds, letting me know someone has come into my home. I live on the family estate, but I stay in the casita behind the main house since it’s close to the garden. I wiggled my way into moving out here, and I love it because there aren’t people constantly coming and going. When I’m here, I know I’m all alone and this is my space.
I hear Ella’s feet moving around the house, and I call out to her. “I’m in my room,” I shout before zipping up my suitcase and starting on the next one. I’m overpacking, but I don’t know how long this will take.
“I’m stealing one of these cookies.” Ella appears a few seconds later with not one but two cookies. “Did you stay up all night baking?”
“I love baking.” I know I sound defensive.
Really I was trying to calm myself down because I hadn’t been able to sleep. When I bake or work in the garden, it gives me a sense of calm. It reminds me I have a purpose, and it keeps my mind busy.
“I know,” she laughs. “It was a long night. Thought you’d be worn out.”
I should’ve been worn out both mentally and physically. I’d been on my feet most of the night while my mom paraded me around the room introducing me to everyone. It didn’t help that the whole time I could see Flynn watching me. He was pissed off, and it reminded me of the times I could sense a darkness in him.
“I wanted to take some with me. Flynn’s kitchen is probably bare. I bet he doesn’t even own a blender.” Unless he has a staff.
“What was that about?” Ella takes residence on the chaise at the end of my bed.
“I guess he needs help.” I shrug. “Might be nice to get out of here for a few days.” I live in the casita, but it’s a short walk from the main house. One my mom has no problem taking, and I know she has two men in mind for me already.
“That is so not what I meant.”
“He’s been Leo’s friend forever. It’s not crazy for me to do it.”
Actually it is. I hate Flynn. Don't I? He has me questioning everything after last night. I have no clue how long we danced, but we slid back to a time when I adored him. Our conversations started to come easier with each word we spoke to one another.
“That’s still not what I meant,” Ella says as she polishes off her first cookie.
“Then what do you mean?” She doesn’t know about my past with Flynn. That I loved him and then he broke my heart. Although I’m not a hundred percent sure that he knows about breaking my heart. He pretended last night that there was no hostility between us.
I’m typically short and direct when I have to speak to him, and there’s no way he could miss that. When he was around, that is. He had to know he did something to turn me against him because I was never that way before. Even when I was younger and he did something to annoy me, I’d only try to annoy him back or argue with him. I never wanted to run from him like I do now.
“Your mom for starters. Leo speaks highly of Flynn, but your mom doesn’t care for him.”
“I don’t know actually.” I found that strange too because I thought she was close to Flynn’s mom.
You never know what my mother’s motives are, but it was clear she wanted to get me away from him last night. All I wanted to do was run back to him. Instead, my mom made me prance around the room with her.
“Does that mean he’s off the possible suitor list?”
“He was never on it.” I push my hair out of my face as I pack.
“How do you get on it?” Ella’s nose scrunches.
“Some put in a request to my brother.”
“And he didn’t put one in? Weird.” She bites into her second cookie while I toss a few pairs of shoes into my next bag.
“Why is that weird?”
“Duh. He was all over you. At one point, I thought he was going to murder one of the men your mom had you talking to.”
“He enjoys poking at my mom. It’s a hobby we share.” I smirk.
“That doesn’t explain the stare-down he had with the other men. He went over to one after you were done talking to him, and they got into it.”