Read New Beginnings for Free Online

that…thing. So I just went to his apartment.
    I knew I look ed like hell because I didn’t have a chance to brush my hair or wash my face. Oh well, Flynn had seen me like this before. And I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t do this, I’d be killed.
    When I knocked on the door, I heard voices. I was surprised he had company this early in the morning on a weekend. The door opened and I was face to face with a pretty brunette. She was a little older than me, maybe a few years, and her hair was styled perfectly. She had more curves than I did, but then again, who didn’t?
    The first thing I did was panic. Why the hell was this girl at Flynn’s this early in the morning? Why was she so pretty? He didn’t have a sister, so they weren’t related. I immediately feared the worst. He betrayed me. He’s a dog just like all the others.
    But this is Flynn. He’s different. I forced myself to remain calm and rational. There was an explanation for this. This girl was at his apartment on Sunday morning for a very real reason…she didn’t sleep here.
    “Did you hear me?” she said.
    I zoned out for a second. “Hi…”
    “Um…can I help you?”
    “Flynn…I’m looking for Flynn.”
    “He’s in the bathroom.”
    “Oh.” I tried not to cry. That tended to be my initial reaction for everything.
    “Do you want to wait outside…?”
    “Yeah,” I said immediately.
    “Okay.” She walked away from the door and sat on his couch.
    Flynn came back into the living room.
    “Some girl is here to see you,” she said indifferently.
    “Who?” he asked.
    “I didn’t ask.”
    I was liking this less and less.
    He came to the door and his eyes widened when he saw me. “Hazel? What are you doing here?”
    A smartass comment came to mind but I didn’t say it. “I needed your help with something.”
    “Are you okay?” he asked immediately.
    “Yeah, I think so.” I eyed the girl on the couch. “Who’s your friend?”
    “Oh.” He glanced at the girl then turned back to me. “Come in and I’ll introduce you.”
    Introduce me?
    He led me to her. “ Paula, this is my girlfriend, Hazel.”
    She extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
    Girlfriend? He introduced me as his girlfriend. I breathed a sigh of relief.
    “Paula is an executive producer for HBO. I was pitching my story to her.” Judging the distressed look on his face, I knew he felt rushed to explain just exactly who she was and her platonic purpose. “We were both busy this week so Sunday was the only suitable day.”
    Hallelujah.
    Paula grabbed her purse. “I need to run. But I’ll think this over.” She held the manuscript under her arm.
    “Sounds good. I’ll walk you out.”
    “It was nice meeting you, Hazel.”
    “You too,” I said quietly.
    Flynn said goodbye then shut the door. He eyed me cautiously as he came back to me. “So, what’s going on?”
    I completely forgot about the cockroach. “Oh yeah. Um, I need your help.”
    “With what?”
    I realized how stupid it was in light of what he was just doing, pitching his script to be made into a film. I was worried about a mutant cockroach making a home out of my bathroom. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
    “You came all the way over here. It must have been something.” He waited for me to tell him.
    “It’s…a cockroach.”
    He smirked. “A cockroach?”
    “It’s in my bathroom and it’s hogging the toilet. This thing is the size of my head. I’m not kidding.” The fear started to come back. “When I walked in there it tried to kill me.”
    His eyes lit up in mirth. “And you need me to come to the rescue?”
    “I feel bad asking you to risk your life, but I can’t afford an exterminator.”
    “Risk my life?” He chuckled.
    “You don’t understand how big this sucker is.”
    His eyes softened when he looked at me. “You’re so cute.”
    “Cute?”
    “Yeah. You’re scared of a bug?”
    “This thing is not a bug,” I said quickly. “It’s baby