Their Human Mate

Starting Over

Ember

I was far enough into Miami to be able to take a pause now. I parked behind a Walmart I saw, far away from any other people. I was alone. My mom was dead at the very hands of my boyfriend. He must have been a real menace, the way her body was in pieces like that. All the blood. The f*****g blood. I put my hands and head on the steering wheel. I should never have accepted that damn job in the first place. I probably would have been killed, but it is a hell of a lot better than seeing my mother's body in pieces. No one should have to see that.

I know Ryder would be looking to blame me for all of this. I know his ways. Blame others for the love he lost. The reason I was so attracted to him at one point, I will never know. My heart is so broken. f*****g broken, but now is not the time for mourning. My mom didn't raise a weak b***h who cried around all day. I will mourn her when I get that chance, but first things first. I need to find a home.

I took the phone Lamonte gave me and did a Google search for available apartments. Jesus f*****g Christ. These apartments were almost three grand a month. For someone like me, living alone, that definitely did not suit me at all. I opened the bag of stuff he gave me. There was almost 50 grand in bills, a gun, some fake IDs, a fake birth certificate and a social. They had my picture and first name, but changed my last name to Stanford. From now on, I will go to Ember Stanford. I realized what Lamonte was trying to do. New name. New Alias. I was glad I was able to keep my first name at least. I could afford the three grand apartments if I got the job, but on the chance that I did not, I searched around for something cheaper.

I found a studio apartment for about two grand, plus utilities. That was perfect for me. I GPS the address and made my way there. Miami was beautiful, but I couldn't appreciate it. Not with everything that had just recently happened. Lamonte's death flashed before my eyes. He called Ryder "alpha". What the f**k was that? Doing my best to clear my head, I ended up having an easy time driving and blasting music to try to clear my head. I called the landlord to let them know I would be paying a year's worth of rent. The man on the phone definitely was not about to pass up the offer to get twenty-four thousand at once.

When I got there, he was on the steps waiting with keys in his hand. He was a chubby fellow, with a stubble beard, rough-looking hands, and brown eyes. His age was told from his salt and pepper hair. He had to be at least 50.

"Ember Stanford", he asked when I arrived. He took a look at my busted window. I blocked it from his view by standing in front of him. I reached out my hand to greet him, but he didn't take it.

"You must be Riley Morris", I said, and he nodded.

"You have the money", he said. I handed him the bills. He handed me the contract, which I read over. It stated no refunds, and it was only a contract for a year.

"Do you need my ID and stuff?", I asked him.

"Nah, any pretty girl like you willing to pay a year's worth of rent must be running from something or someone. Keep this property free of your issues, girl. You will be responsible for the damage not caused by the building", he said, looking at the window again.

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir,” I said to him. He gave me my keys before getting into his car.

"My number is on the door, should you need anything else", he said, all grimy like. The look in his eye was the same one my manager used to give me. Considering I paid him for a whole year, that should keep him away from me for some time. I went inside the building after he drove off. The apartments were at least four stories high. There was an elevator, but it was out of service, so I had to take the stairs. Thankfully, I didn't have much with me outside of my bag, and my studio was only on the third floor. I found my room with ease. I had seen the place in the photos, but it really was quite comfortable. I think the previous tenants were in a rush to leave, because they left all of their nice dark blue furniture behind. I didn't mind it. Saved me the trouble of having to go buy it myself. The walls were white, trimmed with a dark blue line that matched the sofa chairs. There was a dark blue, white, and green rug that spread over the entire living room with a glass coffee table in the middle. A 72-inch TV hung from the wall. The curtains were pulled back, overlooking the beach. For a cheap studio apartment, this was actually quite nice.

The kitchen was small but nice, with a tan marble countertop and cabinets to match. The stove was electric. The refrigerator was not as big as I was used to, but it was my height, with a small freezer at the top. The bathroom was black and white. Almost a checkerboard type of design. I turned on the water and it seemed to be working fine enough. The bathtub was not as big as its shower, but I was okay with that. It was just going to be me, and I was going to take what I could get. The bedroom was empty. Just a white room, with blue trim as well. I would have to set the room up, but I was okay with that. I tied my hair up in a ponytail and went back to my car. Luckily, I was in a busy area of Miami, so finding a Walmart nearby was easy enough. I went shopping. I bought a green dot card and loaded the rest of the cash I had on it. Prepaid cards were not really that traceable and he would not find me since my fake social security was tied to the new Ember Stanford.

I went shopping for a bed and paid one of the Walmart men extra to come to my apartment and load it for me. He was a young male on his lunch break and was happy to make some extra cash. I also bought some food, kitchen supplies, bed and bathroom decorations. After everything was set up, I was beat. I sat on the bed, looking out the window while eating some stir fry.This is my life now. Ember Stanford. Graduate of Georgia University of the Culinary Arts with a bachelor's degree. My resume had everything I had ever accomplished on it, but just with a different school. It even had references on it. I was sure it was probably Lamonte's friends, who would verify I am who I said I was. I looked down at the greasy food and lost my appetite. Putting it on the nightstand, I wrapped myself in my blanket and cried. I cried for a very long time, until sleep wrapped her arms around me.