Chapter Text
As he sat on the bed, with his laptop on his lap reviewing apartments, he considered cutting his other leg off just to avoid the headache of choosing somewhere to live.
If he spoke those words out loud, Stuart would most likely throw a joke about how he should’ve just let Abram at his father’s mercy after all.
He kept quiet.
Thing was, Neil was grateful for everything. With the help of Stuart and his men that were infiltrated in the FBI, Neil Josten had begun to exist legally, out of the blue. His father was dead, his men were either dead or locked up, and he was free.
And all it had cost were years on the run, his sanity, his mother and a leg.
Maybe Neil was a bit bitter, like his high school guidance counselor had said.
His uncle’s distant voice knocked him away from his traumatic past.
“Sorry, what?” Neil said, looking up.
“I asked, have you found anything worth looking?”
Neil passed the laptop to his uncle, “I opened the one ones I found interesting.”
“You did filter out the ones without a lift, right?” Stuart sat down next to him, putting on his reading glasses to scroll through Neil’s options.
“Why would I? I can climb up a couple of stairs.”
Stuart sighed, “That is, until you get tired and can’t. Or you fall down the stairs and I have to drive multiple hours to see you with a concussion in the ER. Or worse, the morgue.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Neil groaned, although his life was indeed that dramatic, “Just choose one with a lift if you’re worried. I’ll be fine”
“You’re always fine, Abram. At this point, I care more about you being comfortable. And about me not dying of a heart attack when you inevitably get injured”
As if on cue, the dog jumped on the bed just then, laying down at their feet.
The dog’s name was Ellie, a 2 year old black labrador retriever that had been trained as both a service animal and an ESA, Stuart’s to-be former most expensive gift to Neil after they chose which apartment he would live in.
Stuart was all about catering to Neil’s needs. It had begun as keeping a promise he had made to his sister, Mary, when Neil had been born. But nowadays, the old man had become emotional; he got teary eyed whenever the subject of Neil leaving for university came up— way to go for a mob boss.
They were currently staying in the only five star hotel Palmetto had to offer, visiting different apartments to find the one that they would buy for Neil to live in for the next four years.
“I believe this one is fitting. An eighth floor apartment with a balcony and green common areas, pet friendly. A 15 minute walk from the Math building, near a bus stop. There’s one of those fancy coffee shops across the street and a supermarket.”
He skipped through the photos; it seemed friendly enough. It did have a lift, to calm Stuart’s heart down. Recently renovated, but without any furniture (which was fine with Neil, that way they could adapt it to his needs).
“Sure, let’s go check it out.”
It was love at first sight— mainly for Stuart. Neil looked at the apartment with no critical thought in his mind. His life had always been about surviving; staying in cash only motels with his mother, or sleeping in the backseat of the car when it wasn’t his turn to drive. The empty white walls of the apartment gave him no ideas on how to fill it.
He could appreciate the wide windows that let the morning sun flood in, and the spacious balcony were he could put Ellie’s toys and a couple of chairs.
Stuart was different; he had grown up wealthy just like Neil’s mother, in big houses and posh schools, buying clothes that cost more than Neil’s entire wardrobe, including prosthetics, vacationing in 5 star hotels in countries Neil hadn’t even reviewed in geography class.
“Think of the potential, Neil, it’s so bright and spacious, we’ll make it feel like a home for Ellie and you,” Stuart had said as Neil signed the contract.
“As long as you help me fill it up, I’ll love it.”