Kat blinks. “You just got home?”
“It’s a long story, but someone ran over Frankenscooter. He’s totaled. I had to wait for Gage to get there to write up a report. When I got home, it was past three, and I walked into this.”
Kat has her hand over her mouth. “Shit. Your textbooks. And laptop.”
“Who’s Gage?” Kat asks, looking perplexed.
“Officer Golden.”
“Gage?” Kat asks again.
Patsy stops her. “Focus, Kat. We’ll ask her about her hot cop tomorrow.”
I don’t mind the questions about Gage. It makes me smile, truth be told. I seem to be much calmer now. Cooke was right, I needed my mates.
Patsy turns to me, placing her hands on my shoulders as she says, “No worries. I’ll call the landlord about the insurance first thing in the morning.”
“Oh, I hope this is all covered,” Susanna says between sobs. “We’re so sorry, Quinn. This has never happened before.”
“It’s okay.” It’s not, but I can’t blame my roommates. “It’s been raining nonstop.”
Patsy reaches for my comforter. “Grab what you can, and we’ll move it all upstairs to the second level. We can get you set up in that small niche at the top of the stairs.”
“Oh, yeah. Great idea.” That cheered Susanna right up. “You can be up there with me, Robbi, and Lindsay.” She claps happily. “Yay!”
Robbi is feeling around on my bed. “We can grab your mattress. It’s not wet.”
“Perfect.” Lindsay is giddy now.
So that’s what we do. As a team, we gather up all the dry items first and carry them up to the top floor of the house. The small niche is sort of a perfect bedroom. Sure, there are no walls, but it’s dry and warm.
After the dry things are gathered, we fill clothes baskets with my wet items. Robbi sets the baskets in the garage for now while Susanna and Kat work on the papers and textbooks. They seem to think that drying them out will work. I love their optimism. I wish I felt the same.
As for my headphones and laptop? I’m sure they’re gone, but we’ll let them dry out as well. When it’s all said and done, all that remains in the basement is an old dresser that was on its last leg anyway and the bed frame. Those we can grab when the water recedes.
By the time we’re done, the sun has risen, and we’re all crashed out on the floor near my bed. “Thank goodness it’s Sunday,” someone mumbles.
I nod. “Yeah. I have to work later, but not until five.”
“Well, you sleep,” Patsy says, patting my leg. “I’ll go call the landlord. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good.” I feel gross, and I really want a shower, but my body won’t move. I feel like I need to say one last thing before I go to sleep.
Me: Thanks, Cooke. You said all the right things last night. I’ll never forget it. Now… I’m going to sleep. Night.
Cooke:Aye. I’m glad I was useful. Sleep well, lovely Quinn.
Lovely Quinn. Those are the last words I think as I fall asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Four
You know that old saying about bad things happening to help us see all the good things in life or something like that? I think it’s true. Four days ago was possibly the worst day of my life so far. Granted, no one I love has gotten ill or passed away, thank goodness. With that said, it was a pretty shitty day. Sunday wasn’t super great either. We found out that the owners do have insurance, but only on the house itself. None of my belongings were covered under their policy. I’d have to have renter’s insurance for that. Ask me if I have renter’s insurance.
The answer is No.
I sort of expected that to be the case anyway, so I didn’t get upset again. By the time I woke up at noon on Sunday, I had gotten sort of Zen about everything. I went to work, which was fun because the bar was dead, and Luke was off. Chris and I got to know each other, plus he taught me some new mixed drinks. Apparently, the cosmo is “very popular with the ladies,” as Chris noted. I also made a Moscow mule and a sour apple martini. I’ve got to say, martinis aren’t my thing. It sounded good, but boy was it strong. I did like the mule, though. That was delish.
Chris let me leave early after hearing about my Saturday. It’s a good thing, since I was still tired, and I had a paper to rewrite because the last one was saved on my drowned laptop. Kat is letting me borrow her laptop tonight, thankfully. If I’d been smart, I’d have put all my work that was on my computer on a cloud somewhere, but I’m not smart, I guess. I also emailed all my instructors about the flood damage and the ruination of my school supplies. I hoped they had a heart so if I happened to turn anything in late, they’d let it slide.
