“Ow, Jamie! Get a rag or something!”
Right. Probably should’ve done that in the first place.
I yank a hand towel from its rack to press it to her cut, but Raegan shrieks and yanks her arm back. “You’re not using that dirty thing on my open wound! I could get gang green!”
I grab a clean one from the sink instead. “Raegan, I am so sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”
She’s not crying, something I take as a good sign, but she’s definitely concerned. Though the gang green comment might have come out as a joke, knowing the way her brain works, she’s most likely considering the likelihood of that actually happening.
“Are you auditioning as a scream queen or something?” she jabs. “Shouldn’t you be used to me coming over unannounced by now?”
“I was distracted. Hold this.” I place her delicate hand over the towel and dart for the half-bath where I keep my first aid kit to retrieve bandages and antiseptic. When I return to Raegan’s side, the bleeding has mostly stopped, so I’ll be able to clean and cover the wound easily.
She winces again at the sting from the antiseptic, and though I know it will help, I hate seeing her in pain. I carefully place a pink bubblegum themed bandaid over the cut and when I glance up to check her expression, she’s smiling.
“Where’d that come from?” she teases in a sing-song voice.
“I’m pretty sure it’s been in this box since my sister was a toddler.”
She grimaces at the bandaid like it’s my dirty kitchen towel. “Will it work?”
I snort. “It’s a bandaid, Rae. Not a condom.”
This makes her freckled cheeks go pink. Raegan has never been one to openly talk about sex. For some reason, it embarrasses her, especially with me. Which is a fact I love to exploit.
She quickly changes the subject. “What’s got you so jumpy?”
Her ability to see past my mishap to whatever is bubbling underneath just proves she knows me as well as I know her.
I’ve felt extremely on edge lately—like I’ve been waiting for the next shoe to drop, or for an inconvenience the size of a natural disaster to hit unexpectedly. Everything around me has just felt a little off kilter, and I know exactly why.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell her.
So instead, I say, “I was fully zeroed in to this podcast I’m listening to. You know how I get about football.”
Raegan narrows her eyes and smirks. She doesn’t believe me, but she doesn’t ask any further questions.
“Besides,” I add, crouching beside her, “you always text me.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” She rolls her eyes and frowns. “Mavis stopped me as I was leaving work, so I drove straight here to escape her.”
Understanding washes over me. “Is she asking about your lease again?”
Raegan nods. “You know I hate it there, and if I could move somewhere more affordable, I totally would, but there’s just nothing available right now.”
She’s right–I know exactly how much she’s struggled to keep up with Mavis’s exorbitant price hikes. I’ve offered for her to move in with me many times, but each offer has been rejected. Raegan tends to refuse help from others given she would feeloverwhelmed with the need to repay the kindness, though I’ve told her it isn’t necessary with me.
I already know what her response will be, but I extend the offer one more time. “And I have the perfect solution to that problem.”
She narrows her eyes, but she knows I’m right.
For the past ten years, I’ve been lucky to have a fully-paid, two-story condo gifted to me by my parents. I was sixteen when we moved to Shadow Hills. It was a necessary move, according to my parents, that would promise me the best life. But after allowing me the time to grow up in a place that accepted me for who I am, my parents missed their community and their friends. Once I was a legal adult, they gave me the choice to go back to Nashville with them, or stay here and begin my own life. I chose the latter. Now it’s just me and two empty bedrooms.
“Come on,” I insist. “I’d love to have you as a roommate. I have all this space and no one to share it with.”
I see the tension in her shoulders relax, but her face conveys a different feeling.
“Jamie, I’ve already told you, I can’t accept something like that. I’m not going to live in your condo rent-free.”
