Alyssa
Ibalance my box of belongings on my knee as I rap my knuckles on the dark blue door. The house is a single story building, plain, homey. I double check the address again just to be sure before sucking in a deep breath.
The door opens to reveal a face I’m not familiar with, albeit an attractive face. Oh god. A bout of anxiety sets in once more. “Is it the pizza?” shouts a voice from inside.
“Looks to be a girl scout.” The guy in front of me says.
“Does she have pizza?” A second voice calls. There’s a round of laughs that echo around from inside the house. I furrow my brows, confused.
“Hi. I’m Alyssa, I’m looking for Cameron?” My heart beats a steady staccato against my ribcage as I wait for Cameron to appear.
“Alyssa, welcome!” While he opens the door to let me in, I’m still suspicious if I am actually in the right place.
“Umm… Cameron?”
“He’s in there. Here let me take that.”
Before I have the chance to respond, he takes the box from my arms and walks through the archway that he said led to Cam.
Inside, I see Cameron standing in a small kitchenette in the open plan living room. The whole place is sparsely decorated, but it looks nice. The large TV is clearly the most important thing in the room. Cameron has a pint glass in one hand and a dishrag in the other. When he sees me, he puts both down and hustles over.
“Alyssa!” He beams. “It’s great you’re here, ignore them, they’re just hungry.” He turns into the room.
“So, introductions: A, this is Lucca,” Cam says gesturing to the tall lean figure with hazel eyes and dark blond shaggy hair who had taken my box. The corners of his lips twitch up in a small smile.
“This is Christian.” He points to a tall guy sitting between two similar looking guys. He looks easily over six feet, even sitting.
Christian’s hair looks soft to the touch and is a shade darker than Lucca’s. He has bright blue eyes and is a decent bit more muscular than the others. Gym rat, I think as he smiles and wiggles his eyebrows at me. It’s part joking, part suggestive, and earns him a slap on the back from the guys he’s sitting between.
“And then you’ve got Jackson and Jesse, the twins.” Both twins have black hair, pale green eyes, and weightlifter muscles under golden tan skin.
“I thought you only had two roommates…” I look at Cameron, questioning.
“Yep, Jesse and Jackson are just here for pizza night.”
“Ahh well, in that case, I’m sorry that I didn’t bring the pies.” My stomach rumbles loudly, earning a laugh from the guys in the room. “Hopefully they’re here soon!” I say, chuckling self-consciously.
“Hopefully,” Cam agrees, he takes the box from where Lucca left it on the dining table. “Here, let me show you the room that you’ll be staying in.”
He takes me towards the back of the house and along an unlit corridor. The door to the last room is ajar, as if it’s been airing out a strong smell.
“Is this me?” I ask, stepping into the room and looking around. Like the front, it’s not really decorated, just wallpaper and a thin carpet. There’s a bed, a set of drawers and a bedside table with a lamp on it.
“This is you.” Cameron says. He follows me into the room and places the box of my belongings on the bed, sitting down next to it.
“Is this all you have?” He says, nudging the box with his elbow. There’s an edge of concern, not-quite-brotherly protectiveness, in his voice.
“Everything for now.” I say, forcing an edge of brightness into it. “Don’t you worry, I will fill this room, just give me time.”
He matches my smile and his concern melts away. “Okay, well I’ll leave you to get settled. Come through when you’re ready.” He stands.
“I should have asked what kind of pizza you liked, but there’s going to be enough of everything that I’m sure you’ll like something...”
Cameron’s at the door when he turns back and drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper: “I’ll keep the guys in line tonight, some of those players don’t know when to quit it, but I know you’ll be fine. They’re all good guys, just…” He shrugs. “You know how guys can get.”
With that, he’s gone. I let my anxiety slide away as I collapse down onto the bare mattress. It still smells a little musty in here, like the previous occupant never opened the windows. Time to change that. I pull myself up and cross the room to the window. It takes a bit of wiggling but I manage to get the latch unlocked and swing the bottom pane open. A gust of warm, fresh air blows through the room, billowing the thin curtains away from the wall.
My window looks into the alley at the back of the house. Fortunately, the bins are a little way away so their smell doesn’t reach my new room. My new home. I turn away from the window, and place my hands on my hips as I survey the room. Tentative hope starts to build in my mind. Maybe I can actually make this work, make Preston University work. I just have to keep my metaphorical plates spinning. More fights, maybe a side gig, and it’ll be fine, something to keep the money coming in so I can make this my new home.
I start rummaging through the drawers in the unit, looking for clean spare bedding. I’m in luck - in the last drawer, there are sheets, pillowcases, and a heavier blanket patterned in blue gingham. Moving my box onto the floor, I quickly make the bed and then flop down onto it again. A slow smile spreads over my face. This feels better already.
Standing, I kick the box under the bed for now, and head back into the suddenly rowdy front room. The guys are playing a game on the TV - two controllers, one with Christian and one with Lucca, clacking away frantically as the guys fight for virtual dominance with their tiny soccer players.
“What’s this?” I ask, at the same time as the doorbell goes.
“Woo pizza!” One of the twins yells, but makes no effort to get up and get the door, cocking his head towards me and waiting to see what I will do.
“I guess I’ll get that…”
At the front door, I take the six large pizza boxes from the delivery guy and give them a tip from the change in my back pocket. I dunno if the guys have already tipped but I guess it’s better to be safe. I kick the door shut again, walking to the kitchenette and dumping the boxes on the countertop. Cameron shoves the guys along on the sofa to make space for me during the game, but naturally, all things pause for the food.
