Evan’s mouth twisted to the side.Carli isn’t getting married for another three months.The eviction notice said ten days.What do I do in the meantime?
Mercedes laughed.I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your sister hasn’t really slept in her own bed for a few months.Blake’s condo is closer to her work, and I think she likes the company better.
His face grew tight.I don’t need to hear these things about my little sister.Isn’t her stuff still there?
Little by little she’s been moving it to Blake’s.Is your rent all paid up for the month of July?If it is, maybe I can talk your manager into letting you stay there until the end of the month if Adam leaves.That’ll give you at least an extra week to get your stuff together and moved.
You’d do that for me?He shuffled his feet and smiled.I’ll be your best friend for life if you help me out with this.
I already have a best friend.Your sister.
Yeah, but she has Blake now.You need a new best friend.
He didn’t need to point that out to her.True, but do you?
You can never have too many best friends.His dimple flashed her way.
It looked like she’d have a new roommate soon.She wasn’t sure if having Evan live with her would be a good thing or the worst decision she’d ever made.
Chapter Two
Tossing the last of the junk from his closet into a trash bag, Evan sighed.It had been a pain packing up all his stuff for the move.Thankfully, Mercedes had gotten him another few weeks instead of the ten days on the original eviction notice.Adam hadn’t been so fortunate, but then his roommate—former roommate—had been the one to decide that starting a fire in an old toolbox on the porch was a good idea.
Last weekend, he’d spent most of his time helping get Carli moved over to Blake’s and then cleaning the floors and closet.This weekend was payback with them giving him a hand getting his junk there.They’d already gone ahead with another load.
As he eyed all his belongings, he shook his head.It wasn’t a ton of stuff.Anything he hadn’t used in a year, or had no obvious purpose, had gotten thrown away.The apartment had come furnished when they’d moved in, and Evan couldn’t say he would miss any of the broken-down pieces he was leaving here.He’d benefit now from Carli moving into Blake’s high-end condo.
He pulled the dog-eared manual forHeavy Equipment Level Oneand set it next to theLevel Twobook.The one that had barely been looked at.The vocabulary had been so advanced he’d snapped it shut after skimming it quickly.He wasn’t sure he’d ever get to that next level.
He’d been fortunate that as a teenager, his grandfather, his father’s dad, had taken him under his wing and taught him how to use all kinds of equipment.He’d gone to a vocational high school and taken classes that got him an early start.Pops had helped him through all the tests and given him so much experience that he hadn’t had a problem proving he could do the job when he’d been hired at his company eight years ago.He’d apprenticed for four years—code for grunt labor—then moved to running the equipment.He was skilled at what he did, but at times he wanted to do more.Earn more.He wasn’t sure it would happen.
After grabbing the books and dropping them into a box, he picked it up and headed out to the truck.He’d put this in the front seat since he didn’t want it blowing out and landing somewhere on the road.The rest of his bags and boxes rested in the bed of the truck, a tarp pulled over and tied to keep them inside.
He waved to the cleaners his sister had hired to scrub the old apartment.It was a present of sorts, and he hadn’t argued.He certainly didn’t want to get on his hands and knees and wipe down the toilet and sink, and Carli had the money now that she was marrying her rich doctor.
Guilt ate away at him as he drove through the streets of Medford to his new place.He had to stop being so negative regarding Carli and Blake.The fact his sister had gotten cochlear implants so she could hear better was something he needed to get over.And forgive.It was her life, and she had every right to make any decision she wanted.The job she’d gotten because of her expanded auditory access had put her in proximity to Blake, as they both worked at Boston General Hospital, and Blake was a good guy.Evan couldn’t be happier that his sister had found someone who loved her for who she was and didn’t let her hearing loss get between them.
The sour grapes that they both made more money than him were still there, though, and he wasn’t sure how to get rid of them.
ThatLevel Twobook almost smirked at him from the box on the seat next to him.
“Shut up!”he yelled, then laughed at how ridiculous it was for him to be scolding a book.
When he pulled up to the apartment he’d share with Mercedes, Carli’s car was parked out front, the shiny new vehicle Blake had bought her after she’d totaled her old one during a twenty-car pileup on the highway.It looked like they were almost done unloading it.Good.Less for him to heft in.
Once in the driveway, he shut the engine off and unhooked the tarp on the back.Might as well get started.Hauling one of the boxes up the steps, he almost didn’t see Mercedes holding the door open.
Welcome home,she signed.
With the box in his hands, he couldn’t do more than smile and tip his head.He wanted to grab her and kiss her as a thank you for allowing him to move here.Not that it was a good idea being so close to the woman who strayed too far into his mind at times.However, it kept him from sleeping on the streets or crawling back to his parents with his tail between his legs.
Carli’s room—his room now—was littered with bags and boxes, but the bed looked like it had new sheets on it.
Once he set his box down, he glanced at his sister.Did you make the bed already for me?
“Not me.Mercedes had it all done before Blake and I could move anything in.”He could tell by the way her mouth was moving thatCarli was using her voice.She claimed it helped her with clarity, even when signing.
Guess I’ll have to thank my new roomie.He rarely used his voice.Would Mercedes want him to more often?
