I follow Sunday through her dining room toward the kitchen and slide onto the counter as she starts dumping things into the blender without measuring.That’s why we’re always so drunk.
I try to stretch out my back, and when I reach my fingertips to the sky, it cracks loudly with a pop that makes Sunday turn her head to look at me.
“Was that your spine?” She sounds disgusted, and her face matches with a horrified look.
“Yes,” I say, trying not to laugh orcry.
“Are you okay? Why did it make that noise?” She pauses midway through making drinks and stares at me.
“I’m sleeping on a sofa made for Smurfs…” I raise a brow and smirk.
“It’s not that small.” She rolls her eyes.
“You also don’t own a single curtain,” I groan, pointing to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
“It’s aesthetic, and I like the sun!” She argues. “You cave troll!”
“They’re east-facing windows!” The sun floods through them at five a.m., and while I am a morning person, I have never beenthatkind of morning person.
“Have you made any progress on finding a place to rent for a short term?” She asks. I know if I asked her, she wouldn’t care how long I slept on her couch, but I can’t do that to her. We both need our own space, and Sunday especially. She tended to get overwhelmed and anxious after too much social interaction, and while me being in her house right now didn’t do that. It will build, and eventually she’ll either break down or go insane quietly, so she didn’t hurt my feelings.
“No,” I choke out. “Everything is a year lease or hotels, which would get expensive fast when I’m already paying a mortgage and now renovations.”
“You were the only person with a two-bedroom,” Sunday sighs. All the other girls on the team either lived together or in studio apartments. There’s no space for me anywhere.
Except…
“At least I have a job now.” I shrug, “Well, a second one. That was really nice of Brighton.”
The use of his full name made her face do that weird thing again. “Yeah…” I watch as she lines up the cups on the counter.
“How often does Daisy stay with him? Her mom lives in Harbor, right?” I ask.
“They trade weeks,” Sunday says slowly, “she works over at the stadium.”
“Cool, cool,” I say with a nod. “And like, why doesn’t Boone live with him?”
“They’d kill each other under the same roof.” She says, not really paying attention to me. “Bri is all military, even now. Boone is…” She looks over at me and sighs. “Well, allnot.”
“Yeah,” I agree, not having any clue what that means aside from Boone being a lunatic.
“I don’t really blame Bobo, though,” she continues, “Bri is hard to live with.”
“Is he, like… a mean guy?” I ask her with my head tipped to the ceiling to avoid the burning gaze coming from her.
“Hey,” Sunday says to get me to look at her. “What’s with the twenty questions about Bri? You don’t have a crush on him, do you?”
“No, no!” I raise my hands to further my point.Well kinda.
“Rhea,” she narrows her eyes at me.
“Seriously, no crush!” I open my mouth to argue more, and she silences me with the violent sound of the blender churning over.
Her eyebrow cocks, and she dares me to start again.
“Do you think that room is really an office?” I ask her when the sound is cut, and she stares at me, confused. “In your brother’s apartment. The locked room?”
“That’s what this is about? I have no clue, it would be a miracle if you managed to get him to rent it to you,” Sunday says.
