“Good, my instinct was right. Two for you, two for me. And I got you a hot tea. There were too many choices, so I let the barista pick. I hope it’s good.”
I found the cup with my name on it, took off the lid, and pulled out the tea bag. English breakfast. “This is perfect.”
“Why are there so many kinds of tea?” He pulled the breakfast sandwiches out of the bag and set them in a line on the counter.
“I suppose they’re sourced from different plants.”
He grabbed his coffee and took a sip. “Fair enough. These are all the same, so take whichever ones you want.”
“Thank you.”
I helped myself to one of the sandwiches. I was hungry enough I was probably going to eat the other one, too. Theo brought both of his, along with his coffee, to the living room and set everything on the coffee table. I followed and took my place next to him.
“All right, I did some problem-solving while I was out,” he said.
“Solving what problem?”
“Yours.”
“Which one? There’s a list.”
He grinned. “Yeah, no kidding. That douchebag left you in a shitty position. Anyway, first off, my brother and his girlfriend will be here in a little bit.”
“Wait, what?”
“Luke and Melanie. She’s a character, but she’s super cool. I was going to call my sister Annika first, but Luke texted me, so I figured that meant they volunteered.”
“Volunteered for what?”
“She’s bringing you some clothes to tide you over until you get your stuff. I think she’s around your size, or close enough.”
I stared at him with my mouth open. “She is?”
“What, your size or bringing you clothes?”
“The second one.”
“Yep.” He took a big bite of his sandwich.
“That’s nice of her.”
“Yeah, just be prepared. She’ll probably come in hot, ready to burn down his life. But don’t worry, Luke will calm her down.”
“Okay.” I took a sip of tea, still feeling slightly bewildered.
“Second of all, I found you a place to live.”
I spit out the tea—thankfully it hadn’t been a big mouthful—and clamped a hand over my mouth. “What? Where?”
He started to answer, but there was a knock at the door. Not even a second later, it opened, and a woman with dark hair burst in.
“Where is she?” The woman stopped just inside and looked at me with sympathy. “Hi, Penelope. I’m Melanie. Our names almost rhyme. That’s cute.”
Theo’s brother Luke came in behind her, carrying a blue duffel bag, and shut the door. I’d seen them both at games but never met either of them.
“Hi?” I said, still feeling a bit bewildered.
Melanie came over and sat on the edge of the armchair next to the couch. “I know this is weird because we don’t really know each other, but if you want me to, I’ll burn down his house.”
