“You’re such an asshole, Donny.” I shake my head, laughing.
I lie back and ready myself for a sun-dappled nap.
THE AFTERNOON SLIDES BY UNEVENTFULLY,and I make it back to my place at the same time as Adam and Lewis. A pair of chatterboxes, to say the least.
“Donovan finished his ride,” Adam announces. “I don’t know how he did it, but he got a twenty-dollar tip. He’s on his way over.”
I hold out a beer for him and fall back into my armchair, smiling.
“I forgot to call my mom.” Adam puts down his bottle. “Give me a second.”
“Send her my love!” Lewis calls out.
Adam retreats into my bedroom, and as I hear him shut the door, I’m hit with the sense that I’m forgetting something, too. I can’t think what. It sure as hell isn’t calling my parents. It’s not like they’d be interested in me starting my junior year, or anything that has to do with me really.
“This your new project?” Lewis is eyeing my notebook.
“Yeah. Carter is coming over on Wednesday so we can wrap it up.”
“You shouldn’t leave it lying around. If Don gets his hands on it, we’ll have to sit through his suggestions all night long! Still not interested in turning the second bedroom into an office?”
I wince, subtly enough for him not to notice. In a way, the roomdoesn’t belong to me. Nobody will ever live in it again, but I can’t deal with that fact, and so it stays the way it is.
THE MOMENT THE DOOR SWINGSshut behind them all in a chorus of “byes,” I help myself to a second beer.
Finally, some peace and quiet.Seriously, I have no idea how the three of them can stand living together. There’s no way I’d manage. I love the stillness of my apartment: not having to make an effort when a bad mood strikes. And this place means a lot to me.
I settle into my armchair and feel my eyes glaze over as I stare at the couch. I’m replaying the day in my mind. That was what I had forgotten!
Fuck! Heartbreak was supposed to be picking up her stuff.
I check my phone, but there’s no message from her, and considering it’s almost midnight, I guess she’ll call tomorrow.
I get up and make my way to the shower, when there’s a knock at the door. I peer through the peephole to make sure it’s not my horny neighbor and breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Heartbreak!”
She jumps and spins around to face me, biting the inside of her cheek.
“What are you doing here so late?”
“I… Today was a mess, time just flew by. I was out on the sidewalk and saw your light was on, so I thought it would be okay to come up.”
“Why didn’t you get in touch on the app?”
“You’ve still got my charger in your trunk,” she murmurs. “I was out of battery.”
“You’re pretty unlucky, aren’t you?”
“Seems that way…”
I bite back a grin when I notice how tired she looks. She’s still wearing that ugly sweater with the hood pulled up, hopping from foot to foot, glancing over her shoulder every now and then.
“So did you end up finding a room?”
It takes her ages to reply, as if prying out the words is painful.
“I’m here to pick up my bags,” she eventually says.
