Chapter Six EVERLEIGH

Chapter Six

EVERLEIGH

After I told my new roommates the depressing news, Frank—I prefer calling him by his first name because calling him Dollar feels silly to me—was kind enough to go with me to Walmart so I can pick up a few things to see me through the next couple of nights. The cheapest sheets I could find, a toothbrush, some towels. Toiletries and a couple of tank tops. A pair of black sweats. Basic items that’ll get me through until I figure out exactly how much I can afford—not much, I already know that—to spend on what I need to actually live.

Which is like .?.?. everything. When I said I wanted a fresh start, I didn’t mean something this extreme.

Now I’m in my new bedroom, putting the freshly washed yet slightly scratchy sheets on the double mattress that was left behind. They didn’t even mention that they have a washer and dryer in the house, which is a total bonus.

It’s only when I’m holding up the empty pillowcase that I realize I forgot to buy a pillow. Maybe I could bunch up my hoodie and use it as a pillow or .?.?.

“I have one to spare if you need it.”

I whirl around to find Nico filling my doorway with his impossibly broad shoulders. How tall is he, anyway? I clutch the empty pillowcase to my chest like a shield, ready to ask him what he means, when he continues talking.

“I was talking about a pillow. I saw you looking around with the empty pillowcase you’re holding.” He waves a big hand in my direction.

“Oh, right.” I glance down at the slightly wrinkled pillowcase. The sheets are a pale pink. I even bought a matching pale-pink comforter that’s pretty thin, but it’ll do the job. “It’s hard to remember everything, I guess.”

“I’m sure it is.” He leans his shoulder against the doorjamb like he’s making himself comfortable and staying for a while. “You can use my pillow until you get one. Though I always prefer to sleep with a couple—”

“Oh, I don’t need to borrow yours, then. I don’t want to take it from you,” I say in a panic, wincing because I interrupted him, which is rude.

“I have a bunch,” he says. “I can spare one. I don’t mind.”

“Okay. Thank you.” I set the pillowcase on the mattress, feeling awkward. His presence seems to fill up my small bedroom, and he’s not even actually standing in the room with me. But he’s here. Filling up the space and reminding me that this was his territory first. I’m just lucky enough he’s letting me stay here.

“You can use my stuff when you take a shower too. Bodywash. Shampoo. A towel,” he offers.

“That’s so nice of you.” My smile is faint. I do appreciate how accommodating he’s being. “I bought some towels, though.”

“Well, set them up in the bathroom. I emptied a rack for you.”

“I appreciate it.”

He’s quiet for a moment, and we just stare at each other, the air seeming to crackle between us. I spent a lot of one-on-one time with Frank earlier today, and it wasn’t like that for us.

Not even close.

So weird.

“You settling in okay?” he finally asks.

“As best as I can considering most of my worldly possessions were stolen.” My tone is wry. At least I can joke about it.

Sort of.

“I hate to say this to you, but they’ll probably never catch who did it.” He crosses his arms, his biceps bulging with the movement. “Petty crime can be pretty bad around here.”

“I’ve heard that about Santa Mira,” I say with a sigh. “And what sucks is there wasn’t much in those boxes that was actually valuable, you know? Like, what are they going to do with my clothes and makeup? The knickknacks I brought with me?”

It’s so depressing to think of all my things ending up in a dumpster somewhere. Tossed out and forgotten forever.

“Did they steal any candles?” His brows shift upward ever so slightly.

“No, no candles.” What a strange question.

He almost seems to sigh with relief at my answer, which is also strange.

“But you know what I mean. They stole my favorite bedside table lamp my mom bought me for Christmas, and I had this cute little tray my grandma gave me a long time ago that I like to leave my jewelry on before I go to bed at night. Oh, my jewelry.” I finger the necklace that I’m still wearing. The simple gold hoops that are in my ears.

None of it was worth much dollar-wise, but it was worth everything to me.

Do not cry. Do not cry.

“That might’ve had some value,” he says.

“It was pretty much all costume.” I settle onto the edge of the mattress, my shoulders drooping. After a long day of just trying to keep it together, I finally wallow in my misery, feeling defeated. “This sucks.”

“When do you take the car in to be fixed?”

“Monday morning. I can drop it off whenever.”

“Need a lift to the mechanic?” I send him a questioning look, which has him explaining himself more. “I offer because I’m the only one who has a car here besides you.”

“Got it.” I nod. He’s being terribly nice, which wasn’t the vibe I got from him earlier. He went from charming to annoyed rather quickly with the idea of me moving in. Now he’s nice again, but definitely not as charming.

He’s actually pretty confusing, but maybe that’s more a me issue because I’ve had the worst, most stressful last couple of days of my life and I’m exhausted.

“I actually planned on taking the bus back over here.” I need to test it out because despite having a car, I don’t want to pay for an on-campus parking permit. I need to learn the public transit system in this town, and I’ll be walking a lot too. No matter what, I’m definitely going to need to save money, especially now that I have some added expenses.

“Well, the offer still stands if you don’t want to deal with the bus.”

“Thank you.” I smile at him. “I appreciate it.”

“If you need a ride Monday morning, let me know.” He pushes away from the doorjamb and is about to leave when I say something.

“I thought you had practice in the morning,” I remind him.

He stops, glancing over his shoulder and flashing that devastating smile. “You’re right. I do.”

I say nothing else. It’s like I can’t. Seeing that smile steals brain cells, and I’m already feeling pretty depleted thanks to everything that’s happened over the last couple of days.

He eventually walks away, and I slowly shut the door, sagging against it. Staring at my barren room.

It may be empty, and I don’t own hardly anything, but at least this is mine.

At least this is home.

I wake up two hours later with a crick in my neck from sleeping without a pillow—I never did grab one from Nico’s stash—and the room shrouded in darkness. I lie there for a moment, vaguely disoriented as my eyes slowly adjust. Then I hear it coming from the open window, the vertical blinds clacking against each other lightly as a breeze blows through.

The faint sound of the ocean.

When I roll over onto my phone, I grab it from beneath my thigh and check my notifications, not surprised at all to find I don’t really have any beyond a couple of social media updates.

What did I expect? I dumped Brad. My mom didn’t want me to leave home in the first place, so I’m sure she’s mad at me. Holding a grudge like she’s so good at doing. And the few friends I have back home I wasn’t in contact with much the last year or so because Brad wanted all my time when I wasn’t working. I let those friendships drift away, and now I regret it.

Right now, it feels like I have no one.

Eventually I climb out of bed and rotate my neck a few times, working out the stiffness. I can hear murmured conversation coming from the living room, and when I pop open my bedroom door, I realize there are a bunch of people here in the house. And not just my roommates.

There’s music playing and a girl squealing about something, and Frank magically appears in the short hallway, a big grin on his face when he spots me.

“You’re awake!” He gestures toward the living room. “You should come meet everyone.”

I slowly shake my head. “I should probably take a shower first.”

I feel grimy. Like I’ve been in these clothes for at least a week.

His smile fades the slightest bit. “Sure. Okay. Go take a shower, and then come out and hang with us. It’ll be fun.”

“Who’s us?” I smile, trying to pretend I’m not intimidated by the idea of spending my first night here with a bunch of strangers.

Deep down, I’m terrified.

“Some of the guys from the team. A couple of their friends.” He shrugs. “It’s super casual.”

He mentioned earlier when we were shopping that all three of them are on the college football team, but he didn’t make a big deal about it. I know the football team does well here at Santa Mira, and I bet it’s fun to go to the games.

I wonder if they’ll give me free tickets. The perks of being their roomie, maybe?

“I’ll come out in a bit, if that’s okay,” I say when I realize Frank is still waiting.

“Cool. Sounds good.” He’s nodding, walking backward toward the living room, and he almost trips over his own feet, which has me giggling. “Take your time.”

He darts off, and I go back into my bedroom, shutting the door before I search through the shopping bag and pull out a pair of panties. They’re a pale pink and basic cotton. Nothing special. I tear off the tags with my teeth, clutching the underwear in my fist as I continue searching through the bag with my other hand.

And realize I don’t really have anything to wear to bed. I don’t want to sleep in just my undies. What if one of the guys just barges into my room? I’m sure that wouldn’t happen, but you never know.

Sighing, I grab my new pair of sweats and a tank top along with the panties and exit my bedroom, about to cross the hall into Nico’s room to use the bathroom when I collide with something solid.

And warm.

“Whoa.” Big hands clasp my upper arms and set me aside, my skin tingling where he touches me. I glance up, not surprised at all to find it’s Nico smiling down at me with that charming grin, his eyes actually sparkling, putting me into a trance. “Where you headed to in such a hurry?”

“Um, the shower. If you don’t mind,” I tack on because I’m definitely not comfortable just entering his bedroom and using his shower whenever I want, even though he offered. Even though that’s the deal we have now.

“Of course I don’t mind. It’s now your bathroom too,” he says, slowly releasing his hold on me. I immediately miss his touch, which is weird. I don’t even know this guy. “We’ll just have to get used to sharing it.”

“Thank you,” I say, my voice soft. “And I guess we will.”

“You going to hang out with us tonight?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Frank asked me to.”

“You should. Meet some new people. A few girls are out there. Coop’s sister, for one.” He pauses, studying me carefully. I almost start squirming, his gaze is so intense. “How old are you, anyway?”

“I just turned twenty-one last month. I’m a junior.”

“Sienna is the same age as you then. You’ll love her. She’s the complete opposite of her brother.” Nico is grinning again, and I find myself smiling, too, because his mood is contagious.

When he’s a little grumpy, though? Not so contagious. But still appealing.

And that’s so frustrating, ugh.