But I want to make it on my own. Have a place I can say is mine. No worrying if I’m overstaying my welcome at a relative’s house. No one stealing all my money and claiming it was their fair share. My two new roommates seem trustworthy. And though it probably sounds sexist, I feel safer with Levi in the house. He definitely looks like he would come out on top in a fight. And with that tattoo licking up his arm and menacing glare, I don’t think many would mess with him to begin with.
He’s more relaxed now, though, faintly smiling at a story Audrey’s telling him. I didn’t see him crack a smile once yesterday, and the change is startling, bringing a softness to his features I’m guessing he doesn’t normally show.
I clear my throat and they both look toward me, Levi’s smile instantly fading, but Audrey’s growing wider. “Hey, she’s awake. Come sit by me,” she gestures to the empty bar stool next to her. “Breakfast awaits.”
“It smells amazing.” I take the proffered seat, studying Levi’s tattoo while he’s turned back to the stove. The lower half of a dragon climbs up his arm, vivid in blues and greens, the scales shifting in gradients of color to make it look like it’s really moving. The rest of it disappears up under his shirt sleeve. They’d probably kick me out if I went over and pulled up his sleeve to get a peek at the rest.
“How do you all divide up food and groceries? Will I owe you for this?”
“On the house. A new roommate celebration,” Audrey assures me. “Normally, we split the cost of stuff we know we’ll both eat, especially if it’s for a shared meal, but we separately pay for things meant just for ourselves. Like my lady products,” she says in a staged whisper aimed at Levi.
“She’s just trying to make me feel uncomfortable,” he says calmly, not even bothering to turn around. “Likes to use words like tampons and vagina, but she forgets how long I’ve been putting up with her antics.”
“Moi? I don’t think so,” she shakes her head, lips twitching.
I hide a smile behind my hand, liking the dynamic between the two of them already, like some kind of duo with Audrey being the comic foil to Levi’s straight man.
“Do you work today?” she asks me.
“No, I’ll have Mondays and Tuesdays off.”
“Oh, Levi has Mondays off too. I, however, have to work tonight. It’s the stupidest night to bartend. No one goes out drinking on a Monday. They’re all still recovering from the weekend.”
Levi takes the bacon off the skillet and lays it on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the grease. My stomach gives a mini grumble. Is it ready yet?
Audrey grabs a piece, yelping when she burns her tongue. “So where do you work? I forgot to ask yesterday.”
“I got a job at Patty’s Diner, over on 7th and Washington.”
“Oh that cute little place with the yellow awning? I’ve always meant to go there. I like the pie display case you can see in the window. Levi, haven’t I always said I wanted to go there?”
He grunts, stacking the pancakes onto plates with strips of bacon on the side, serving it through the open breakfast bar.
“Thanks,” I say softly, catching his eye. He nods, picking up his plate to take a bite, standing at the kitchen counter to face us.
“So what do you like to do? Any hobbies or anything?” Audrey continues her twenty questions game, the two of us finding common interest in our love of 80s music and 90s romantic comedies.
Levi silently watches, glancing between us. Not in an unnerving way, but it gives me insight into his character a little. He’s a watcher, commenting occasionally when prompted by Audrey, but perfectly content to sit back and let her take the lead, the same as during our interview yesterday. It just seems to be their natural flow.
Audrey is a charmer. I can see how she’d be a natural fit for a bartender. It’s harder to get a read on him, though. Back in school, I’d been a watcher myself, forever on the outside. Being a waitress for a few years now too, it started to become ingrained. You sized people up all the time. Who would be a good tipper. Who would complain about the food, no matter how perfectly it had been cooked. Who would linger at the table. Who would eat and run.
He can watch all day long, though. As long as he doesn’t mind me doing the same.
I RUN TO THE STORE later, grabbing some basic supplies to get me started here.
Thank God for the graduation money Aunt Kathy gave me. I’d be completely broke without it. Luke offered to loan me some too, but I didn’t want to start my time out here like that. Owing money to the only family I had.
Even though I’m careful to count my pennies, I still spend more than I’d like. I remind myself that’s what I have the summer for, though. To build my stash back up to the level I had before Rob took it all.
A part of me still burns at the thought of him stealing all that money. Sure, I could go to small claims court or something, but I suspect the judge would see a poor white trash girl grasping at straws.
Rob is technically an honorably discharged veteran, wounded during the Iraq War. He looks good on paper, but he’s still an asshole. Logically, I know it isn’t worth my sanity to pursue it any further. I just want to be done with him and my mom.
Lugging arms full of supplies up the three flights of stairs is no joke, but I manage it and bring everything into my room. The first thing I do is throw away the crusty sheets. I have no problem making do with secondhand stuff normally. It’s pretty much all I own for the most part. But this is the start of a new life. I deserve something of my very own. I rip off all the packaging on the turquoise sheets and towels I bought, the bold swirls in the pattern making me smile just as much as I did when I found them at the store, and then realize I have no clue where the washer and dryer is.
Audrey’s already left for work, so that means I’ll have to ask... Levi.
I open my door and peek out through the crack, the living room silent. I don’t know why I’m overthinking this. He’s my roommate. I’m allowed to talk to him. I creep out of my room and tiptoe over, putting my ear up to the door, but can’t make anything out. Maybe he left too. It’s his day off after all.
The next thing I know, I’m falling, bracing myself for impact when a pair of warm hands catch me. I look up into stormy gray eyes, his mouth a grim slash across his face. Busted.
“Hey, I was just about to knock on your door.” Other than a slight raise of his dark brows, there’s no response. “Does this apartment complex have a laundry room? I really need to wash some stuff.”
He releases me and steps back, crossing his arms over that broad chest. “It’s over by the fitness center.”
“Uh, where’s that?”
He lets out a long sigh. “Come on.”
I step out of his path before he barrels over me and rush to grab my new laundry basket and detergent before he leaves, locking the front door behind me.
“Does it only take quarters?” I ask as we make our way down the stairs.
“I don’t really use it.”
“Then how do you wash your clothes?” He mutters something under his breath as we reach the bottom landing and I struggle to match his fast pace. I’ve got long legs but even I can’t keep up with him while awkwardly holding this basket too.