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“Case, you’re six foot four. Your legs will be hanging off that thing. I’ll be fine, I promise. You know I’m not the one with the problem. I wish I …” I leave my thoughts hanging.

Casey knows me better than anyone, except maybe Charlie, and nods in understanding.

“Okay, brother. Look, I have to run out for a bit. Once Charlie gets her stuff out of the truck, can you help her get settled and take her to the store so she can get some food she wants?”

“Where the fuck you going?” It’s not that I don’t want to take her; it’s more because I’m a nosy fucker.

“Noelle called, and she needs my help with something, so I’m going to grab a few things and head over to her place,” he says while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Is she okay? Did Trey drop by again?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered, but if I need anything, I’ll call you, man,” he says.

I nod, and we start walking out the door to the truck. Archie and Liam have already grabbed most of Charlie’s things by the time we get out there.

“Nice of you two to join us,” Pitz says as he and Archie pull some boxes out of the back of the truck.

“I’ll follow you to your room, Beck, so you can show me where you want me to put my things. I can keep most of it in Casey’s room though, so it won’t be in your way,” she says over her shoulder as she pulls out her duffel bag from the back of the cab.

“Nah, it’s fine. I have a walk-in closet, and I don’t have many clothes, so you can put your stuff in there,” I offer and grab another bag and a small box.

I have to say, I’m impressed that my tone doesn’t sound too eager. This all plays into my plan, so I’m not sad about it. Having her in my space? Yeah, it doesn’t suck.

“Oh. Okay, thanks. What about the bathroom? You have your own bathroom too, right? Should I use the one in the hall or yours?” she asks as we all walk into the house.

When we moved into this house, we pulled straws. We all contribute to the rent equally, so it really was the luck of the draw. And my straw was the biggest. I got the largest bedroom that not only has a walk-in closet, but its own bathroom as well. Not gonna lie—it’s a sweet setup as far as older houses go. A lot of the houses around campus aren’t nearly as nice as this one. We got lucky. I’m sure it helped that the guy who owns it is a huge Walker University Stallions fan.

“Nah, you can just use mine. I mean, you won’t really be here long enough to make a mess with all your girlie shit anyway. Plus, these guys are pigs,” I say with a laugh.

“Pardon me. I’m exceptionally clean. I take hygiene very seriously,” Archie says with a hand on his chest as he walks in front of us into my room. “I even clean up my ball hair, unlike you fuckers.”

Holding up her hand, Charlie says, “Welp, I just lost my appetite, and I’m definitely not using your bathroom—ever—Arch.”

“Chuck, baby, if only these fuckers took after my example, they’d pull more ladies too. Liam over here—he leaves toothpaste in the sink and also drinks out of the juice carton.” He shifts the box in his hold to one arm and rests it on his hip, then points at Pitz and laughs.

Pitz interrupts by muttering, “Asshole.”

Which just spurs Archie on further, and then he moves his arm to point at Casey. “And your brother—well, you grew up with him, so you know how nasty he is,” Archie says while tossing a wink at Casey, who just rolls his eyes.

“In my brother’s defense, he’s actually not that bad,” Charlie says.

Casey walks over to her and puts his arm around her shoulders. “Thank you, Char. Twins unite, motherfuckers.”

“With that said, he does leave the toilet seat up, which I’ve suffered the consequences of multiple times. Do you know how bad that sucks? You wake up in the middle of the night to pee, you’re half asleep, you pull your drawers down and squat to take a seat, and then your ass hits cold water. It’s a horrible experience, and I do not recommend it. I’m just grateful he is diligent about flushing. Mom would literally gag if she walked by a bathroom that smelled like pee, so he learned pretty fast not to let that happen. Oh, and he does leave water bottles and candy wrappers in his room. He used to try to hide it from our mom, but I think she gave up on him once we got into high school.” She pauses to take a breath. “Casey also likes to leave empty boxes in the pantry. Have you guys noticed that yet? He’s the culprit, just so you know.”

“Dude, Charlie, why are you dogging me like this to my boys? What about twin code, yo?” He looks at her incredulously, which just makes her snicker.

We walk into my room, and Arch and Pitz set Charlie’s boxes in my closet. She walks in behind them, Casey behind her.

I head over to the bathroom to make sure it is, in fact, clean. And that I flushed the toilet and put the seat down. I remember one of those nights she fell into the toilet. I don’t want to hear that screeching again. Ever.

When I come out of the bathroom, I see Charlie looking around my room. Not much is different from my bedroom at home, honestly. I have the same bedding, and I’m the same neat freak I’ve always been. I can’t help it. I like order, and I like everything in my room to have its place.

I can tell by the look on her face that she’s counting. She counts in threes. Always has. Panels, windowpanes, anything she can find in threes.

I give her space as I let her work through her numbers, knowing it’s something she needs.

Casey comes out of the closet and hugs Charlie. “I have to run out, but I’ll be back later. Beck is going to take you to the store to get anything you need. Mom said she already deposited money into our accounts for groceries.”