Page 4 of Anyone But Me

The month following my job offer flew by in a swirl of absolute craziness.

My initial plan had been to work at my current job up until the weekend before I started with VisuSphere, but my moms convinced me I should get acclimated with life in New York before jumping into work.

Before I had the chance to start calculating the hit that would put on my bank account, my moms offered to pay my first two months of rent and gave me one-thousand dollars as a “congratulations” gift.

Even though I tried to fight them on it, they were adamant that they wanted to do it for me.

I reluctantly gave work a three-week notice and spent the following week after that packing up my current apartment so I could move to my next one. Olivia agreed to stay in New York for that month, so my parents could help her move out while they helped me move in.

When we arrived at the apartment I would be living in for at least the next six months until their current lease ran out, I felt like a visitor.

It didn’t help that Olivia hadn’t even started to pack, so her section of the two-bedroom apartment was still completely set up for her.

As we spent the day helping her pack, I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t just staying with her for the weekend. This was my new home.

When we finally got all of Olivia’s things loaded into her car and my mom’s, I took a good look around the apartment.

Even with two bedrooms, the apartment was smaller than the one I lived in by myself in Philadelphia.

The door to the apartment opened directly into the kitchen and family room.

The kitchen had just enough space to fit two people between the bar, which was the only spot to eat, and the older appliances.

The family room consisted of an old black leather couch that had been in the family room of my parents’ house for as long as I can remember up until we all went to college and they bought themselves cream-colored furniture to lighten up the space that they claimed seemed dark and dreary without us , an Ikea coffee table, and a tattered recliner that I assumed must have come from Jax.

The newest part of the apartment was a seventy-inch flat screen TV that Olivia and Jax had purchased on Black Friday the year prior.

To the left were three doors—the two bedrooms with a shared bathroom in the middle that could also be accessed from both rooms. Being forced to remember to lock three doors anytime I went to the bathroom when visiting Olivia had always caused me an irrational amount of anxiety, but I was sure I’d adjust to it eventually.

Each room was big enough to fit a queen size bed, a dresser, and nothing else.

Honestly, it reminded me of the apartments I lived in when I was in college.

I didn’t hate it by any means. At this point in my life, I just felt like I should be moving forward instead of backward.

Going from a place of my own filled with furniture I had purchased and a space I had decorated to a place I was sharing with someone else that was a hodgepodge of hand-me-downs definitely felt like a step backward.

I shook these thoughts from my head. I should be thankful.

I was living in a new city and about to start my dream job.

Maybe this was my chance to have a fresh start.

If I was being honest with myself, my life had been pretty static since I graduated from college.

Back then, I thought I had everything figured out.

I knew what kind of job I wanted, where I wanted to live, and who was going to be by my side through it all.

When my girlfriend, Marcie, who I had been dating since our sophomore year of high school, dumped me a few weeks after our college graduation, I completely lost my way.

Sure, I still had a plan. Hell, I had dozens of plans.

I literally planned out everything, even down to planning out all of my outfits for the week every Sunday.

But I felt so lost. I was working my ass off but honestly had no idea what I was working toward.

I sighed and walked over to the window, staring at the alley filled with garbage that our thirteenth-floor apartment overlooked. It might not be the prettiest view in the world, but it was new and fresh, and I was determined to make the most of it.

An arm wrapped around my shoulder, and I looked over to see Olivia standing beside me. “You look like you’re a million miles away,” she said softly. “What’s going on inside of that head of yours?”

“Just thinking about what a big change this is.”

“A good change or a bad change?”

“A good one,” I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt.

“Even good changes are scary though.” Olivia’s voice sounded more contemplative than usual, and when I looked over at her, I found her chewing on her bottom lip the same way I usually did when I was really nervous about something. It was a much more unusual look for my cool, confident sister.

“Are you scared?” I asked, watching her face just in case she tried to lie to me.

“Scared?” Olivia chuckled. “I’m literally shitting bricks. I’m moving in with my boyfriend. We’re talking about the future. I realize most people our age are ahead of me with all of this. I mean, look at Ronan. He has a fucking kid. But it’s all new to me, and I kind of feel out of my element.”

“I completely get that,” I said, laughing along with her.

“You know how I know we’ll both be okay, though?”

“How?” I asked, my voice shaky as I tried to hold back my tears. Even though my sister and I hadn’t lived in the same town since high school, this felt like saying goodbye all over again.

“Because we’re Miller-Coopers. We can do anything.”

“Hell yeah we can,” a voice said from behind us, and we both turned to find our mom and mama standing just feet away.

“Why do I always get in trouble when I swear even though I learned it all from you two?” Olivia teased.

My mama lifted both eyebrows at her. “ You get in trouble because you swear when you shouldn’t, like in front of grandma.”

“Grandma is chill. She probably doesn’t even care.”

Our mom laughed as if Olivia had just told a joke, even though it was true. All four of my grandparents had been much more accepting than most older people I knew.

Olivia put her hands on her hips. “Why are you laughing? She is. Much more chill than you two.”

Mom pressed a hand to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. “Please don’t say that. You’re breaking my heart.”

My mama held out her arms. “Since you apparently already think we’re so uncool anyway, I guess it won’t ruin my reputation at all to ask my adult daughters for a group hug.”

Olivia pulled our mama up against her and I did the same with our mom as the two of us scrunched even closer together.

“You two and your brother have grown up way too fast,” my mama said as we stayed wrapped in a family hug.

“Yeah, yeah. It seems like just yesterday you two were kissing on grandma and grandpa’s roof for the first time, right?” Olivia asked sarcastically, but the catch in her voice gave away that she was also getting choked up.

Suddenly, I felt another body tight up against mine, and Jax spoke loudly right into my ear. “Please don’t tell me you all are having a family moment without me.”

“Never.” Olivia stepped away from me and wrapped her arms tightly around Jax. “I don’t know how I’m going to live without you.”

Jax chuckled. “It’s not like we’re never going to talk again.”

“I know that. I meant I don’t know how I’m going to literally live without you. We’ve been living together for ten years.”

Jax laughed once again. “I think in some states they’d consider us married by now.”

Olivia pulled away and smirked at her best friend. “You could do worse.”

“I could also do better.”

Oh no. Jax was no longer addressing Olivia; she was now staring directly at me. I cleared my throat and looked toward the ground to avoid her gaze. I knew she only said these things because of my reaction to them, but my body somehow hadn’t gotten the message.

“On that note, I think it’s time for us to leave,” Olivia said with a laugh. “I’m clearly not wanted here anymore.”

“Babe, you know I’ll always want you.” Jax held onto Olivia’s hand and squeezed it. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

I had to work to suppress my eye roll. These two were so dramatic.

“Remember when I moved out of the apartment I shared with Jamie?” My mom asked my mama with a sigh. “That was such a hard day.”

My mama poked her in the side. “Yes. I’m oh-so-sorry for stealing you from him.”

My mom had been friends with my Uncle Jamie way before she met Mama. Apparently, they had met when my mom was pretending to be Uncle Jamie’s girlfriend, so he didn’t have to come out to his family. And as they like to say—the rest is history.

My heart tugged the same way it always did when I thought about their romantic backstory.

I had pretty much given up on having a love story of my own, but it still hurt to know I’d never have what those two do.

Theirs is truly one of the greatest love stories of all time in my mind, and that’s saying a lot given all of the romance books I read.

I was pulled from my thoughts by Mama, Mom, and Olivia giving me hugs to say goodbye. Olivia gave me an extra squeeze before letting go. “Take care of Jax for me, okay? Don’t let that hard exterior fool you. She’s a big softie. She needs lots of attention, snuggles, and chocolate.”

Am I inheriting a roommate or a girlfriend?

“Don’t listen to her,” Jax said. “I’m an amazing roommate, who can take care of myself.”

I walked my parents and sister to the door where we said our final goodbyes. Once they were gone, I took a deep breath. It had been a very long day. It wasn’t over yet though. The only thing that had been set up in my room so far was my bed, so I still had a lot of unpacking to do.