Page 33 of Dear Roomie (Classic City Romance #1)
Morgan
A thens is a ghost town when classes aren’t in session. During the semester, these streets are flooded with students, but I only see a handful of people as I walk Grover around the barren campus. It’s unsettling, and for the first time since I moved here, I feel truly alone.
All of my friends traveled back to their hometowns for the holidays—even Gage took advantage of the slow season to visit his mom in Boston.
I had plans to spend the week getting ahead on classwork, binge-watching TV, and not stepping foot outside of the apartment, but James ruined those plans when she asked if she could leave her dog behind with me.
She insisted that I was doing her a favor by watching him, but I know she left him behind so I wouldn’t be alone.
It’s the same way I know the untouched pan of “leftover” lasagna was her way of making sure I had something special to eat for Thanksgiving yesterday.
With each thoughtful gesture, I fall a little bit harder for her.
I pass by Sanford Stadium as I lead us back toward the apartment, then do a double take as I catch sight of a familiar face walking in my direction.
Evelyn scurries down the sidewalk bundled up in a thick jacket and hat with her arms wrapped around herself.
As she gets closer, she notices me standing there, frozen like an idiot on the street corner, and she freezes as well.
Her eyes grow comically large for a moment before a wide smile forms on her frost-reddened face.
“Hi, Morgan,” she says as she walks over to join me, then crouches to greet Grover as well.
“Hey. What are you still doing in town? ”
James didn’t mention that any of her friends would be here over the break.
“I could ask you the same thing,” she says with a pointed look.
“As much as I’d love to go home, it just wasn’t feasible this year,” I tell her, leaving out the rest. She nods with a look of gentle understanding.
“Athens is home for me now. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she says before peering at our feet. Her tone makes it easy enough to read between the lines—there isn’t anywhere else for her to go.
“So where are you running off to?” I try to direct the conversation away from home lives. I don’t think it’s something either one of us wants to delve into.
“I’m heading to my car, but my parking spot is all the way on the east side of campus, and the buses aren’t running today.
I don’t normally mind the walk, but today had to be the day the temperature decided to drop.
” She hugs herself tightly, tucking her hand into her armpits as she shivers.
It isn’t that cold—at least compared to what I grew up in—but she is layered up like she’s about to traverse the Arctic.
“Where are you headed? I’ve got nothing else to do today, and my car is way closer. I can give you a ride.”
“I can’t ask you to chauffeur me around,” she protests, “I’ve got a perfectly capable car.”
“I promise you, you would be doing me a favor. It’s been a lonely couple of days, and I’m glad to see a friendly face.”
She studies me with narrowed eyes for several seconds, and then her face relaxes into a warm smile.
“All right, it’s too cold for me to argue.
I’m on my way to the Labre Mission, a homeless shelter I volunteer with.
” She turns and starts to walk up the hill toward the apartment, and I fall into step beside her.
“You know, if you are really that lonely, you could volunteer with me. Jamie told me you spent some time with the Peace Corps. I think this would be right up your alley.”
The knowledge that James talks to her friends about me makes my stomach flutter.
She doesn’t tell me much about her friends, though.
Nathan talks about his girlfriend all the time, but the quiet brunette is still mostly a mystery.
She had mentioned her volunteer work before, but I filed that information away and forgot about it.
My mind is too occupied with thoughts of my roommate to give attention to anything else.
“I’d love to,” I tell her, and she does a double take as she trips over her feet.
“You would?” she asks, her voice incredulous.
“Of course. I’m not doing anything else today.
” And I’ve been slacking off when it comes to donating my time.
Between classes, studying, and making time to work out, I only have a precious few hours to spare in the week, and I’ve been selfish with them, using them to drink with my friends or waste the night away with James.
She beams at me and walks with a newfound bounce in her step as we near the apartment.
“Let me take Grover inside, and then we can get going,” I tell her.
She follows me inside but waits for me in the lobby. I hustle up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and spend less than ten seconds inside the apartment. I only stop long enough to unhook Grover from the leash before I make my way back down.
“Where to?” she asks as I exit the stairwell.
“My car is only a block up the street. Let’s hurry so you don’t freeze.”
We make it to the car, and she lets out a small yelp as cold air blows from the vents.
“Sorry, the car is old. It will warm up in a bit. You’re going to have to navigate,” I tell her, “this piece of junk doesn’t have Bluetooth, either. I do have several CDs, though, if you want to listen to something other than the radio.” I motion to the book of discs I’ve collected over the years.
“Radio is fine,” she tells me.
We lapse into an awkward silence that hangs in the air as the music plays softly in the background.
My companion’s attention is fixed on her jacket as she picks at the pilling wool and rolls the bits of lint into tiny balls between her fingers.
The discomfort of it all makes me miss James more than I have all week.
“So,” she says, breaking through the tension, “how are things with Jamie?”
The question catches me so off guard, I nearly choke on my own saliva.
“Things are…” I trail off, unsure how to answer. “I’m sure you heard that she forgave Tanner.” I have to hold back a scowl as the bitter words coat my tongue.
“I did,” she says, and her face falls into a deep frown. “I was hoping she would be smarter than that.”
“Yeah, so was I,” I bite out.
“I’m sorry. I know you liked her. If it makes you feel any better, I was hoping she would choose you.” She reaches over and puts her hand on my arm.
“I don’t care about that,” I tell her, ignoring the unwanted feeling of her touch.
It’s mostly true. I’m not delusional—I know James wasn’t going to drop her long-term relationship for the man she just met a few months ago. That was never even a thought that crossed my mind. I simply don’t want her to get hurt any more than she already has.
“I’m worried about her,” I clarify. “You didn’t see how he was acting that night.
He was unhinged and hungry for violence.
I saw the bruises he left on her, and I felt the ones he left on me.
James was terrified.” The memories blur as I shake my head, trying to clear away the growing cloud of anger.
“I shouldn’t have brought it up, I’m sorry.” She pulls her hand away and averts her eyes toward the road.
“Has he always treated her like that?” I can’t hold back the question that’s been eating me alive since that night. Has she been putting up with Tanner’s mistreatment this whole time? The thought makes my stomach churn and bile rise.
“No,” she says in a small voice. “He’s always been a little oblivious, but he always treated Jamie well enough. Things changed after he graduated last December. I’m not sure what triggered the change, but he started acting more erratically, and James started to withdraw.”
I can make a pretty confident guess on what drove the change, but that’s not on me to explain.
“Thank you for telling me that,” I tell her with a grimace. It’s easier to see why she would stay with him if the behavior is new.
Evelyn hums in acknowledgment, but she doesn’t look in my direction. She keeps her attention locked on the road ahead.
“Take a left at this stop sign, and it’s the second building on the right,” she says abruptly. Her voice lacks any of the emotion it held before.
I nod and follow her instructions, parking in the crumbling lot in front of an even more decrepit brick building.
“Are you okay?” I ask her before we exit the car.
She blinks and shakes her head before she looks at me again. “Yeah, I’m great,” she says, her smile returning. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” I tell her, choosing to ignore her odd behavior despite my instincts.
Evelyn climbs out of the car, and I follow her inside.
She introduces me to the Mission’s leader, Sister Margaret, who, using a no-nonsense tone, instructs us to “go be useful in the kitchen.” We spend the afternoon prepping produce for a stew and cleaning up a growing pile of dishes.
I’m surprised to find myself having fun.
Evelyn isn’t the most talkative, but we fall into a comfortable rhythm with each other.
Even more surprisingly, my unrequited feelings barely cross my mind while we work.
“That wasn’t too bad, was it?” she asks as we leave hours later.
“No, that was actually pretty great,” I tell her.
“Great enough that you’d want to come with me again tomorrow?”
“I would love to, Evelyn.”