Page 3

Chapter Three

Y ou think you know someone after four years. Like, for example, the girl you consider to be the closest friend you made in college.

Sure, we’d chatted about our hopes, goals, and dreams. But somehow, in all that time, she’d never mentioned that not only was her older brother super rich but apparently in desperate need of a roommate.

Thank God, because if it weren’t for him, I probably would’ve spent the night sleeping in my car outside of the elementary school.

Staying with my mom wasn’t an option, and after my big splurge of, um, paying rent that month, my checking account disagreed with the idea of spending the night in a hotel.

I’d called Maggie earlier in the day, not so much looking for a solution as for the emotional support that came with ranting to your best friend. I should’ve known she would try to solve the trainwreck that was my life. But her suggestion of rooming with her brother caught me wildly off guard, even coming from her.

“Your brother?” I had asked skeptically.

She’d mentioned him plenty of times, of course. Vague references to their childhood and a few more recent stories, but nothing super concrete. I knew they’d been close when they were younger, but there was a lot of pain when she mentioned their relationship now. I guess they had sort of grown apart over the years.

Besides that, I knew next to nothing about the man other than the fact that he liked hockey or something and apparently needed a roommate.

Though, now that I was here, I was quickly realizing there was absolutely no way that I could afford to live here. Even for the month or two that it would take me to find somewhere more my paygrade.

Not that I would want to stay longer. It was beautiful, sure, but something about the excessive spaciousness freaked me out. I wasn’t trying to be picky, but would it kill a guy to buy a cozy throw? Light a candle? Put up some art?

The whole place felt like a stainless steel, dark mahogany cave—nice, objectively, but completely devoid of warmth, fun, or personality.

Unless that personality was hockey, which apparently Maggie had drastically underplayed. The guy didn’t just like hockey. He was obsessed. Harbor Wolves merchandise hung all around the apartment, proudly displaying the blue and gray colors of our local NHL team. While I was pretty indifferent to sports, I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that as far as hockey teams went, they were a pretty damn good one.

My mom and dad had both loved sports, but I guess the gene didn’t get passed down to me. I would watch with them when I was younger, in some desperate attempt to try to be included in their world, but it didn’t matter anymore. Dad was dead, and Mom was… well, I shook the thought of her out of my head. It was too much to think about the breakup, the living situation change, and her all at once.

One thing at a time. I reminded myself, taking a steadying breath.

I couldn’t bear to go back to the apartment for my stuff, so all I had were the clothes I’d worn to work, the big bag that I lugged back and forth between home and school every day, and my newly broken heart.

Maggie had brought me here and listened to me cry for a bit before looking at the clock in bewilderment and running out as fast as she could with some half-hearted excuse that she was late to get somewhere.

I thought it was odd before realizing that maybe even she couldn’t handle all the messes I had going on in my life. I needed to learn to just keep it to myself.

Not knowing which room was mine since all the doors were shut and not wanting to snoop in her brother’s space when he wasn’t there, I settled down on the couch and waited. I felt more awkward than I’d ever felt in my life, but if the guy was so desperate for a roommate that he had begged Maggie to find someone for him without even meeting them himself, then I figured I didn’t have anything to worry about. Besides, it was only a short-term rental anyway.

Across from the couch, a flat-screen hung on a brick-paneled wall, flanked by tall, arched windows spilling moonlight across the room. It was late, and my body was heavy with exhaustion, but my mind wouldn’t stop spinning.

So, I sat there.

I thought about turning the television on, just for some noise to drown out my thoughts, but it didn’t feel like my place to do so. I wanted to find the bathroom, but I had no idea which door it was. I considered grabbing a snack, but rummaging through someone else’s fridge felt weird.

More than anything, I just wanted to go home. Back to the comfort of my routines. My space. My boyfriend.

Not whatever unfamiliar hellscape I’d landed in.

Suddenly, the idea that Dave had made some terrible mistake entered my head. I was sure that if only I went home and talked to him, we could figure it all out together. It didn’t have to be this way. We didn’t have to lose the last six years of our lives over what was surely just some silly quarter-life crisis.

I jumped to my feet, deciding that I needed to go home. What was I doing here? In some random man’s apartment? It was insane. The only reason I had agreed to it was the expected lapse of judgment that comes when your world shatters. But now that I realized it didn’t have to shatter, I had newfound inspiration. Everything was going to be okay!

Racing to the front door, my bag on my arm, I had energy buzzing through me and a smile on my face as I manifested the reunion Dave and I were going to have in a few short moments. My hand reached to pull open the door, eagerly forming a script in my head of what I could say, when it hit me.

Literally.

“Ouch!” I groaned, rubbing my now red forehead from the door that was now partially open.

I jumped back from the impact, revealing the towering form of a man who looked equally surprised and irritated with a hint of loathing all in one go.

It was impressive, honestly, the way he could mesh so many emotions together into one scowl and furrowed glance. And if his intention was to intimidate me into submission, he fully succeeded.

I backed up, clearing the way for him to enter the apartment. I had no idea if it was even Liam, but the way the man was glowering at me gave me the impression it was better not to ask any questions.

“Um, hi.” I raised a hand awkwardly in a wave, feeling idiotic as soon as I made the gesture.

He dropped his duffel bag, flicking a switch beside the door, which illuminated the place in warm light, showing his displeasure all the more clearly. That, and his massive frame. I searched his face for any similarities to link him to Maggie but found only vague references to my friend in him.

He had tousled waves of dark brown hair, where hers was pin-straight and black. Where she was slender, he was broad and solidly built. His nose might have resembled hers slightly, long and narrow—but his eyes were what sold me. The same exact shade of sea glass green that I’d always fawned over in Maggie, framed by thick dark lashes that looked too good to be true. It really wasn’t fair that some people were gifted with traits that you would think only an artist could come up with. He and Maggie were those people, I guessed.

“I’m ,” I said, now more confident that this was, in fact, Liam Brynn I was dealing with.

He looked me up and down in a way that made me feel like he was holding up a magnifying glass to me. I crossed my arms over my chest, shifting from foot to foot, waiting for his final assessment.

He frowned, and I held my breath in anticipation of his words. Usually, meeting strangers didn’t phase me, but I’d never seen someone as intimidating as the man standing before me. It felt uncomfortable to be in his line of vision, the sole focus of his scowl.

“Do you make a habit out of sitting in the dark?” he asked in a tone I couldn’t quite detect. “Or, in this case, sitting two inches in front of the door?”

“Um, no.” I let out an awkward laugh. “Not really. I just, I didn’t know where the light switch was and—”

“Why are you covered in paint?” His dark eyebrows arched as he looked down at my rainbow-splattered jeans.

“Oh, we were finger painting at work today,” I explained. “And usually I change after work, but you know, I didn’t have any clothes on me. And I couldn’t exactly go home to get any because- well, I’m sure you heard that part, but—”

“Finger painting at work?” He looked at me incredulously.

“I work in an elementary school.” I laughed at his confused expression. “You know, with kindergartners. That’s why a lot of the paint is in the shape of a handprint. They can be sort of grabby with adults. You know, they haven’t learned about boundaries and personal space and all that yet.”

He looked at the two inches between us with a pointed look, apparently trying to inform me that my boundaries were hazy as well. I took an immediate two steps back, giving him room to enter deeper into his apartment.

“Thank you for letting me stay, by the way. It really means a lot. It was a really generous offer, but—” I rambled, ready to tell him about the mix-up and how I’d actually be headed home after all, leaving this night of awkward encounters decidedly behind me.

“I didn’t,” he said, in a tone as cold as the stainless steel of the fridge he was currently scrounging through.

“I-uh,” I began, watching him take out a carton of eggs, butter, and spinach. “Sorry, what?”

“I didn’t ‘let’ you. I didn’t offer it. I had nothing to do with this.” He spoke volumes with those sea-glass eyes of his.

“Oh,” I started, trying to make sense of his words as he turned his back to me and began prepping his 10 p.m. breakfast meal. “Right, like not me specifically. I know we haven’t met or anything, so of course you didn’t let me stay. But when Maggie said you were desperate for a roommate—”

“Maggie said what ?” His reaction was immediate, his reflexes even faster as he spun to face me.

“I mean, she didn’t make you sound desperate!” I held my hands up quickly, not wanting to offend him. “I just mean, she told me how long you’ve been looking for one and that I would do as good as anyone else,”

“Maggie told you that I was desperate for a roommate?”

The intensity in his eyes was extra unsettling when accompanied by the knife he held in his hand. Of course, logic would lead me to believe that he was going to use it to dice the tomato in front of him, but frankly, I didn’t know him well enough to be a hundred percent sure.

I swallowed, my cheeks flaming furiously. The downfall of my pale complexion was that it showed everything. Fear, anger, embarrassment. My face might as well be a display screen showing the world the inner workings of my mind.

“I mean, yeah?” I shrugged. “She told me you had this big apartment and all this empty space and that you’d been wanting a roommate to feel less lonely… so, here I am.” I made a hand motion as if to say, “Ta-da.”

Liam threw his head back and laughed out loud, and I giggled along with him because I didn’t really know what else to do. When he finally caught his breath, I realized Liam found this situation about as funny as I did, which was to say, not at all.

“Let me make this very clear. I’m not lonely. I have never wanted a roommate. And the only reason I agreed to this is because I’ve been a bit of an ass to my sister lately, and she begged me to let you crash here short term. ”

My heart dropped, plummeting into the deepest parts of my stomach. I was humiliated. Not only because he didn’t want me here and the way he put it so bluntly, but because it exacerbated a feeling that had already been gnawing inside of me all day long: that no one really did.

He didn’t want me, my boyfriend didn’t want me. My mom was too wrapped up in her own issues to really pay me any mind. It was all too much. I hated myself for being so fragile and weak. How come some girls could rock the whole independent, I-don’t-need-anyone thing, but I found myself constantly craving love from all the people who wouldn’t give it?

My ego had been bruised more than enough for one day, so I went to work attempting to repair it on my own.

“Oh, okay.” I painted the fakest of smiles and hoped he couldn’t see my lip tremble. “No biggie. It’s just a misunderstanding. I get it. And, lucky for us, it turns out I actually don’t need a place to stay after all. So, thank you for, you know, letting me stay here, against your wishes and all that,” I trailed off, not entirely sure how to thank someone for something they hadn’t actually offered. “But I’ll be heading out now.”

With my thumb pointed toward the door, I took off, scurrying away like a mouse being chased off by a fox.

I’d nearly reached the door when his sigh thundered through the kitchen.

“And where will you go?”

“Well.” I turned, smiling brightly at him because the last thing I needed was fake pity from a guy who clearly couldn’t care less. “I actually was going to go home and make up with my boyfriend. I think it was all just some silly mistake. Nothing we can’t work through.”

I hope.

Liam replied with an answering snort. “Isn’t this the guy who called you at work and broke up with you over the phone?”

“Yes,” I said, hating him for shattering my pride all over again. “But—”

“And how long have you been dating?”

“Six years.” I crossed my arms defensively, narrowing my eyes at him while waiting for him to get to the point.

“And not only did he not think you worthy enough of an in-person conversation, but he also told you to find somewhere else to live without even discussing it?”

My cheeks were on fire, but this time not only from shame but also fury. How dare this guy rub my breakup in my face when he didn’t even know the full situation?

“Well, I’m glad that you and Maggie are so close that she thought to share every humiliating detail, but you don’t know the full situation.”

“Oh?” he said in a way that invited more details.

“He’s been under a lot of stress, trying to figure things out with life, and work has been hard for him lately, and—” I rambled, listing off the reasons I’d spent the night convincing myself of.

“Fuck that,” he cut me off, fixing me with a glowering stare.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t treat your partner of six years like that. Hell, you don’t even treat a stranger like that.”

I stared at him, mouth agape at the harshness of his words. “Look, I don’t know what type of relationships you’ve had, but things aren’t always black and white. Sometimes people make mistakes, or they get scared—”

“No,” he interrupted, his tone icy and absolute. “People don’t ‘make mistakes’ like that when they care about someone. That’s just an excuse. He was looking for a way out, and he found one. Don’t kid yourself into thinking otherwise.”

I flinched, his words stinging worse than I could’ve expected. Tears welled up, forcing me to blink them away quickly before I could give the guy any more ammunition to use against me. He might have been right, but hearing it out loud, from a stranger no less, made me feel exposed, like he’d just peeled back a layer of my skin and took joy in poking right at the rawness underneath.

“You don’t understand.”

“No, I think I do. I think you’re upset that you wasted your time on a guy who you let walk all over you for years. I think you’re trying to justify it in your mind that if you get back together now, all those years won’t have been for nothing. But I also know that if you go back to him and somehow forgive him for everything he’s done, you’re going to have a miserable life until you end up middle-aged, divorced, and in the same spot you’re in now.”

At that, the floodgates burst open. Tears spilled dramatically in a way I hadn’t let them in years. At least not when anyone was around. They streamed down my face in ugly, wet blobs until I felt my cheeks soaked with my own misery.

Liam froze, wearing an expression of shock and horror that might’ve been humorous on a man his size if I had been calm enough to appreciate it.

“Shit,” he muttered, staring at me in bewilderment, like I was a bomb he couldn’t figure out how to dismantle. “Stop crying. Please. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Damn it.”

Turning off the stove burner, he came around the kitchen island so he could stand in front of me and give his orders up close.

“Stop,” he blurted out. “Don’t cry. Maggie’s going to kill me.”

His eyes darted around frantically, maybe looking for a tissue to give me, maybe looking for an escape. Who knew?

Finding a hint of amusement in his franticness, I used the sleeve of my sweater to wipe away the tears and snot that had taken residence on my face before staring up at him.

“Crying girls are your undoing, huh?” I said through red-rimmed eyes.

“Look,” he breathed out, running a hand through his dark hair. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to be so harsh. I just don’t think it’ll do you any good to go back there,” he explained, seemingly genuine. “I know guys like that. They’re not worth it.”

A small, hiccupping laugh escaped me, the absurdity of the situation cutting through my sadness for a brief moment. He was this towering, brooding guy who could probably intimidate an entire army, and here he was, practically flinching at the sight of my tears. It was almost sweet in a weird, messed-up way.

“Well, I hope you’re happy,” I said, rubbing my nose on the back of my sleeve, “because I definitely can’t face Dave now. Meaning, I might need to crash here after all.”

“It’s fine,” he said, and this time, there was considerably less aggression in his voice, making me think he really meant it.

“But only for tonight. I promise. Tomorrow, I’ll be out of your hair. You won’t ever have to see me again. In fact, I’ll be gone before you wake up.”

“,” he said, startling me with the use of my name. “Really, it’s fine. I’m sorry I was a jerk. We can stick to the original deal, and you can have a few weeks to figure out a plan.”

“Yeah, right.” I snorted out a laugh. “After that welcome parade you greeted me with?”

He winced.

“I’m kidding. I get it. You’re a guy who likes privacy. That’s totally fair.” I personally couldn’t relate, considering I was the type of person who hated space so much that I would obliterate the solar system if given the chance, but hey, to each their own. “So, I’ll take you up on the offer, if you’re actually making it this time, to stay for a few nights, and in the meantime, I’ll be working on living plans. Pronto.”

“I am. Offering, I mean,” he said, looking relieved.

“Well, thank you,” I said, giving him a small smile. “I really don’t have anywhere else to go. Obviously, this isn’t super ideal for me either.”

“We’ll make it work.” He shrugged. “It’s not forever.”

“Right, exactly.” I nodded, appreciating his sense of perspective.

It would’ve been terribly uncomfortable for him to view me as an intruder for the entirety of my stay here.

“You can stay in the guest room upstairs to the left. It should be all made up and everything.”

A big grin settled on my face as I looked up at him, biting back a laugh.

“What?” he asked.

“Now, why would a guy who likes his privacy so much need a guest room?” I smirked at him.

“It came with the place.” He shook his head, but he wore an answering smirk of his own. “And Maggie decorated it herself, so hopefully, it’s girly enough for you.”

“And what makes you think I like things to be girly?”

He looked at me up and down, probably noticing my bright pink sweater, flower-embroidered jeans, and floral print sneakers. “Just a hunch.”

He was right, but I wasn’t going to admit it. But I didn’t have to because my stomach erupted in a growl that was loud enough to shake the house.

“Are you hungry?” he asked a bit stiffly, as if taking other people’s needs into consideration wasn’t something he was used to.

“Uh, a little.” I downplayed my starvation, “But I’ll live. I’ll just go to sleep and grab something at the coffee shop in the morning.”

“Sit, I’ll give you some eggs,” he said, maneuvering back around the counter.

“Oh, it’s okay. Those are for you—”

“, relax. Just… eat, okay?” he said, spooning some food onto a plate before pushing it across the counter toward me.

“Well, thank you,” I said gratefully.

“You don’t have to thank me for basic decency.” He frowned, making his own plate before sitting down across from me. “Where’s your stuff, anyway?”

“Oh,” I said between bites of food. “I was too embarrassed to go home and see Dave, so I just didn’t?” I shrugged in explanation.

He shook his head. “So you don’t have anything to sleep in?”

“I have the clothes I’m wearing,” I said because I didn’t want him to think I was going to sleep naked beneath his sheets or anything creepy like that.

He stood up from his spot, making his way across the room to one of the many closed doors. I wondered if that was his departure for the night. He didn’t exactly seem the type to wish me ‘goodnight’ or anything like that, but I figured he’d at least give some type of conclusion to the conversation.

I’d finished my plate of food, washed it in the sink, and put it on the drying rack, but then I heard footsteps.

I turned to see Liam holding a pair of gray sweatpants and a blue long-sleeved t-shirt. When he extended them out in my direction, I realized they were for me.

“Oh, you didn’t have to—”

“Take the clothes, . You’re not going to be comfortable sleeping in jeans.”

I blushed, hating that I had to take even more from this man after he already told me he didn’t want me there in the first place. I hated being a burden, and I hated more that I had to accept it.

“Thank you,” I said, my hand touching his as I took the clothes from him.

I snatched it away quickly, not wanting to upset the guy who clearly had a lot of issues with personal space.

He nodded, moving back to the counter to eat. I held the shirt out in front of me, looking at how its size would swallow me up. The growling logo of the Harbor Wolves Hockey Team was staring up at me from the shirt.

“You’re a big hockey fan, huh?”

His eyebrows furrowed impossibly. “What?”

“It’s not a bad thing!” I quickly amended. “I was just noticing how you have tons of sports stuff in here. I take it you’re a big Harbor Wolves fan?”

He blinked incomprehensibly.

“I get it. It’s cool that there’s a big team so close to us. If I were into sports, I’d probably support my local team too.”

“Uh.” He scratched his head as if not knowing what to make of me. “Yeah. I guess you could say I’m pretty into hockey.”

“Nice, well, maybe some time you can explain the rules to me or something. It seems pretty intense, as far as sports go. Definitely the most violent, it seems. I mean, what’s up with these guys ramming each other against the glass? I know they have gear and everything, but they have actual blades on their feet.” I shuddered, thinking about all the potential injuries. “Not to mention how bad it hurts when you fall against the ice. I haven’t skated in a while, but a few falls on my butt, and I’m bruised for a week after.”

“Well, typically,” he said, the faintest hint of a smile playing at his lips, “professional hockey players don’t fall.”

“Right, of course not,” I agreed, reminding myself that I probably shouldn’t criticize any of the things he liked after he finally offered to let me stay. “So, anyway, goodnight, Liam. Thanks again.”

“Goodnight, ,” he said, his eyes unreadable.

Before I could say anything else to humiliate myself, I scurried up the stairs and into the guest room, the weight of the day seeping into my bones.

I flipped on the light, and relief washed over me at the sight of the bed—large, inviting, and practically calling my name. The room was simply decorated, free of anything too personal, but somehow, it suited me more than the rest of the apartment’s sleek, neutral aesthetic. It felt calmer here.

There was a bathroom, a closet far bigger than any ‘guest’ would ever need, and miraculously, even a desk that looked just right for writing lesson plans after a long day of teaching.

No. I corrected automatically. I wasn’t going to be here that long.

Sighing, I shimmied out of my clothes and into the ones Liam had given me, sinking into the cozy warmth of fleece pants that I needed to roll three times at the waist and a sweatshirt that threatened to swallow me whole. I wasn’t a short girl, but Liam was huge, and his clothes reflected that very clearly.

I climbed into the bed, thinking I must be mentally deranged to be as comfortable as I was in a place where I knew I wasn’t entirely welcome. But even though he didn’t want me here, he at least wasn’t kicking me out, which was more than I could say for Dave.

Still, finding somewhere else to stay was definitely the number one priority. Liam might’ve claimed he was fine with me staying for a few days, but I couldn’t bear the hit it would take to my ego to be living somewhere I wasn’t wanted. Especially not after everything that happened today.

Tonight, I had no choice, so there really was no harm in enjoying a peaceful night of sleep, but tomorrow? That’s when I would start work to get my life back on track.