Page 35 of Scrap Metal & Love Reforged

“How do youlive, man?”

“Impoverished, stupid.”

I smiled and skimmed over the listed foods with my eyes. I tried to smother the urge to just get a burger, if one was on the menu, in French.

It wasn’t like I went to fancy restaurants every day. After all, Seth had insisted on paying. I avoided borrowing money like the plague, but it was hard to refuse Seth. He’d assured me that he would enjoy going out with me, and so I shouldn’t feel bad about borrowing a few bucks.

“I do my best,” I replied. “At least, I’ve got my teeth. Sugar isn’t rotting them out of my head.”

Admittedly, Seth had gorgeous teeth, despite his apparent love for sugary substances. But Seth also had the money for dental care. Maybe the two evened one another out. When the waiter arrived, Seth ordered a glass of red wine; I asked for Coke, vaguely embarrassed. But the waiter didn’t seem to care. She was cheerful and cute, nearly sprite-like.

“So, apartments,” Seth said. “Where all have you looked? Anywhere I’ve heard of?”

I sort of doubted it. “A few places. Mostly Craig’s List and things. They have some apartments on Windbrooke.”

“Isn’t that near Saint Andrew’s?” Seth asked. “The—the church with thehugegraveyard.”

I nodded, and Seth hummed. “The neighborhood looks decent,” I replied. “It’s two blocks from the police station, which would be handy if I ended up getting robbed by another apartment dweller…or something.”

Seth wrinkled his nose. I wasn’t sure if it was the mention of the neighborhood, the police, or getting robbed. Sethdidseemlike he might’ve had a few run-ins with the police. I could easily imagine him getting in trouble for something as a teenager. Graffiti, probably.

“How are prices?” Seth asked.

I bit the inside of my cheek. When the waitress returned, I smiled at her and quickly ordered the rosemary salmon. She went to Seth next, taking his order. Her arrival was a welcome intrusion, for I suspected where Seth was going with this. He was about to offer to fix my problems for me. Seth would want to either help me find a place, or pay for a place for me, and while both were nice gestures, I reallydidneed to get my act together. I needed to make ends meet on my own. I was an adult, for God’s sake, and far too old to be mooching off friends.

“Prices are fine,” I said, once the waitress left. “You know. The usual.”

Seth’s hazel eyes softened in sympathy.

“I’ll manage. It’s just that it’s going to take a little while for me to find a place that accepts my income and credit score. You know how it is.”

He probablydidn’tknow, actually. I had a feeling income verification and credit scores were not in his vocabulary. But I didn’t begrudge him that; I realized now.

“Maybe you should…” Seth trailed off. “I mean…”

“I don’t want you to buy me an apartment. I’d feel I was mooching off you, and I’d feel guilty about it forever.”

Seth sighed and averted his gaze. “I know that. I think.”

I smiled. “I appreciate the sentiment, but this is really something I need to work out on my own. I’ll find a place, or if I can’t, I’ll stay where I am. I’m not leaving without somewhere to go. I’m not as dumb as I look.”

“Ha ha. I know you’re smart. I was just thinking it’s hard to find another place to live with a time crunch and without a lot of savings.”

That was true, but if I won the art competition, I'd have a couple thousand dollars. And that would be good for a couple of months’ rent.

But I knew, too, that I couldn’tjustdepend on that. I had to be practical about this, and that meant I couldn’t hope for money that I might not win.

“I’ll figure it out, Seth. I always do, even if it’s really hard sometimes.”

“Yes,” Seth said slowly, “But maybe you could…have you considered that you could maybe live with me for a bit? Just move into my apartment. I have plenty of room, and you could stay with me while you were trying to figure it all out.”

I stared at him. He looked so sincere, so heartfelt. Logically, Seth was right. He did have plenty of room in his apartment. I knew that. I’d seen it. And if I agreed to move in with him, I doubted Seth would expect anything in return. He would do this for me out of the goodness of his heart. Could I live with that?

“I appreciate it,” I replied, “But I feel like I’d be mooching off you.”

“Mooch? You’re letting a friend help you out. You wouldn’t be.”

I shook my head. “I know you say that,” I replied, “ButIwould feel like it’s true. That’s all. And I really want to try and do this on my own. I got my first apartment on my own, after all.”