Save Me (The Me Novellas) (7 page)

The front door slammed and the stairs creaked. I glanced up from my paperwork.

It was Andy, one of the other roommates and the property manager.

“
Hi,” he said, crossing the living room to shake my hand. “You must be Katie.”

“
Hi.” It was all I could manage. Andy was gorgeous. I thought back to the picture of him and Meg from Craig's List. It had not done him justice, in any way. Thick dark hair and hot-fudge-sundae brown eyes, all melty and warm. Chiseled features, cheekbones so sharp you could slice an apple with them.

I was pretty sure I started to drool.

He glanced at the application. “I take it you liked the room?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s great.”

“
It is,” he said, pleased. “And the company here isn’t half-bad, either. Right, Meg?”

She’d gone into the kitchen and was standing over the stove. The distinct smell of sauteed onions and garlic wafted into the living room.

“
It’s the best,” she answered back. “You gonna want some of this for dinner tonight? An herbed risotto?”

“
Yeah, save me some,” he replied. He turned back to me. “So, tell me when you’re looking to move in.”

Now, I thought. Now, before my bad luck burns the house down or disfigures the Adonis standing in front of me.

“
As soon as possible,” I said instead, finally able to put words together. “I can write you a check today. The deposit and first month’s rent, right?”

“
Yeah,” he said, smoothing back his dark hair. “Tomorrow should work. I won’t be here but we can give you the keys today. Just need to call your references really quick. That OK?”

Crap. I’d listed Dani as one of them. And she had no idea I was looking for a new place to stay.

“
Sure,” I said. “Um, could you call my employer first? I need to give my friend a quick call. She doesn’t know I’m looking for a place to rent.”

“
Yeah, no problem.” He took the application and excused himself.

I thought frantically. What could I tell Dani?

Meg interrupted my thoughts.

“
Don’t get any ideas,” she said. She’d moved closer to me, spatula in hand.

“
About what?”

She nodded her head in Andy’s direction. “About him.”

“
Oh?”

“
He’s more than just my property manager,” she said, smiling. “And more than just a roommate. If you know what I mean.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh. Sure.” I guess her boyfriend really was over all the time. Seeing as how he lived here.

So much for Adonis. Not that he would have been interested in me, anyway. I was pretty sure a bigger disaster could not be found on the planet.

I turned my thoughts back to Dani. Before I could change my mind, I dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. She answered on the third ring.

“
Katie!” She sounded thrilled to hear from me. “What’s up?”

“
Hey,” I said. I prayed for forgiveness and lowered my voice so Meg couldn't hear. “You’ll never believe who I ran into last night while I was studying.”

“
Who?”

“
A girl from one of my classes,” I said. “We’ve actually had a bunch of classes together. Anyway, she has this house and they’re looking for a roommate. And I told her I needed a place to stay. And it looks like it’s going to work out.”

“
Oh, that’s awesome,” Dani said, her voice oozing enthusiasm. I was pretty sure I was going to hell. “So you’re going to move in at the beginning of the month?”

“
Well, no,” I said. “They sort of need someone now. You know, to make rent. And I know it’s a huge imposition, having me at your place
…
”

“
No, it’s not,” she protested. “I want you there. I really do.”

I believed her. She was just that nice of a person. That good of a best friend. And I didn’t deserve her.

“
Well, they really do need a roommate pretty quick. Like, right now. I’m planning to move in tomorrow.”

Silence.

“
Oh.” There was a pause. “Well, that’s great news. And it’s exactly what you wanted! A more permanent place to live. See, everything is falling into place, just like I said it would.”

I was pretty sure my only permanent address was going to be hell in the afterlife. “Yeah. Absolutely. Anyway, the property manager needs a reference for me. I went ahead and gave him your name. Is it OK if he calls?”

“
Of course,” Dani said. “Isn’t that what best friends are for?”

I definitely didn’t deserve her and I was definitely going to hell. But I thanked her anyway and hung up, limp with relief. That exchange had gone better than I could have hoped.

Actually, the day had gone better than I’d hoped. Last night, I’d been broke and homeless.

Now, I was just broke.

NINE

Later that afternoon, I had to make the one phone call I swore I’d never make.

I had to call Ben.

Not because I missed him or because I planned to grovel and beg for him to take me back.

No. I needed him to move me. Because, even though I had a great place to live with charming new roommates, I didn’t have a single piece of furniture there. Everything I owned was packed into a little closet at Storage City. And I was pretty sure my bed and dresser wouldn’t fit in my Honda Civic.

I asked Dani first, of course. Ron had a pick-up. And it was the weekend. But it was also some huge bike festival in Glencoe.

“
Crap,” she said, her voice contrite when I called her from work later that day. “Maybe we could leave you the truck. Take my car down. You’d still need to find someone to help you move but at least you’d have a vehicle.”

“
I need to be able to get the bikes down there,” Ron called, loud enough for me to hear.

“
That’s OK,” I said quickly. “I’ll go to Plan B.”

She’d already done more than enough by bringing my suitcases and boxes to Once Upon A Time. I had a short, three-hour shift there that afternoon and used this as an excuse to not have to swing by the mold and animal-infested apartment to pick up my stuff.

But I didn’t have a Plan B. All I had was Ben. And he was more like Plan I-Hate-Myself. But I was desperate.

I dialed his number. He answered right away.

“
Speak of the devil,” he said.

“
Excuse me?”

He was at the restaurant. “Was just talking about you.”

“
Oh?” I didn’t want to know, I told myself. And I wasn’t going to take the bait.

“
Yeah,” he said, his voice confident. “What’s up?”

“
I have a favor.”

“
A date tonight?” he asked. I wasn’t sure but I thought I heard something in his voice. A thread of hope.

“
No,” I said slowly. “ I need your truck.”

“
I don’t have a truck.”

“
Your brother’s truck,” I said. “I need help moving.”

“
And you’re asking me?”

“
Dani and Ron are out of town,” I said. “And my parents are already gone.”

“
Oh, right. Off to Florida.” I heard glasses clinking, the steady hum of chatter. He was probably in the bar. Which meant he wasn’t working.

“
Please,” I said, hating myself for having to ask. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

He sighed. “Fine. When?”

“
Are you free tonight?”

“
It’s a Friday night.”

“
I know,” I said. “It’ll take an hour, max. And I’m done with work. I can meet you at Storage City whenever you’re ready.”

“
Alright. I’ll be there in twenty.” He hung up.

I’d barely make it, based on Friday night traffic. I grabbed my purse from the back room of the bookstore and headed toward the door.

Carl, the owner, stopped me.

“
Katie, I was hoping you’d have a minute to talk.” He was a soft-spoken guy, probably in his 40s. He rarely talked to me except to ask about my schedule.

I glanced at my watch. “Uh, can it wait until next time? I have an appointment I’m already late for.”

He was holding a small stack of books and he clutched the pile to his chest. “It’s sort of important.”

“
I’m back on Monday,” I reminded him. “Can we chat then?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. We can wait.”

I spun around and hurried out to my car. With any luck, traffic would be light and I’d get to the storage place before Ben.

I pushed the speed limit as I shot up 94, hoping the state patrol were stationed farther north, pulling over folks jetting out of town to their cabins for the weekend. The weather wasn’t warm enough for boating or beaching but plenty of people flew north on Spring weekends, for clean-up and to air out cabins for the short but spectacular summer season.

As I drove, I thought about work. The last time Carl and I had talked, he’d mentioned increasing my hours to full time. Business had been good and he wanted to concentrate more on buying. He needed someone experienced to man the store. And I’d been there for two years, diligently working my 15–20 hours a week. If anyone was qualified to run the store, it was me.

I smiled and felt the burden on my shoulders lessen just a little bit. Maybe things were going to work out, after all. I’d found a cheap place to live with what appeared to be cool roommates. If Carl came through on the job front and promoted me to full time, I’d be sitting pretty. It wouldn’t be a career but it would give me a little bit of breathing room while I job hunted.

I pulled into the Storage City parking lot at the same time Ben did. How he’d managed to swing by his brother’s, grab the truck and still drive eight miles up 94 in twenty minutes was a mystery, but I wasn’t about to complain. I just wanted to get my stuff and go.

He parked the truck and sauntered over to me.

“
How’s it going?” he asked. His Twins hat was on backwards. I looked away. I had a weakness for backwards baseball caps. Especially on him.

“
Good,” I said. “You?”

“
Can’t complain.”

It was weird to see a relationship that had been so central to my life be reduced to mostly monosyllabic responses, all in a matter of days. My relationship with Ben had been a huge focus for almost a year and now we had absolutely nothing to say to each other.

Which led me to believe I’d been right in breaking up with him.

We walked into the building and took the first right, down a long narrow hallway. I unlocked the door to my unit and surveyed the contents. I’d wanted to just shove everything inside but my dad had the good sense to organize things a little. The couch and armchair were buried at the back of the unit, along with my small kitchen table. My bed and dresser were closer, a row of boxes separating them from the door. We could have them unearthed in a matter of minutes.

“
What are we taking?” Ben asked.

“
Just the bed and the dresser,” I said. “Oh. And maybe the lamp.” I peered a little closer at the contents of my unit and pictured the empty room at my new house. “Maybe the desk and chair, too?”

“
How about we just take everything?” he muttered under his breath. He started moving boxes, stacking them against the far wall, making room to maneuver the bed and dresser out.

It took us thirty minutes but we got everything loaded in the back of his brother’s Ford F350. And we didn’t say one word to each other as we lifted and heaved the furniture together.

He closed the tailgate of the truck and readjusted the cap on his head. “Where to?”

I gave him the address. “It’s about twenty minutes from here.”

He punched the address into his phone, brought up the map.

“
Alright. I’ll meet you there.” He hopped into the cab and was peeling out of the parking lot before I even opened my car door.

I had a moment of panic. Maybe he was so pissed at me that he was going to dump my things off at Goodwill. Or set it on fire. Or sell it on eBay. I’d never see my stuff again.

But I calmed down and reminded myself that while he’d turned out to be a jerk, Ben had never proven himself to be an arsonist or thief. My stuff would get to my new place, where we could reengage in our awkward non-conversation.

A lane was closed on southbound 94, so it took us over a half hour to get to the house. It was close to seven o’clock and the sun was already setting, the sky a mix of violets and reds, golden clouds reflecting the last bit of sunlight.