Page 12 of A Constant Surprise

“Tomorrow?! That’s a little soon, don’t you think?”

He shook his head. “Why not? It’s a Sunday, so no classes, and you won’t have to stay somewhere where you don’t feel wanted.”

I knew it was soon, but I also feared that the longer waited, the longer I would have to talk myself out of it.

“Okay. Tomorrow it is.”

Chapter 7- Sam

“Sam, you have to be kidding. You’re going to move in with a man you barely know?” Emily’s voice continued to get louder as she followed me around as I was packing.

Man, she has a lot of nerve.

“Really, Em? You really want to go there? I actually do know Tyler…more than I would know anyone else that I would live with. You are kicking me out, so you have no say so in where I live or who I choose to live with.”

Her face dropped. “That’s not fair. You know I’m not doing this[MHL2]on purpose, and I am still your friend, and I can still worry about who you’re living with.”

I sighed. “I get it. But you don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine.”

“You know how much of a man-whore and party animal Tyler Wendell is, right? Why would you want to live there around all that?” Her voice raised another octave.

I couldn’t help but chuckle feeling that Emily might be a little jealous…considering just a few months ago, she was talking about how hot she thought my new roommate was and all the dirty things she would do to him if given half a chance.

Honestly, I didn’t care what she thought. I didn’t care what anyone thought at that moment.

After getting a good night’s sleep, I had come to a couple of realizations. First, I was grateful to Tyler for offering me a place to live. The idea that I was thinking of living in my car now made me sick to my stomach.

Second, I was considering this a new chapter in my life. I was going to embrace this opportunity. Not having to pay as many bills meant I wouldn’t have to tutor quite so much. I could focus more on school and maybe actually have a little bit of time to myself to do things I had been missing out on…like reading…and actually sleeping eight consecutive hours once in a while.

If Emily didn’t like my new living arrangement, she shouldn’t have kicked me out. She should have grown some balls and told her boyfriend to piss off. She should have stood up for me and known that I would have done whatever I could to help her out with her new baby.

But I didn’t say any of that to her. I wasn’t about to go off on the pregnant girl.

Instead, I stood up and gave her a hug. “Em, you know I love you too, but I will be okay. This is a fresh, new start for both of us. You are having a baby, so I need you to worry more about keeping that little nugget safe. You can call me whenever you want to check in, okay?”

She nodded and smiled even though I could tell she was holding back tears.

“I thought we had another whole month. I’m just really going to miss you.”

I smiled genuinely thinking about all of the good times we had over the past couple years. “I’ll miss you too, Em. Let’s get together next weekend and have coffee. Until then, grab a box and help me pack. And no more tears.”

She always was the more emotional one. Everything made her cry. But she quietly wiped her tears and began loading boxes.

The next evening, I found myself sitting in my new room in Tyler’s large house.

He kept his word, and he and a couple of his friends came over to grab all of my stuff. Since I didn’t have much, it only took one trip. And thankfully, Emily had to go to work, so she wasn’t there when I was leaving. I didn’t need any more tears while I was trying to hold everything together.

I sat on the edge of my new king size bed in my pristine white room and tried to soak in everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours.

I giggled at the large flat screen on the wall that was more than double the size of any tv I’d ever owned.

And the walk-in closet had ten times more space than I had clothing.

Tyler had taken steps to make it a little homier for me. There were a few candles that he had placed around the room and lit to add some nice ambiance and fresh flowers sat on either bedside table.

Once I got all of my boxes unpacked, it would actually be really nice. Nicer than anything I had ever had before. It all still seemed foreign to me, but I was doing my best to adjust.

I considered unpacking some boxes, but exhaustion was beginning to set in. Instead, I decided to head downstairs and see what my new roommate was up to.

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