Page 5 of A Constant Surprise

The room was fancy but still seemed quite homey. On one end of the room stood a large, ornate mahogany desk with a nice computer sitting on it. I was sure the expensive machine cost more than my car.

Stop noticing the damn cost of everything.

Bookshelves lined the walls and were adorned with leather bound copies of every book imaginable. Some I had heard of, and some appeared to be law books or medical journals.

On the other end of the room was a gorgeous fireplace that Tyler walked over to light. There were a couple of plush couches in front of it with a coffee table that matched the desk.

“Wow, fancy,” I said with a bit more sarcasm than I planned.

“I didn’t pick the house, Sam. All of my siblings lived here before me when they went to school here. My parents picked the house years ago. It’s not exactly what I would have picked.”

I felt like an asshole. Just because Tyler’s family was affluent, I shouldn’t assume that he let it dictate who he was.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly.

He smiled that million-dollar smile. “No worries.”

He walked over to his desk and used a small key to unlock the bottom drawer pulling out what looked like a very expensive bottle of whiskey and two small glasses.

I couldn’t remember the last time I actually had a good whiskey. Usually when I wanted to drown my sorrows, I would just buy the cheapest stuff the liquor store had to offer. I would bet the bottle Tyler had in his hand cost more than all the money in my bank account.

Stop it.

He gestured for me to sit down on the couch next to him. Apprehension set in, but when he held out one glass filled with the amber-colored liquid, I took a seat.

I knew I should have taken it slow, but the second it hit my tongue, it was so smooth, I gulped it as fast as I could.

Tyler’s eyes widened. “Damn, woman. Guess your day really was shit, huh?”

I held out my glass for him to refill. “You have no idea.”

“Want to talk about it?” He asked as though he was genuinely interested.

“I have to find a new place to live,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Okay? What do you mean? I’m going to need some more to go on.”

I recounted the whole story to him, and he listened without interruption. Just stared into my eyes with his crystal blue ones. I kept avoiding direct contact with them, worrying I might get lost in them forever.

When I had finally finished, he took another sip and spoke, “So, what are you going to do?”

“I have no idea. I started looking for places, but it doesn’t seem like much is open. I can probably just stay in my car until something opens up.”

He choked on his drink, “You can’t stay in your car, Sam!”

“Why not? I can just live on fast food and shower at the pool on campus. I don’t see what the problem is.”

“The problem is that it isn’t safe to live in your car. What if someone tries to break in while you sleep?”

I hadn’t even considered the possible safety issues. After all I had been through, and my own safety hadn’t even crossed my mind? How desperate was I? But I mean if I had no other choice, what else was I going to do?

“Well, in thirty days, I will have to live somewhere else regardless, so if nothing is open by then, guess I won’t have much of a choice,” I said curtly.

He refilled his glass and looked at me. “Why don’t you stay here?”

Now, it was my turn to choke on whiskey. “What do you mean? I can’t stay here.”

“Why not? I have plenty of room. Hell, you can stay on the opposite end of the house if you want, and I won’t even know you’re here.” He chuckled as though trying to lighten the mood.

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