Page 29 of Resisting my Roommate

“The vein in your forehead. It pops whenever you’re trying to hide something. Or, at least, when you try to pretend you’re okay even though you’re anything but.” I step toward her. “So I’mgoing to ask again. Where were you planning to go after leaving the taproom earlier today?”

“The park,” she answers in a strained voice.

“The park?” I shoot back incredulously.

“Not the whole time. I planned on hitting up the coffee shop, too. At least until they kicked me out for not buying anything. I had hoped to go to a thrift shop to sell this…” She lifts her dress. “But they’re closed on Sundays.”

“I thought you were going to call your dad?” I give her a quizzical look.

“I did.” She raises her head defiantly, and it reminds me of how she acted last night when I found her in the park.

When she didn’t want anyone to see her on the verge of having a breakdown.

“Then why?—”

“I don’t have the same relationship with my dad that you did, Jude,” she shoots back, her voice shaking. “Mine couldn’t even be bothered to show up for what was supposed to be my wedding, so I’m not surprised he refused to help when I called him.”

“Abbey…,” I exhale, trying to wrap my head around this.

I may have experienced my fair share of bad shit, but I never questioned my family’s love and support. Most days, it’s the only thing that gets me through.

“It’s okay,” she continues. “I’m used to it. But thanks to you, I have some money, so I’ll just find a cheap motel, preferably within walking distance.” She starts typing on her phone again. “Here’s one. Only five miles away. Bella Vista Village. That sounds nice.”

I snatch her phone out of her hand. “You arenotstaying at the BV.”

“The BV?”

“Trust me. It’s a dump. They tend to rent rooms by the hour, if you catch my drift.”

“I can’t exactly afford the Ritz right now, Jude,” she shouts, throwing her hands up in frustration, her voice echoing against the brick buildings. “So unless you have a better option, the BV is my only goddamn choice. I?—”

“You can stay with me,” I blurt out before I can stop myself. “Hell, you can work for me, too.”

She sucks in a breath, momentarily speechless, as if trying to make sense out of my offer.

I’m trying to make sense of it, too.

“What did you say?” she asks finally, cutting through the heavy silence.

I can take it back right now. Let her go on her way. If she wants to stay at the BV, so be it. But for reasons I can’t quite explain, I don’t.

“It’s not as fulfilling as developing ways for people to get clean water.” I hand her phone back to her. “But it’s a way for you to get back on your feet. You saw it for yourself. I need more staff. And with the weather getting warmer, it’s only going to get busier. I used to be able to spend most of my time brewing beer. Now, I need to go in early if I want to get anything done because of how busy the taproom’s gotten. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful, but I need help.”

“You’re offering me a jobanda place to live?” she asks slowly, as if convinced she misheard.

As if she’s so used to nothing in her life going right that she doesn’t know how to react when something does.

“There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you stay at the BV, Abbey,” I respond with determination. “That’s worse than the park bench. We used to joke about it in high school. Go to the BV. Come home with an STD.”

“It’s that bad?”

“Worse.”

She presses her lips into a tight line, shaking her head in confusion. “Why are you doing all of this for me? The job? The room? The clothes?” Her eyes search mine. “I don’t get you, Jude. You’re cold one minute, then warm the next.”

I blow out a breath and run my fingers through my hair. “Truth be told, I don’t get me most of the time, either. And while I probably didn’t make the best first impression, I’m usually a pretty decent guy.” I give her what I hope to be an apologetic smile. “You just caught me on a bad day.”

“I don’t?—”

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