Page 1 of A Very Grumpy New Year

ONE

Cora

I’m not surprised.

I mean, I knew that this place was a dump when I first moved in. It was all that I could afford, though, so I did my best to make do. There’s no making do with this, though.

I stare at the gaping hole in the ground, the one that my foot went straight through a week ago, and sigh. I had thought that the floorboards in this rental house were alright, but I guess not. My face flushes with embarrassment as I remember walking across the living room and then just crashing straight through it. I would think it was because of my weight, if not for the fact that the whole house is pretty much falling apart.

Still, I would have bet money that the roof or porch would have collapsed before the living room floor. Maybe I should go on a diet…

“What are you thinking about?” A deep voice asks me, and I spin around to face him.

Huxley Jacobs.

My new roommate.

“That I should go on a diet,” I tell him, and he frowns.

“No.”

With that, he picks up another box and heads out to his truck. I roll my eyes and watch him go.

Huxley was the one who found me struggling to get my leg out of the hole. He had picked me up like I weighed nothing, taken one look at the hole, and announced that I was moving in with him.

A part of me is grateful that he did. I mean, I am grateful that he saved me, though I wish that he had caught me in a sexier position than covered in sweat and dirt and crawling out of the floorboards.

It was a relief to not have to stress and worry about where I would be staying. It’s hard to find roommates or rentals in this small town, and I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t declared us roommates.

I could always have asked my friends; I just would have felt guilty. All of them just got into new relationships, and I don’t want to be the one to get in the way of any happy couple. My single friends are all living in cramped apartments, and I know that they wouldn’t be able to let me crash with them. At least not comfortably.

Speaking of friends, my phone rings with Noelle’s name on the screen.

“Hey,” I answer with a smile.

“Hey, I was just calling to see if you needed any help with the move,” she says.

“Oh, that was nice of you, but we’ve got it. We’re actually just finishing up now.”

“That was fast!”

“Yeah, I don’t have much,” I say with a laugh.

“Okay, well, let me know if you need anything.”

“I will,” I promise her.

Noelle was one of the first friends that I made when I moved to Wolf Valley. I wish that we could hang out more, but her family keeps her under their thumb quite a bit. It seems like she’s always busy with something or helping them out somehow. I hope that she’ll put some distance between them soon, but I know that it can be hard to distance yourself from family.

“I’ll talk to you later,” I tell her as Huxley comes back into the room.

“Talk to you soon.”

I hang up and look around the house one last time.

“Is that it?” Huxley asks me, and I turn to face him.

For such a big guy, I don’t know how he’s always able to get around so quietly, especially in this old house that creaks if you look at it funny.

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