Page 21 of Fourth Wall

“Ha. Ha. You guys are hilarious.” She laughed and then quieted before adding, “I’ll try to be cleaner. I promise I’m going to be a good roommate.” A roommate I would like to fuck, sure.

“I swear, Christian. I won’t fuck this up. I know how much you’re giving up to do this—”

“Stop.” I turned to where she sat, trying to apologize. “Don’t do that again,” I demanded.

“Why?”

“Because I was the one who decided to do this with you. From this point forward, Maeve, you are not alone. You are part of a team.” I rested my hand against her thigh and gave a small squeeze. “Okay?” My tone softened.

She looked out the window as we approached the first apartment. “Okay…partner.”

I didn’t know why that hit me the way it did. Damn.

We walked around the first two apartments, neither of them being any good for her. The first one only had one bedroom, and since four of us were moving into one place, we both agreed it was too small. On the other hand, the second place was far too dangerous. It was set outside of town in an area that wasn’t known to be the safest. The moment I saw it and the way Maeve frowned slightly when she saw a few patrol cars pass by, I could tell it was a no.

We pulled up to the third place, which was an apartment right in the downtown area.

We entered the building’s garage and then followed the agent inside the doors and upstairs to the apartment.

“So, this one has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The building doesn’t have a pool, which is the only downfall,” the agent told both of us, and Maeve nodded eagerly. As we walked into the elevator, Maeve looked over at me as I stood next to her. Her eyes were big and beautiful. She still had a spark of excitement, although I could tell it was dulling with the inability to find a place.

“It’s kinda far from the girl’s school,” she whispered. I nodded in agreement. It was a solid thirty minutes to La Jolla without traffic. In SoCal traffic, that could easily turn into an hour.

We were greeted to an open apartment. It was bright and it came furnished. It wasn’t my style but was modern and had plenty of space.

I looked over at Maeve, who had walked in a little farther with the real estate agent. The way she was talking and standing there was just so effortless. She asked questions and looked so interested in what the lady was saying.

“What do you think?” I asked from where I stood.

“It’s nice.” She hated it. She was being nice. I leaned against the kitchen counter as she walked into the bedrooms. I didn’t follow. It wasn’t for me. I knew that immediately, and I also knew where I wanted us to be.

“It’s got plenty of space for us,” she shouted from one of the rooms. She walked to the other.

“Lots of places for you to clutter,” I added, and she poked her head out a door and shot me a look. I laughed.

“Ha.” She walked to another bedroom, and I pushed myself up to sit on the kitchen island counter.

“It’s got cute bunk beds for the girls.” She now started to walk toward me. “It’s nice?” It wasn’t a statement but a question.

“Well, what do you think?” The agent shot us a look, and Maeve darted her eyes back and forth between us.

“We really appreciate you taking us around, Monica, but I think we’ll need some time to think about it,” I responded, and Maeve shot me a confused look.

“Of course. I’ll walk you guys out, and then give me a call, and we can set up a time to see another place.” We thanked her and then walked back to the car.

I couldn’t wait to show her what I had wanted to all day.

13

Maeve

“What the heck, Christian? That place was fine. It had enough bedrooms. It was clean and came with furniture.” I sulked back to the car, opened the door, and sank into the passenger side seat. If I was being honest, I was getting exhausted by the wholeordeal. Nothing seemed good enough for the girls. This one was fine, but it just felt cold.

It was only six months, though. As long as it was safe for the girls, then I could do anything for six months, even if that meant being in traffic for upward of two hours a day.

“No. It wasn’t. Fine isn’t good enough.” He pulled out of the garage and started to drive back up the highway.

“What are we going to do?” I whined as I ran my hands through my hair. We needed to find an apartment, and I wanted to move in before I had to pick up the girls on Monday.

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