Page 37 of Splintered Hearts

“I got my phone turned back on. I also went job hunting.” Or at least, I thought about looking for a job. Then I slept and watched a drama to completion, all while laying on Mark’s couch and only moving to go to the bathroom and eat. Not that I’m telling Jamie any of that. “What have you been doing?”

“I finished painting that white wall.”

“Yeah? Is it perfectly white?”

A warm laugh sounds on the other end. Fuck, I like that. “Yeah, it’s finally done. I almost want to paint the rest of my walls in a different color now. It brightened up my room a lot.”

“No more darkness for Jamie.” I laugh, then swallow at the awkward silence that follows.

“How are you settling in at Mark’s?”

“Fine. Better now that he’s asleep.”

“He could be dead right now,” Jamie jokes. “We still aren’t sure whether Hunter killed him.”

“Smart boy. I don’t know how I’ll explain that to the police when I have to make that call.” Jamie laughs, and I love that sound. “Um, Hunter said you’ve been interviewing roommates. And here I thought I was the only one.”

It’s quiet for a moment. “I haven’t found any.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. None fit, I guess.”

“Are you being picky?”

“I have to live with them. I want to know if it’ll work.”

“Yet you asked me to move in on sight.”

“Yeah, well . . .”

“Are blowies the normal interview process?”

“Oh my god—”

“I mean, I’d be happy for a follow-up interview.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he laughs.

“Do you take rent off for that?”

“I just... I want to make sure I get along with whoever I live with.”

“I think we got along just fine. I have a working phone now. Can I... text you?”

“Are you getting consent to text me?”

“Of course! Consent is the most important part!”

“Says the man who nonconsensually took Hunter’s phone.”

“I know he’d let me use it.”

“To talk to me? Unlikely. Mark was pissed.”

“He had some pretty aggressive thoughts after, yes.”

“He hates my fucking guts. Don’t be shy.”

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