Page 4 of King of Hearts

Juan:A fucking answer would be nice

Taylor:You don’t have to be a jerk

Juan:And you don’t have to be a tease, yet here we are…

Taylor:Fuck off

* * *

Juan:I heard you’re going to be the maid of honor…kind of a strange role for you, isn’t it?

Taylor:Why do you keep texting me?

Juan:I haven’t texted you for an entire week…

Taylor:You counted the days?

Juan:Do you have a date for the wedding?

Taylor:…………

Juan:Hello?

Juan:So you’re just going to ignore me?

Taylor:You’re an asshole…did you forget what you said to me the last time you saw me?

Juan:Was it any different than calling me to come over and putting your tongue down my throat only to realize you were kissing the wrong person?

Taylor:Didn’t think you cared.

Juan:………

Taylor:Guess I’ll see you at the wedding…

Juan:Guess so…

Chapter Three

SEPTEMBER

My pink fingernailran along the magenta flyer, tracking each word.

“One roommate needed— must be clean and tidy. Eight hundred dollars…what the hell?” I voiced out loud, narrowing my eyes. Was this for real? Nearly a grand a month for just a bedroom?

My hand fell away from the message board while my lungs let out a sound similar to a balloon deflating. The sun was a blanket of humid heat, boxing me in on all sides as I wiped at my damp brow.

It seemed more and more difficult to regulate how hot I was every day with this damn weather. I’d managed to make it through the worst parts of summer, but now carrying this massive book bag and my Hydro Flask…it was all a little too much.

For the first time since I had the heart-to-heart with my stepdad, I was starting to worry. We’d had brunch weeks ago, when I was entertaining the idea of living all alone and had plenty of time to make up my mind. He’d offered to buy me an apartment, but since I had witnessed my older stepsister stepping up and refusing handouts from Charlie, her biological father, I decided I could do that too. I didn’t need his millions or free apartments; I could tuck away with a few roommates and finish the last few credits needed to obtain my bachelor’s degree.

I couldn’t, however, currently afford eight hundred dollars a month. Not only that, but now, as I had begun the hunt for a place to live, I realized how stupid I’d been. There was nothing left, and thanks to the massive surge in new residents, there was a significant housing bubble that was forcing people to pay astronomical prices on anything thatwasavailable.

Since turning down my stepfather’s money, there was just no way I could afford it. I obviously didn’t qualify for any kind of financial aid, but I had a small trust fund my mother had created for me. It felt vastly different taking a handout from the woman who birthed me than it did doing so from Charlie. Besides, it was something she’d started back when we were dirt poor. There was only about five thousand dollars in it, which would be enough to float me for a while, but otherwise, I was completely on my own and in need of a job.

My phone rang inside my pocket, which temporarily diverted my anxious thoughts.

“Hey,” I said, pulling it to my ear.

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