Page 60 of Edge of Unbroken

“You turned the guy down because of his name?” Zack asks.

Shane huffs with a shrug. “I didn’t think it was something I could get used to.”

“Oh my god, Shay,” Summer snorts.

“Okay, Shane, if you were able to, like,buildyourself the ideal roommate, what exactly would that look like?” Zack asks. “Because, at this point I’m thinking you’ll be living alone forever.”

“Man, I don’t know. It’s just one of those I’ll-know-it-when-I-see-it situations,” Shane says.

Tori and I smile at each other knowingly.

“Shay, you don’t think it would look something like: muscular male, little over six feet tall, dark-blond hair, green eyes, likes hockey. Maybe works at Murphy’s?” I ask Shane, whose face softens visibly as his eyes meet mine.

“Yeah, perhaps first name: Ronan, last name: Soult?” Tori asks.

All six of us look at Shane expectantly.

He seemingly deflates. “Yeah, okay, maybe.”

“Well, why don’t you just have Ran move in with you then?” Vada asks with aduhface.

“Uh, do you see him around anywhere?” Shane asks. “Plus, he’s only seventeen and still in high school. Even if he was here, I don’t think he’d be able to live with me right now.”

Zack shrugs. “Yeah, okay, but he’ll turn eighteen in, like, five months and he’ll be done with high school then, too. Why even bother with the roommate search in the meantime?”

“Because the only reason my parents agreed to subsidize my rent is because I promised them I’d find a roommate. If I don’t at least pretend to be looking for one, they’ll stop paying the other half and I’ll have to come up with all of it on my own.”

“Ohh,” Summer says loudly, like the lightbulb just came on.

Zack chuckles. “And your parents haven’t caught on?”

Shane shakes his head, a wicked grin making its way across his face. “Nope. Not yet.”

“Shit, I like it,” Zack says. “But what if Ran doesn’t want to move in with you in a few months? I’m not saying he won’t, but what’s your backup plan?”

Shane shrugs. “Then I guess I’llreallyneed to find a roommate, or maybe I’ll downsize.”

“Is the reason you got a two-bedroom apartment in the first place because you were always hoping for Ran to move in with you once you were both done with high school?” I ask Shane, smiling at him. This whole situation—the way Shane’s just biding his time until Ronan’s able to be his roomie—is so damn sweet. They have such a cute bromance.

“Kind of, yeah,” Shane says sheepishly.

“Aww, baby.” Tori sighs and kisses Shane on the cheek.

“Does Ran know all this?” Steve asks, eyebrows raised.

“Uh, I mean, I’ve dropped hints, but I haven’t flat out said anything to him. And I’m not going to bring this up to him now. For now, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing until Ran is back and better.”

“Man, speaking of Ran being back and better, you know who hit me up at school yesterday?” Zack asks. “Chloe Mason,” he says, and I once again find myself unable to put a name to a face.

“Let me guess, she asked you about Ran,” Summer says with a knowing nod.

“She sure did,” Zack says. “She wanted to know if it was true that he’s at boarding school in Europe.” Zack snorts a laugh. “I swear, this shit is getting ridiculous.”

“Who’s Chloe Mason?” I ask.

“Just another chick in a long line of girls Ran hooked up with before he met you,” Vada says with an exaggerated eye roll, then sits up a little straighter next to Steve. “You know, I’ve been thinking about it and, in retrospect, it makes total sense that Ran fucked around so much.”

Steve sits up too, his face darkening. “What do you mean?” he asks with an edge to his voice, watching Vada intently. The shift in his mood is palpable, though I’m not sure Vada picks up on it.

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