Page 12 of Dear Roomie
“Why else would you leave it unlocked?”
“Because I forgot,” he says, pushing back against my loaded words. “You barged in on me. You didn’t even knock.”
“Oh, save it for someone who cares. I’m not buying your Mr. Perfect act, and I want nothing to do with it. We aren’t friends, and I don’t want us to be. Stay out of my way, and we won’t have any problems. Got it?”
He lets out a long breath, and the life seems to drain out of him.
“Okay, sounds good to me.” His voice takes on a strange, hollow tone that makes something in my chest ache. It’s almost enough to make me give up this facade and beg for his forgiveness. “You can have the bathroom. I’m done here. I’m sorry for not locking the door. It won’t happen again.”
He steps back into his room, pulling the door closed behind him. It latches with an almost inaudibleclick, but that tiny sound stabs into my chest with the force of a dagger. That felt final; it felt like I shut the door on any chance I had of getting to know the man I’ll be living with. It was the right thing to do—Morgan Hall is already getting too deep under my skin—but knowing that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
Chapter 6
Morgan
It might be cowardly, but I don’t stick around for my turn in the bathroom again. The risk of running intoheris too high. She’s made her opinion perfectly clear—I’m the bad guy here. I’m not welcome, and I’ve never been the type who needed to be told things twice.
I guess this is as good a time as any to explore the campus. It’s not exactly what I had planned for today, but anything is better than spending another moment stuck in that apartment with the she-devil.
The apartment butts up against the northernmost edge of the university’s campus. It’s the main reason I chose it. All of my classes will be held in the law building, which should only be a few minutes’ walk down the road, and if the research I did over the summer is to be believed, I’ll pass a handful of the school’s landmarks along the way.
I wander aimlessly through the manicured lawns and picturesque gardens, taking the time to appreciate the campus’s beauty. Because, despite the less-than-warm welcome, Athens is beautiful in its own weird way. James might be making my living situation hell, but I refuse to let that taint the rest of my experience here. I won’t let one woman make me miserable.
My gaze catches on a fountain in the middle of a small field. The sunlight reflects off something in the water, creating a ripple of silver in the otherwise blue pool. I move closer for a better look and find…tinsel?
“You jumping in?” a masculine voice calls from behind me.
I turn around and find a man watching me with an amused expression. He looks to be around my age and is rocking the surfer-bro look despite there not being a beach for hours in any direction.
“Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know, man, it’s one of those freshman traditions. People jump in and take pictures. It’s a whole thing.”
“I guess that explains the tinsel,” I say, mostly to myself.
“That it would.” The stranger chuckles.
“I’m not a freshman, though.” I extend my hand. “I’m Morgan. I’m about to start law school.”
“Nathan,” he says with a firm handshake. “I’m also in grad school, but I did my undergrad here too.”
“Must be nice already knowing your way around.” I let out a small huff and drag my fingers through my curls. “I’ll be lucky if I can find my classes without a map come Monday.”
“I can show you around if you want,” the stranger offers, and his lips fall into an easy grin.
“Really?” The knot of nerves in my chest loosens. “That would be great. You’re only the second person I’ve met in Athens, and the first wasn’t exactly welcoming.” I recoil as the words bring James back to the forefront of my mind.
It’s been less than a day, but her split personality already has me on edge. The venom-spitting she-devil is a terror, but I saw a glimpse of a different James last night—one who was calm and pleasant to be around. I almost liked her. I don’t even know where to place the woman crying in the bathroom, but everything in me wanted to take away her pain.
“Now,thatsounds like a story,” he says as he starts to guide me.
“You could say that,” I scoff. “My new roommate is…” I struggle to think of a word that accurately describes James. “Difficult.”
“Difficult how? Is this a zero-hygiene situation, or is he an asshole?”
“He is a she, who thought I was also a she, and I thought she was a he.” My explanation comes out all sorts of convoluted.
Nathan freezes and cocks his head to the side as he tries to make sense of my ramblings. After a moment, he gives up and laughs. “Yeah, man, I’m lost.”
