Page 15 of The Non-Hook Up

He levels me with a look, one brow raised. “You heard him. Your apartment will be gone before you know it. You have no job and soon you’ll have no place to live.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Is this supposed to be making me feel better?”

He throws his hands up in surrender. “You know I don’t intend to be mean, but you need to figure out what you’re going to do.” He thinks for a moment. “Hey, why don’t you move in with Logan and I?”

I scoff and just suppress the eye roll fighting to come out at that idea. Yes, it is nice of him to offer, but no way in hell am I going to put that on my brother. “So I can squat with you guys? What next? Couch surfing?”

“There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”

I run my hands through my messy hair, looking him in the eyes when I say, “I have spent my life getting help from you, Ava, and our parents. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I think I need to figure it out on my own.”

CHAPTER 8

MIA

It’s been a busy few days since the meeting with the lawyer, since the day I found out that I’ll not only lose the home I grew up in, but also the home I have now. Then I got notified yesterday that I will need to be out of the apartment by Monday, which gives me some time to gather my things and bring them over to my parents’ house. At least until everything is sorted, the house is sold, and I finally have things figured out. You know, small steps.

I’ve spent that last few days with Hunter, putting together our parents' funeral and their wake. The funeral was a lovely service, filled with a large crowd of people who claimed to know our parents. Only some I have actually met were present, crying into their handkerchiefs while simultaneously checking their phones when they thought no one was looking. The funeral consisted of stories, prayer, and lots of tears.

It ended quickly, followed by a gathering, which took place at our parents’ house, with an array of sandwiches and cheeses for people to eat as they chatted.

Ava, Conner, and Logan turned up, asking if I was okay. I gave them a simple nod and a tight smile and continued to stand there looking out at the sea of people who claimed to care for my parents. Hunter was around, chatting. He was good like that; no matter what he was going through, he’d put it aside for those he cared about. I knew he was stepping up for me, because I couldn’t bring myself to talk to these people, people who had partied and drank with our parents and talked shit behind their backs, people who claimed to be rich but were all too accepting of my parents' money when given. Looking around as my friends talked around me, I noticed nothing but dry eyes now. The tears that were there for the funeral were replaced with smiles and laughter, as if this really was a party and not a mourning.

These were the people our parents wanted in their lives when they decided to push Hunter and I out, and I couldn’t help how much it pissed me off.

CHAPTER 9

RILEY

She hadn’t noticed me yet. She never asked me to come, but Conner offered, and who was I to say no? Besides, after that day at Ava’s house when Mia was hit with such tragic news, I haven’t been able to get the look in her eyes out of my head. That is the same look that I see in the mirror every day.

Broken and lost.

This happens when you lose someone, and I wish it hadn’t happened to her, but at least this is something I understand and maybe I can help if she needs it.

I’ve been at the wake, staring at her, for longer than I’d like to admit, watching the thoughts pass through her eyes and every expression she tries to suppress.

I’ve felt it all. Sadness, confusion, and anger.

I watch as she looks out at the sea of people, taking in their careless attitudes, and I see it in her face. The anger boiling beneath the surface, visible from the tensing of her jaw, thinning of her lips, and the lines forming around her blue eyes.

I don't know if her friends can see it, but now is definitely the time to get her the hell out of here before she blows up and destroys everything in her path.

Mia starts to clench and unclench her fists, and her nostrils expand with each deep, calming breath she takes. It’s only a matter of time.

Yelling and cursing are expected, but I didn’t expect what happens next. Mia suddenly pushes her hands through her hair, pushing it off her face to reveal a big crazy smile, and out comes a loud and even crazier laugh.

Conversations stop and eyes turn to her as she just stands there laughing like a woman gone mad. Ava puts a hand on her shoulder, and her friends look at her with looks of concern, but it's already too late. The bomb is about to go off.

Her laugh starts to die down as her eyes turn to everyone in the room, looking at her with questions in their eyes. “You know what I find funny? How every single one of you had the tears and kind words, but I’ve heard a majority of you talk shit behind my parents' backs.” Mia turns a wolfish smile on a woman standing with a balding man, a look of disgust on her face. “Meredith Trainer, queen of the Country Club, always acted like you were too good for my parents, only spending time with them when there was no one else. But you were all too willing to accept my parents' money for an unplanned pregnancy to hide the affair you’ve been having with the bartenders at the Country Club.”

A chorus of gasps sounds around room, and it's followed by a series of hushed whispers as the woman I assume is Meredith turns a deep shade of red, looking panicked at the man beside her. I assume that's her husband, due to his hurt expression and the shake of his head as he storms off with her following close behind.

Finally, someone intervenes. Ava steps away from the crowd, with Conner cradling Charlie in his arms and holding him close to his chest as if to shield him from the chaos unfolding. Ava cautiously approaches Mia, putting a hand on her arm, but she just pulls out Ava’s grasp and continues to yell at the crowd, zeroing her eyes on a tall, thin man with slicked back hair. “Mr Hill!” She starts to laugh again. “You remember that time when you let it slip to my father how your daughter didn’t get that scholarship she wanted and”—she holds her belly, laughing—“you wanted to borrow money from my father because you gambled all of yours.” She bends at the waist, still laughing as people continue to whisper. Ava tries to calm her friend down, but she isn't listening. She's lost in a fog of loss and anger.

I understand that all too well, only I didn’t have anyone to pull me out of it when I was going through the same thing. I had to do that myself, but Mia isn’t alone, and I knew this had gone on too long.

Without thinking, I put down the drink I was holding and meet Ava’s concerned eyes as she sees me approach.

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