Page 19 of Bleeding Hearts

He’s not that scared of Kaden that he wouldn’t have made a move if he was. Plus, my brother would have no leg to stand on after getting engaged to my best friend.

“You’re not going to even have a chance to miss me, Dem,” Lo says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I’m going to see you all the time still. Just because I’m moving out doesn’t mean I’m giving up my key. You better expect me to barge in here at least once a week to hang with you.”

“You better.” I smile at her.

“Honeys, I’m home,” Theo’s voice booms through the apartment followed by the slamming of our front door.

“In my room,” Lo yells back at him.

“Well, this is the most unorganized packing I’ve ever seen.” He huffs as he walks into Lo’s room. “I expect this from you, Doomsday, but I expected more from you, Tink.” He looks to Logan, referring to her as Tink because of her resemblance to the character.

“Rude.” I roll my eyes at him. Theo started calling me Doomsday after some unfortunate events that ended with me flooding out my own apartment and then breaking some things in his. It’s not my fault that I’m clumsy. I was born this way. It’s not something I can help.

Regardless, he’s come to think that I’m a walking disaster, so therefore, he appropriately named me Doomsday.

I might be a mess, but I’m sure as hell not a doormat, so if he insists on calling me the horrendous nickname, I insist on giving him his own.

Since he’s already named after one of the chipmunks, I figured I’d call him the name of another chipmunk to piss him off. So, to the world, he’s Theo, but to me, he’s Alvin.

“Well, if you can do it so much better, feel free to help.” Logan throws a roll of bubble wrap at him.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he shrieks, stepping out of the way and letting the bubble wrap fall to the floor instead of catching it.

“Theo, it’s literally bubble wrap. It’s not going to hurt you.” Logan laughs at him, picking up a second roll of bubble wrap to use for herself.

“Yeah, Alvin. You’re a doctor. You should know this shit.” I tease him, laughing with her.

“Shut up, Doomsday.” He picks up the bubble wrap and pegs it toward me. I catch the roll, falling on my back and laughing loudly until tears poke at my eyes.

Theo walks over to Lo’s bed, that’s covered in clothes, basically shoving all of our piles to the side so he can sit on it. “Okay, bitches. I’m in charge now. Here’s how this is going to work.”

“I can’t believe I’m moving out of here tomorrow,” Lo speaks from the corner of the couch that she’s sitting on.

“Me either.” I rest my elbow on top of the coffee table in front of me, leaning my chin into my hands.

Theo is sitting on the opposite corner of the couch that Lo is on, and Gabby, who showed up around an hour into packing, is sitting on the floor next to me.

I met both Gabby and Theo through Lo. All three of them are working together as second-year emergency medicine residents at Horizons Hospital Seattle. Kind of underachievers if you ask me, compared to my praiseworthy title as waitress.

And I don’t mean that as a dig toward waitressing. I actually think being a waitress is a hard and important job. It’s just not what I necessarily want to be doing.

The real goal is to own my own restaurant and be a chef, creating my own menu. I just haven’t quite figured out how to get there yet.

We finished packing about twenty minutes ago. Theo, who claimed himself supervisor, although he was more like a dictator, ordered us all around for about three hours before we finally taped up the final box.

I have to admit, his methods, while being harsh, actually worked. Lo and I would’ve been up all night at the rate we were going.

“So, are you going to look for a new roommate after Lo moves out, or are you able to cover the rent yourself?” Gabby asks.

It’s the question of the century.

I have a good amount of savings and enough money to cover the rent for a while, but it’s unrealistic to think I can live in the two-bedroom apartment by myself forever. Plus, I hate being alone, so I know I’ll need to find someone eventually.

“I’ll be fine covering rent for a while, but I’m sure I’ll have to look for a roommate eventually.” I sigh. “Any chance you want to leave that asshole roommate of yours and come live with me? I promise I’m a fucking delight to live with. Just ask Lo.”

“It’s true.” Lo nods. “She may be a mess, but all the food and sweets make up for it big time.”

“I wish, but I can’t bail on them like our last roommate did.” Gabby fidgets with her hands, politely turning me down.

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