Page 85 of No Romeo
Oh, God. A pipe in the bathroom must have exploded. Sewage everywhere—including Hendrix’s face. I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. Karma was a bitch.
Footsteps pounded up the steps. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Zepp’s voice came from the hall.
I got off the bed and slowly cracked my door, expecting to see a river of shit flowing freely over the floor. Instead, Hendrix shot into the bathroom, covered in dust and debris like some kind of war survivor.
“How the hell did the ceiling fall in?” Zepp stood in front of the open bedroom door, gaze aimed up.
“Hendrix was probably swinging off the lampshade,” I mumbled, taking in the plaster and dust and bits of bird’s nest that covered Hendrix’s bed.
Oh, he was going to love that last one. He’d had an aversion to bird shit ever since we’d watched a documentary about pigeons carrying sixty different diseases. And if the crap on his face was bird shit…
I glanced at the closed bathroom door and smiled. Karma. “E-coli,” I said, loud enough to carry over the running water of the shower. “Salmonella.”
Zepp’s dark gaze met mine. “Not the time, Lola.”
It was absolutely the time. Ignoring Mr. Grumpy, I went back to my room to do some homework.
I’d nearly finished my calculus assignment when a loud conversation between Hendrix and Zepp floated through the door.
We can’t afford to fix that.
Well, we can’t just let it rot.
Zepp had just gotten out of prison. Hendrix barely scrounged up enough selling weed and stealing stuff to cover half the bills…And it wasn’t like I was raking in loads by hotwiring cars once a week for Sweet Willy.
I scribbled out an equation, trying to ignore how desperate they both sounded. I didn’t want to give Hendrix a thing after what he had done to Sid. But I also didn’t want the house to become condemned…Icouldgive him an in with Willy. It wasn’t like it would take money out of my pocket.
I worked out another problem, then another, trying to block out their raised voices. The house finally fell silent, and after I had finished a few more questions, I went downstairs to grab a glass of water.
Through the kitchen window, I could see Hendrix pacing in the shaded part of the yard, every once in a while glancing up at the roof.
I wanted to leave him to his misery, shirk all responsibility where he was concerned, but guilt niggled at me. Hendrix had always shared everything with me. His house, his food, his love…
Afternoon sun warmed my face when I pushed open the screen door on a sigh and stepped outside. “I know a guy who buys cars.”
Hendrix’s gaze moved to me, and the frustration on his face shifted. “Youknow a guy?” A dark, cynical brow lifted.
As if I couldn’t possibly know anyone.
I wanted to flip him off and keep my secrets to myself, but I fought the urge and tried to be the bigger person. “I’ve been paying rent, haven’t I?”
“From stealing cars?” He snorted a laugh. “You’re shit at hotwiring.”
Calm, Lola.“Do you want my help or not?”
He moved past me, the backdoor groaning when he yanked it open. “I have to go to House Depository and get a tarp. Maybe they know a guy, too.”
“Fine. Figure it out on your own, dickhead.”
The sun hadn’t even set that evening before someone knocked on my door. Of course, Hendrix didn’t wait for an invitation.
I looked up from my book as he stepped into my room, his gaze drifting from my bare legs to my face.
“So, how does it work with your guy?” he asked.
“Oh, so now you’re interested?” Annoyed, I turned my attention back to my book.
“Do you like having a roof over your head? Because if that doesn’t get fixed, your room is gonna cave in next.”
