Page 12 of Tapped By My Roommate
I grabbed hold of Rhett’s arm, tugging him back. He looked ready to tackle Dan, and that wouldn’t end well for him, even if he was more physically fit than me. “It’s okay, Rhett. You’ve done enough.”
Rhett shot me an incredulous look. “It’s not okay, Ethan. It’s not fucking okay for people to treat you this way.”
Emotion clogged my throat, but I managed to rasp, “I know.”
Rhett pointed a finger at Dan. “Word of caution. If she did this to his things, what do you think she’ll do when you two break up, huh? She’s toxic.”
I’d known Rhett would make a good wingman, but I hadn’t expected him to be so aggressive. I’d never seen him angry, but he practically vibrated with it now. I usually hated to see people lose their cool. But this time, knowing it was on my behalf, made me feel warm and safe.Weird.
Dan stepped forward aggressively, and I urged Rhett down the steps before things got out of hand.
“I don’t want you getting punched for me. I’ll try again, okay?” I raised my voice so Tess and Dan heard me. “Can I see her at least? I want to know she’s okay.Please.”
Dan looked almost sympathetic. “The lizard is fine, all right? Tess is taking good care of her.”
“So let Ethan in to see for himself,” Rhett suggested.
Dan shook his head. “Tess doesn’t want that, and it’s her house. I’m not letting you back in here against her will.”
“But—”
“You need to leave,” Dan repeated. Then added, “Now.”
Rhett looked tempted to continue arguing.
I spoke quickly. “We aren’t getting anywhere. Let’s go.”
He looked at me, face softening from the blazing anger that had been there moments before. “You sure?”
I nodded. “I know Tess. She won’t give in. Not if she thinks she holds something important to me. The more I care, the more she’ll dig in.”
“It really disturbs me that you know that,” he said.
Dan closed the door as soon as Rhett’s attention was on me. With a glance at it, Rhett sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder once more. I still held the box from the shed, but it was light as a feather, considering how few things I’d actually managed to salvage.
“Okay, we’ll go,” he said. “How about we go shopping? Pick out some new T-shirts.”
I shook my head. “Thanks, but I’m not really feeling it tonight.”
He squeezed me against his side before seeming to realize he still had his arm around me. He withdrew, and I missed the strength he seemed to exude. “Right, well, another time then. I’ll order a pizza instead.”
I shoved the box into the back of the car beside the other one stuffed with the household items Tess had been willing to relinquish. My mind buzzed with Tess’s insults and my quaking, weak responses. Rhett’s fiery attempts to stand up for me. Why couldn’t I do that?
Today was supposed to be different—but it hadn’t been. When push came to shove, I’d backed down. Like I always did.
And as nice as Rhett had been, as protective and assertive on my behalf, I felt as if I’d let both of us down.
5
RHETT
When we got back to the apartment, we carried Ethan’s two meager boxes of belongings to his bedroom. I’d seen his room in passing, from the hall, but I hadn’t taken time to really look around. For a guy who’d left most of his property with his ex, he’d managed to decorate his room more than I had mine. There was a vintage Godzilla movie poster framed on his wall, a series of comics and graphic novels on his bookshelf, and a set of framed family photographs: his parents and a younger sister in one, and an older couple, maybe grandparents, in another. In the corner, a coat tree was draped with a few jackets and three bowties. I hadn’t seen him wear one, but he’d had a whole pile in that shed.
“I should unpack this stuff,” Ethan said. “Thanks for your help.”
It was a dismissal. One I should probably respect. But I didn’t like the unhappy set to his mouth, the way his whole body drooped in defeat. He’d been so quiet on the drive home. Beside me in the passenger seat, he’d rubbed his hands through his hair, then down over his face, then over his thighs—seeming unsettled in his own skin.
Unable to leave him to his misery, I aimed for distraction by pointing to the coat tree. “Are these bowties also from your grandfather?”
