Page 19 of Tapped By My Roommate
I knew his routine. He didn’t have morning errands.
If he’d needed to leave, it was that he didn’t want to see me.
* * *
RHETT
I was so fucking tired—and not just because I’d barely slept last night before fleeing the apartment at first light. I hadn’t had a day off from both work and school in weeks.
After driving aimlessly, my mind still spinning with the ramifications of what I’d done the night before, I ended up at home—Mom’s little rental, that is.
It was a small, aging cottage bursting at the seams with two adults and two teenagers. No room for me. But I suspected that a two-story mansion wouldn’t provide enough space for Keith and me to co-exist. We’d never seen eye to eye.
The front door opened as I parked. My mother stepped onto the porch, looking startled at the sight of my car. No doubt she thought something terrible had happened. Not that I’d merely kissed someone when I shouldn’t have.
Terrible enough for Ethan, though.
I opened the door. “Hey, Mom. How are you?”
“What are you doing up so early? Come on in. I have the coffee brewing.”
I followed her inside and took a seat at the familiar kitchen table, battle-scarred by three kids. I smiled as I traced a groove in the wood with my thumb. I’d made that in sixth grade, and Mom had given me hell for it.
“Is something wrong, honey?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Just missed you guys.”
Shetskedas she poured a mug of coffee and set it before me. “You can visit anytime. You’re always so busy, I never know what you’re up to. But we should all try harder.”
I drank my coffee, feeling the buzz of caffeine perk me up a little.
Before long, Cary and Audrey staggered into the kitchen, half asleep. Cary’s hair was matted down on the left side and sticking straight up in the back. Meanwhile, you could hardly tell Audrey had been asleep, with her neat ponytail and freshly scrubbed face.
Cary blinked when he saw me. “Hey, man. I thought you were bringing me the money this weekend?”
“Money?” Mom asked.
“For baseball,” Cary said.
Mom looked between us. “Cary Grant Hayes, you didn’t.”
He looked sheepish. “But I want to play, Mom, and I can’t earn the money by Monday, even if I did get a job.”
“You know he loves baseball,” I added. “It’s okay. I’m happy to help.”
She shook her head with a sigh. “I was going to ask about getting an advance at work. I didn’t tell Cary because I didn’t know whether Mr. Jessup would approve it, but…”
I lay a hand on hers. “Well, now you don’t have to ask.”
She nodded. “You’re a good brother.”
“The best brother,” Cary affirmed.
“You’re just saying that because he’s loaning you money,” Audrey said. “What’s he done for me lately?”
I clapped a hand to my heart, laughing. “Oh, harsh!”
For the next thirty minutes, I sank into the comfort and familiarity of my family, pouring cereal and milk, eating noisily as they argued good-naturedly.
