Page 59 of Run, Run, Roommates
Brin hands me the phone, and I read the messages from Greg. And they’re bad.
Really bad.
Unhinged.
I can’t believe that my friend would send anyone this shit.
It started out with not even a kiss goodnight? and I guess you wanted an extra incentive.
When Brin didn’t respond, it escalated.
The only thing worse than a slut is a cocktease.
Quit whoring yourself on this app if you’re not gonna suck a dick.
Brin’s face is pale and her eyes are welling up. “Hey.” I drop the phone and take her hands in mine. “It’s okay, come here.”
“Why would he say those things?” Her voice is small as I tuck her into my chest. “I didn’t even do anything.”
“I know you didn’t. That’s not what this is about.”
I hold her close while she takes deep steadying breaths. Inside, rage boils. I want to rip into something; I want to scream at Greg; I want to scorch the earth.
But this is not about me, so I take deep breaths and focus on Brin. I hold her for a few minutes until she pulls away.
“What can I do for you?” I ask.
She rubs her forehead. “I’m not sure. I’m tired and I smell like garlic and butter and I’d like to shower and go to bed.”
“Totally valid. It is late. Let’s talk in the morning about making a plan, okay?”
She nods and gets up to shower. Later, we both lie in my bed, neither of us sleeping, but at least I can hold her close.
In the morning, I sit up in bed on my phone. I barely slept last night, still shaken about Greg’s behavior. While Brin sleeps, curled up on her side, I do some light cyber stalking, reading back through my texts with Greg, scrolling his Instagram.
It’s disturbing how none of it raises red flags, but I know bad people are good at hiding things. Does Greg even see his actions as bad?
Brin’s alarm goes off. She reaches out to shut it off, and rolls over. “Hey.” She gives me sleepy, happy eyes as she stretches. “Did you run already?” she mumbles. Brin wriggles over until her head is resting in my lap. I let my hand rest on her head and gently stroke her wild red hair.
“No run today.”
She hums a deep sigh. “Lazy.”
“I know. Don’t fall back asleep.” I shake her and she groans. “I’ll make you coffee.”
“Yesssss.”
Brin gets up and shuffles to the bathroom. She leaves the door open while she showers. “Brin, you want me to toast a bagel?” She’s got a sleeve of them on the counter. I hear what sounds like a yes so I fix breakfast for her and have it ready when she comes out of the bathroom, a turban around her head.
She eats her breakfast and then sits back, sipping her coffee. Then she blows out a breath. “So. Greg.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. It’s been a while, I’m not sure I can even do anything.” Her eyes are on her coffee. “What would you do?”
When I hesitate, she looks at me. “I know you think you’re an asshole. But Greg is really, truly, a bad man. It . . . it helped me to tell you. To see you get angry. You’re the only person that knows about those messages and I don’t want to let him get away with saying those things to me—or anyone else.”
I fold my arms and rub my hand over my mouth. “You could report him to Sugary—I bet they have an anti-harassment policy, and I’m sure you’re not the only one he’s done this to. But the repercussions would be pretty light. I don’t think he’s using the app anymore anyway.”
