by Kayt Miller
From inside the house, I watch Gage’s car pull out of our driveway. The house is silent. It’s late, so I’m not surprised. It’s got to be after 3:00 a.m. by now. With my phone in hand, I remember I turned it off earlier. Pressing the On button, I wait for it to come to life. When it does, a series of dings alerts me to new texts. I know who they’re from.
Cooke: Quinn? You called? My sister said you were upset. Are you all right, love? Call me or text. Please.
Wait. His sister?
Me: I’m sorry I bothered you. Bad day. That’s all.
I smile for the first time in hours as I make my way down to the basement. But the smile is short lived. The second my feet hit the basement carpet, I hear a splash sound. It takes a second for the water to seep into my Converse tennis shoes. Flicking on the flashlight on my phone, I’m shocked at the sight before me. The basement is filled with standing water up to my ankles. I slowly make my way across the room to my bedroom, pushing floating debris away with my foot as I go. I’m doing my best to remember how I left things in my bedroom this morning. I know I was rushing around….
At my bedroom door, it feels like my heart is about to jump out of my chest. I don’t want to know the state of my room, but I have to. I turn the knob slowly. It takes extra effort to push it open because of all the water. The second I have it open all the way, I hit the light switch and nearly choke. All of my things—well, most of my things—are floating in four or five inches of water. Things like my $200 biology textbook and my laptop are sitting just below the surface. Clothes that I’d discarded throughout the week are lying in soggy clumps as well. Those can be washed, but things like my headphones, charger cables, and other schoolwork are lost. The sob that comes out of me is loud. I know it is because I felt it in my entire body. “How will I ever be able to replace my stuff?” My laptop was my high school graduation present. My parents won’t be able to afford a replacement. And the textbooks? I know one of them was a rental, so I’m going to have to pay full price for that one.
Without thinking, I throw myself onto my bed and hear the water gush beneath it. It won’t be long until it seeps up through the box spring to the mattress, but I still have a little bit of time to lose my fucking mind. Honest to God, I’ve never had a day like this one. A day that makes me want to give up on everything. Because right now, it’s not worth it. None of it is worth it.
When my phone rings, I place it in front of my face. It’s Cooke wanting to FaceChat. I’m tempted to ignore it, but fuck if I don’t need a friend right now. I hit the button. I hear him saying things, his voice sounding sweet and reassuring. I’ve been doing my damn best to keep my emotions under control and seeing Cooke’s sweet smile almost puts me over the edge but it also gives me strength. Especially when he says, “My love.” Cooke’s voice is strained. “Tell me what happened.”
So I do. I tell him about my long day at the bar. I even tell him about the rude guy and the terrible things he said to me. I mean, he needs to hear the entire story, right? I mention Bryant and Kara, and when I get the part about Frankenscooter, the sobs start up again, but I quickly get them under control. I explain how helpful Officer Golden was, and then I go back and talk about the incident with Kara and the hair pulling, and then, finally, I set the scene for my flooded bedroom. I turn the phone so he can see the water and the damage. “See?” I whimper. “Ev-Everything’s ruined.”
“I see. Are you insured? Is the home insured?”
“I… I’m not sure. I can ask Patsy.”
“That’s your first step. Perhaps you need to wake your mates so they can see the damage. You can find out what’s covered.”
“Okay.” That’s a good idea.
“As for the rest, I’d like to kill the men at the bar for you, love. You’re beautiful. And I’ll buy you a new scooter. Hell, I’ll replace your bloody—”
“No, Cooke. I didn’t call you so you would buy me things.”
“I know, dearest.”
“I just wanted—”
“You needed a shoulder.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. God, I’m tired.
“I’m your shoulder. I’ll always be.”
“Thank you, Cooke.”
“Now, go wake your mates. Get them to help you. I bloody wish I was there with you.”
“M-Me too.” I hiccup.
“I’ll be in touch, love.”
“Okay.”
God, I sound pathetic.
“Holy shit.” Patsy gasps.
“What the fuck?” says a sleepy Robbi.
Kat blinks. “You just got home?”
“It’s a long story, but someone ran over Frankenscooter. He’s totaled. I had to wait for Gage to get there to write up a report. When I got home, it was past three, and I walked into this.”
Kat has her hand over her mouth. “Shit. Your textbooks. And laptop.”
“Who’s Gage?” Kat asks, looking perplexed.
“Officer Golden.”
“Gage?” Kat asks again.
Patsy stops her. “Focus, Kat. We’ll ask her about her hot cop tomorrow.”
I don’t mind the questions about Gage. It makes me smile, truth be told. I seem to be much calmer now. Cooke was right, I needed my mates.
Patsy turns to me, placing her hands on my shoulders as she says, “No worries. I’ll call the landlord about the insurance first thing in the morning.”
“Oh, I hope this is all covered,” Susanna says between sobs. “We’re so sorry, Quinn. This has never happened before.”
“It’s okay.” It’s not, but I can’t blame my roommates. “It’s been raining nonstop.”
Patsy reaches for my comforter. “Grab what you can, and we’ll move it all upstairs to the second level. We can get you set up in that small niche at the top of the stairs.”
“Oh, yeah. Great idea.” That cheered Susanna right up. “You can be up there with me, Robbi, and Lindsay.” She claps happily. “Yay!”
Robbi is feeling around on my bed. “We can grab your mattress. It’s not wet.”
“Perfect.” Lindsay is giddy now.
So that’s what we do. As a team, we gather up all the dry items first and carry them up to the top floor of the house. The small niche is sort of a perfect bedroom. Sure, there are no walls, but it’s dry and warm.
After the dry things are gathered, we fill clothes baskets with my wet items. Robbi sets the baskets in the garage for now while Susanna and Kat work on the papers and textbooks. They seem to think that drying them out will work. I love their optimism. I wish I felt the same.
As for my headphones and laptop? I’m sure they’re gone, but we’ll let them dry out as well. When it’s all said and done, all that remains in the basement is an old dresser that was on its last leg anyway and the bed frame. Those we can grab when the water recedes.
By the time we’re done, the sun has risen, and we’re all crashed out on the floor near my bed. “Thank goodness it’s Sunday,” someone mumbles.
I nod. “Yeah. I have to work later, but not until five.”
“Well, you sleep,” Patsy says, patting my leg. “I’ll go call the landlord. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good.” I feel gross, and I really want a shower, but my body won’t move. I feel like I need to say one last thing before I go to sleep.
Me: Thanks, Cooke. You said all the right things last night. I’ll never forget it. Now… I’m going to sleep. Night.
Cooke: Aye. I’m glad I was useful. Sleep well, lovely Quinn.
Lovely Quinn. Those are the last words I think as I fall asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Four
You know that old saying about bad things happening to help us see all the good things in life or something like that? I think it’s true. Four days ago was possibly the worst day of my life so far. Granted, no one I love has gotten ill or passed away, thank goodness. With that said, it was a pretty shitty day. Sunday wasn’t super great either. We found out that the owners do have insu
rance, but only on the house itself. None of my belongings were covered under their policy. I’d have to have renter’s insurance for that. Ask me if I have renter’s insurance.
The answer is No.
I sort of expected that to be the case anyway, so I didn’t get upset again. By the time I woke up at noon on Sunday, I had gotten sort of Zen about everything. I went to work, which was fun because the bar was dead, and Luke was off. Chris and I got to know each other, plus he taught me some new mixed drinks. Apparently, the cosmo is “very popular with the ladies,” as Chris noted. I also made a Moscow mule and a sour apple martini. I’ve got to say, martinis aren’t my thing. It sounded good, but boy was it strong. I did like the mule, though. That was delish.
Chris let me leave early after hearing about my Saturday. It’s a good thing, since I was still tired, and I had a paper to rewrite because the last one was saved on my drowned laptop. Kat is letting me borrow her laptop tonight, thankfully. If I’d been smart, I’d have put all my work that was on my computer on a cloud somewhere, but I’m not smart, I guess. I also emailed all my instructors about the flood damage and the ruination of my school supplies. I hoped they had a heart so if I happened to turn anything in late, they’d let it slide.
I haven’t heard anything from Gage yet. I was hoping he’d have a lead on the person who ran over my scooter. I’m tempted to call him, but he’s probably busy. I’ll just have to wait.
“Well, I’m not gonna lie. I didn’t think you’d last this long.”
I’m sitting in the Hub with one of my art history classmate’s textbooks. She’s letting me borrow her book for an hour so I can take notes while she’s in another class. I need to buy her a coffee or something to thank her. Just as I’m finishing up my vocabulary list, a shadow crosses over my white notepaper. Looking up, I stare into the eyes of my long-lost best friend, Tayler. “Me neither. There were times when my fingers itched to make the move to call you, but I had a point to make.”
“Point made.” Tayler gestures to the seat next to me.
“Of course. Sit.”
“God, I’ve missed you so much, girl.”
“Me too.” I reach out, holding my arms wide. She moves closer into the hug. I swear I hear her sniffling. “Dylan cheated on me. He moved out three weeks ago.”
“What!” I screech. “No way.”
“Way.” She wipes away a tear on her cheek. “I really needed you last month.” Several more tears slide down her face.
I move back in for another hug. “I’m so sorry, Tay.”
Pulling back, she shakes her head and wipes away more wetness from her face. “I’m so sick of this roller coaster of emotions. I just want to move on with my life.”
“So, you’re living in that apartment alone?”
“Yeah, but not for long. I can’t afford it on my own. Dad said he’d help me for a month or two, but that’s all.”
“Poor Tayler.”
“Oh, stop.” She waves me off. “Tell me about you so I can stop feeling sorry for myself. I’m sure you’ve got some gossip or drama for me to enjoy, right?”
“Oh, boy. Do I ever.” I smile but then pause. “Are you sure you want to hear all of this? There’s a lot.”
“I’m positive. Spill, bitch.”
So I do. I basically start where we left off that day over a month ago. I talked for over an hour, which included a bunch of questions from Tayler along the way. In the end, I had her laughing her ass off at my horrible, terrible, very bad fucking day. It’s okay, I was laughing too. I mean, if you can’t laugh at the stuff life throws at you, then you’re in trouble.
“So, you work at Cy’s? How have I not seen you?”
“I was in training for the first two weeks, so I only worked on Sundays and a few hours after classes at first. They’re slowly getting me used to bartending. My boss, Luke—”
“Ooh, Luke Green. Yum,” she hums. “That man is delish.”
I think she’s feeling better about Dylan. “He doesn’t seem like your type.”
“What? Hot and tattooed and muscled isn’t my type?” She looks toward the door. “Guys like that”—she points—“are so my type.”
I look over at the door and blink. Then I blink again. “No. Way.” My voice is squeaky and breathless at the same time. I drop the pen I was playing with, slide off my stool, and run right into the open arms of one Cooke Thompson. When I get there, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you’re here.” My voice catches in my throat, because seeing him in the flesh is amazing, but knowing the reason he’s here choked me right up. “You’re the best, Cooke Thompson. The absolute best thing that ever happened to me.” God, I want to kiss him, but that would be weird.
I hear him chuckle in my ear, then feel his arms wrap around me and pull me into the best frigging hug I’ve ever had.
I pull back just enough to look up at him. Holy shit, the man is gorgeous. The screen did not do him justice. “How did you find me?”
“Your mate Patsy. She led me here.”
“Oh my God. Your voice. Hearing it in person is amazing, Cooke.”
“Yours too, love.”
I feel wetness on my cheeks and quickly wipe it away. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I booked a flight right away. I had to finish up a few things. I got here as soon as I could.”
My breath catches. “You….”
“What?” He’s smiling down at me, and it’s the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.
He pushes a piece of my hair out of my eyes, and I confess, “You’re amazing.”
“Nah, you are, love.”
I quickly grab him again, this time wrapping my arms around his waist. God, he smells so damn good. I let my face plant itself on his hard chest. I blink a few times because of all the yellow in front of me. I pull back and look at his T-shirt. It’s the Iowa State rugby tee. “Oh my God. You’re wearing the shirt. Dan and Bull are going to flip. Out.” I’m tempted to grab my phone right now and let them know he’s here, but no, I want him all to myself for as long as I can.
“Are you going to introduce me, Q?”
I turn my head and see Tayler. “Oh, right.” I step to his side and point at his stomach area. “Tayler, this is Cooke Thompson.” I look up at him and point at my friend. “Cooke, this is Tayler Sorenson, my oldest and dearest friend.”
“Delighted,” he says, taking her hand and kissing the top of it.
It makes me break out into girly giggles. When I look at Tayler, she’s blushing and doing her own version of a girly giggle. It’s something to see, because Tayler isn’t the type to blush, and I swear I’ve never ever heard her giggle. But something tells me Cooke Thompson makes all women giggle.
Pulling farther away from him, I take his hand in mine—it feels amazing—and pull him over to my table. As I gather my things, I start chattering at about one hundred miles per hour. “Are you hungry, Cooke? Thirsty? Tired? Do you need to rest? I need to get to class, but I could skip it. I can’t skip work later, though. I’m new, so I don’t think Luke would appreciate it, you know?” Wait! How long can he stay?
Tayler snickers, “Slow down, Q. You’re sort of acting like a crazy person.”
“Well, of course I am.” I point in Cooke’s direction. “This guy flew across the pond to see me.” I pause to look at him for a second. “Right?”
“Absolutely.”
“So, are you hungry or tired or thirsty?”
Cooke laughs softly. “I’m all of those things, but more than any of those, I’m just happy to meet you in person.”
I smile wide. I know all my teeth are showing. “You are?”
“I am. But you must be off to your course. I don’t want you to skip anything. I’ve booked a room at a hotel. I’ll head back there, have a bite and a lie down, and then I’ll come to… what’s it called? Cy’s Roof?”
I roll my eyes and laugh. “Cy’s Roost.”
“Right. Roost. I’
ll be off and see you there this evening. How does that sound?”
Without saying a word, I move closer to him, holding my arms out for another hug. He doesn’t disappoint. Cooke does what he did before, wrapping me up and holding me tight.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I murmur.
“Me as well, love. Me as well.”
If you assume I paid little to no attention in my afternoon class, you’d be correct. I could barely contain my excitement. I mean, Cooke Thompson is here. In Ames, Iowa. To. See. Me. So as soon as we were dismissed, I literally ran out of the room and was out the door to the nearest bus stop in minutes. From there, it took me at least thirty more to get home. That’s okay; I still had plenty of time to shower, change, and actually put on some makeup before I needed to be to work. As the bus moved at a snail’s pace to west Ames, I decided I needed to ask Cooke a question.
Me: Do you mind if I let Dan know you’re here? I can tell him you’ll be at Cy’s later.
I send that message, then add:
Me: And can I invite my roommates? And Tayler?
Cooke: Of course, Q. (I’m using your friend’s moniker.) I’d love to meet the rest of your mates.
I quickly shoot messages to Dan and the girls. I hope they’re up for going out on a Wednesday. Patsy quickly responds.
Patsy: Way ahead of you. LOL. I told the girls he was in town. Sounds like totes fun.
Totes fun? She makes me laugh. People on the bus are staring at me now. They probably think I’m a crazy person for laughing out loud. Oh well. Not going to worry about that now. No, I need to worry about what I’m wearing to work tonight. You know, real-world problems.
Dan: Holy shit. Seriously? Fuck. Bull is going to shit himself. We have practice, but we’ll cancel it. See you at Cy’s.
Me: Yep. C U
Chapter Twenty-Five