If Love was Fair

by Savannah Stewart

  I’d officially succumbed to the exhaustion that’d been beating down on my body.

  Long drives had never been my cup of tea. So trying to drive as long as possible without stopping to stretch my legs or use the restroom didn’t go over as well as I’d hoped it would. Which had a lot to do with my bladder being the size of a pea.

  The six-story brick building wasn’t anything spectacular—actually, the photos I’d viewed online looked better than seeing it in real life. A heavy sigh escaped me at the thought of what the inside looked like. After I’d pitched a dart at a Dollar Store map, I began looking for job openings and somewhere to crash until I could get on my feet. I’d ran across a girl looking for a roommate on a local trade anything site and thought it was a Godsend. Not to mention how she’d praised how nice the area was. I knew it had to be my golden ticket out of Jonesborough. But sitting in my Edge face-to-face with the bland-looking pile of bricks, my gut was twisted into knots hoping I hadn’t made a huge mistake.

  “There’s no time like the present time,” I mumbled, pushing myself to exit the vehicle.

  I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I’d taken the first step in leaving my hometown in the rearview; I had no choice but to take the second step of getting the hell out of my vehicle and going inside. I let the breath I’d been holding out slowly and walked to the entrance of the building while fidgeting with the strap on my purse. My eyebrows furrowed as I took in the large navy blue door with nothing but a keypad and a buzzer beside it.

  How the hell do you open the thing?

  Never in my life had I seen a door without a knob. This was a first. Instead of pushing the buzzer that I had no clue would do what, I stood there hoping and praying someone would come out or either show up to go in. But luck was not on my side. After ten long ass minutes, I slipped my cell from my purse and quickly typed out an email to my new roomie, who I hadn’t bothered getting her phone number from, high five to me, asking how in the hell one would get into the building without a code.

  Who knew how long it would take her to get my message, so my only option was to wait it out. My stomach growled as I headed back to my car. Realization that the only thing I had eaten was a bag of Doritos and a couple beef sticks slapped me in the gut as my stomach roared even louder than the first growl.

  “Whoa, there, belly. I promise I’ll feed you.” I tried to calm my howling gut as I slipped into the driver’s seat and hit the ignition button.

  Since I wasn’t familiar with Indianapolis, I scrolled through my GPS to find the closest places to eat. Thankfully a couple fast food joints and a diner popped up on the list. I tapped The Wallflower. The name alone was enough to pull at my curiosity, and from the looks of things I had plenty of time to waste before I’d get to see my humble abode.

  A short drive in the opposite direction that I’d come and I was making my way up the sidewalk to The Wallflower. The place had a very unique feel to it, the outside painted bright yellow, pink, and blue with the name scribbled in an almost messy, but kind of neat, black cursive. If I had to categorize the style of The Wallflower it would be a heaping contradiction.

  A bell above the door dinged as I entered. The place buzzed with chatter and the aroma of delicious food wafted through the air. For a split second I closed my eyes and inhaled

  “Welcome to The Wallflower!” A young girl’s voice interrupted my moment.

  I quickly opened my eyes and smiled. “Hello.”

  “How many?”

  “Just me.” My eyes dropped to her name tag that read Casey in black chunky letters.

  “Well, we’re happy to have you.”

  “Thanks. I’m new to the area and thought I’d try this place out.”

  Casey stopped at a two-person table up against the large glass windows. I took a seat as she placed the menu before me.

  “Pretty much everything on the menu is delicious, and I’m not just saying that because I work here.” Her bubbly laugh made me smile as she leaned a little closer. “I haven’t gained ten pounds in three months for no reason.” She winked.

  “Well that doesn’t help me decide on what to eat.” I laughed along with her.

  “You can never go wrong with a bacon cheeseburger.”

  “Unless you’re a vegetarian or vegan.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “Please tell me you’re not either.”

  This time my laugh had her smiling. “I like bacon a little too much to be either.”

  Her bright blue eyes focused on mine before she tossed her head back and bellowed with laughter. “Amen to that!”

  “I think you’ve sold me on the bacon cheeseburger with fries and a Coke.” I extended the menu back to her.

  “Well that was easy.”

  “All you had to do was say bacon.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind for future customers.”

  I sat back against the cushioned seat and watched the outside world. Everyone was moving in a fast pace, much faster than anything in Jonesborough. My palms began to sweat and my heart raced at the thought of being able to keep up with a city life. Being a small town girl was all I knew, so the thought of something new wasn’t just intriguing…it was frightening.

  “Your food should be out in just a few minutes.” The Coke glass clinked against the table as she sat it down.

  “Thank you, Casey.”

  “No problem.”

  One positive thing about Indianapolis so far was the people I had met, which weren’t many, all seemed to be friendly.

  I took a long pull from the straw and retrieved my phone from my pocket. A tiny envelope rested at the top left of the screen to let me know a new email awaited me. I sent up a silent prayer that it was my roommate before I pressed the screen to open it.

  “Thank God…” I mumbled as I tapped the screen to view its contents.

  Crapola! I didn’t even think about the entrance door, or the fact that we didn’t have each other’s phone numbers. I’m here, when you get done eating come back and shoot me a text so I can come down and let you in.

  I quickly typed out a text instead of an email reply letting her know that it would be a little bit before I returned. She replied with a slew of emoji’s that left me wondering just what in the hell she meant.

  This chick was going to be one interesting person to share a place with.

  “You must be Arbor!” A long-legged dirty-blonde toothpick came running down the steps of the building toward the parking spot I’d parked in.

  “Ugh…yeah.” I extended my hand but she bypassed that and went right in for a rib crushing hug.

  Jesus, she’s stronger than she looks.

  “So nice to finally meet you.” She let go and held me at arm’s length to take in my appearance.

  “How’d you know it was me?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “I found you on Facebook.” She grinned from ear-to-ear like she’d done something super important. “By the way, you should have a pending friend request.”

  “Oh, okay.” I didn’t know what to say back to that as I took a step back, putting a bit of space between us.

  Her happiness faltered for a brief second. “I’m so sorry!” she shrieked.

  “For what?” I glanced around to see if anyone was watching the odd scenario unfold.

  “I didn’t even introduce myself…” She huffed, her bright blue eyes dimming for a split second. “I’m Emily Colt. I totally suck at giving information that’s needed, when it’s needed. Like my phone number to you…”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her open silliness. Never in my life had I met a girl who stepped over all the normal boundaries between strangers and so easily admitted her faults like Emily. She was definitely one of a kind.

  Tears filled my eyes as I continued to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  I took a deep breath, trying to slow my laughter. “We’re going to be good friends.” I hooked my purse on my shoulder and headed toward the building.

  “Hell
yeah, we’re going to be!” Emily called out as her shoes slapped the concrete behind me. “That is as long as you don’t mind me cranking music at two a.m. and eating out of the peanut butter jar with my finger.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks and she bumped into me.

  Cocking my head to the side, a smile formed on my lips. “Seriously?”

  “I’m just fucking with you.” She cackled as she rushed past me and typed in the key code for the door.

  A couple clicks sounded and the door popped up just slightly like a vault door.

  “What the hell kind of door is that?”

  “Some kind of high class security shit,” Emily replied with a twist of her hand in the air. “Each person that lives here has their own code so the owners know who is going in and out of the building at all times. They say it’s for safety but I’m calling bullshit on that one. The wife is a nosey mo-fo who likes to meddle in people’s business.”

  “Well, she sounds lovely…” I eyed the door as we passed the threshold.

  “Don’t worry. She won’t meddle unless you have a hot as sin guy coming over. She’s on the prowl like a cougar at night.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  Emily stopped at the base of the staircase, quickly scanned the room, and turned to face me. “I shit you not. I picked up this guy from a bar one night, totally not my usual style, and the next morning when I was leaving bright and early for work, I found them bumping uglies in the laundry room downstairs!” she whisper-yelled.

  I gasped. “No way.”

  “Yes way.” She placed her hands on her hips. “She’s a dirty hoe bag and her husband doesn’t seem to mind. So keep your men close if you bring them here.” She nodded her head and took off up the stairs.

  Well, she won’t have to worry about my men because the only one on my mind lives hundreds of miles away and I don’t have his number.

  Emily continued to ramble on about the people in the building as we made our way to the fourth floor. Apparently the girl was so damn skinny because she didn’t know that the elevator would get you there quicker than the damn stairs would. She informed me of the creeper dude in room 3A that likes to crack his door open when you walk by, but only if you’re a woman. When he did just as she said, she yelled out that he was a perv and told me she wasn’t lying. I thought there was a possibility she was exaggerating, but she wasn’t.

  “Here we are.” She waved her hand at the navy blue door that read 4B like Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune. “Mi casa es su casa.” She dangled a single silver key from a keychain that had a giant fake diamond on the end in the air.

  I extended my hand and she dropped it into my palm. “This mine?”

  “Of course!” She bounced on her toes. “Now make sure it works. I’d hate for you to get stuck in the hallway listening to the couple two doors down romping in their sheets late at night.”

  “Geeezzz…” I sighed. “I thought you said this area was a nice place to live.”

  “Oh,” she chuckled. “It totally is.”

  I slipped the key into the door, which surprisingly was a normal knob and lock, nothing like the building’s entrance door, and gave it a turn. It unlocked as easy as could be. I took a step back to let Emily enter first, because it’s technically her place. She stepped just inside and flipped a switch to turn the lights on in the small entryway.

  I followed her in and stood in awe. The place was nothing like I’d imagined from the outside. Tile covered the entryway that led directly into a medium-sized kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a breakfast bar, and a small two-person table directly by the only full size window in the kitchen. A faint mint green covered the walls with silver and gray accents around the room. Emily was damn good at keeping the place spotless, too.

  “So, what do you think?” She bit her thumb nail.

  “It’s gorgeous!”

  “Really?” She bounced on the balls of her feet. “I just painted in here last week, and was a bit nervous about the color. I loved it once it was on the walls, but didn’t know if anyone else would.” She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I’m so glad you like it.” She sighed.

  “I didn’t do a whole lot to my last place. It’s nice to have color and décor.”

  “I love doing it! Thought about making a career out of it.”

  “You definitely could.”

  “I appreciate that.” She smiled. “How about I show you the rest of your new home?”

  I followed her through an open doorway into the living room. An elephant gray covered the walls with a mixture of gold and black décor. A plush black couch and loveseat took up the center of the room with a flat-screen on the opposite wall. The room looked like something you’d see in a home magazine, not in real life. It was beautifully put together.

  “That’s it; whenever I do buy a home, you’re totally decorating it for me.”

  Emily’s eyebrows dipped in the center. “You mean we won’t be roomies forever?” Her bottom lip pouted out.

  A pang of guilt hit me in the chest for already talking about having my own house when I was literally just moving in. But I had dreams that would hopefully grow at a fast pace.

  “We’ll be roommates for a long time, I’m sure.”

  She walked past me and bumped my shoulder. “I’m just messing with you.” She giggled. “You’ll get used to my shit.”

  “You should be an actress…I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

  “You know, maybe I should pick up acting because I hear that a lot.” She shrugged her shoulders and turned down the hallway. “The bedrooms are this way.”

  I followed Emily as she walked to the end of the hall and stopped. Two doors, one on each side, were closed, and we’d only passed another.

  “Yours is on the right and mine is directly across. We each have a private bathroom while the door we passed on the left toward the front of the hall is the one for visitors.” She paused and waggled her eyebrows. “Unless you have the kind of visitors that need to use your private bathroom instead.” She winked.

  I erupted with laughter and shook my head. “There won’t be any of that for me.”

  “Are you a virgin?”

  I scoffed, not expecting that line of questioning. “No…”

  “A lesbian?” she fired off again.

  Definitely no filter

  “I totally dig the penis,” I quickly countered.

  “I was going to say…I’m fine with you bringing girls over, I’ve been known to make out with a few while under the influence of vodka,” she stated nonchalantly.

  “Even though I’ve just met you, that doesn’t seem to surprise me.”

  Emily snickered. “Although it has been a really long time, I cut vodka out of my life because I tend to be a different person on it.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Well, the door's unlocked and the key’s on the dresser. If you need help bringing your things in, let me know. I’ll let you get acquainted with your new bedroom.”

  I waited a brief moment before entering my room.

  The light was off but the natural lighting that was peeking through the curtains was enough to be able to see the walls were painted a blue/gray, which I liked.

  I flipped the switch just inside the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed. It felt comfortable enough. A genuine smile spread across my face. My life was actually changing, and I couldn’t wait to see what it had in store for me next.

  Five

  Three Years Later

  “Stacey, I really need the proofs from last week’s fashion shoot within the hour. The article is due tomorrow afternoon, I shouldn’t still be waiting on those,” I huffed into the phone.

  “I’m sorry, Arbor! I’ll have them to you in just a few minutes,” she stuttered.

  “I hope so.” I ended the call.

  It took a lot to aggravate me, but Stacey dragging her feet getting me the proofs I needed for my article was pushing me over the limit. My min
d had been fuzzy for the past week. I couldn’t grasp why, but after running out of the house with two completely opposite shoes on this morning, I blamed it on cutting back my caffeine intake.

  Leaving Jonesborough in the dust and moving in with Emily had been an easier transition than I’d imagined. Not to mention we’d somehow landed jobs at the same PR company about a year after I’d moved in.

  Level PR had been up and coming when we jumped on board. A couple years later and we’re pushing to be the best public relations company in the state of Indiana. Emily had not only been a saving grace when it came to a place to live, but had also got me the job at Level.

  I’d spent almost a year trying to pin down a good paying job, while working my ass off as a waitress making close to nothing and relying on tips. One night she called me during my break on nightshift and told me her boss, Dan, wanted me to come in for an interview. That the company was taking off faster than expected, and he needed to hire someone to work side-by-side with Emily. She pitched my name as soon as the words left his mouth, and the rest just kind of fell into place.

  Without Emily’s life intertwining with my own, I couldn’t say that I would’ve survived how my life had unfolded thus far. She’d been my lifeline when I was ready to throw in the towel from the heartache life had thrown at me, but she’d shown me that picking up the pieces was worth it. So I did just that.

  Sitting in my fourth-floor office staring out the large windows wouldn’t have been an option without her. I owed that girl my life.

  “Hey, bitch, did you fall asleep with your eyes open again?” A wad of paper bounced off the side of my head and landed in my lap.

  I spun toward the door, knowing what I’d find without looking. “No, I didn’t fall asleep with my eyes open…that was a one-time thing, get over it!” I chucked the paper wad back at her but missed. “I was admiring the view.”

  “You and that damn view.” She rolled her eyes.

  “What?” I slouched back in my chair.

  “It’s not that great of a view.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “And that’s your opinion.”