Nick’s fist goes tight, then relaxes. He nods.
Marcus looks like he wants to talk football, but he’s interrupted when Paige hangs up the call with a huff. “Mr. Owens says that it’s too dangerous to stay here, that he wants us out by five p.m. He says the force majeure clause in our rental contract basically means that if there’s an act of God, like that microburst that took out the tree and dropped it in Abby’s bedroom, then he’s not required to uphold our agreement.”
Marcus flips through another channel. “What’s a microburst?”
“I Googled it this morning. It’s like a tornado, but I don’t think there’s a funnel. It’s this shifting hot and cold air that’s super unstable. It’s what damaged our neighborhood last night.”
I frown. “That’s what uprooted a tree?”
She shakes her head. “Mr. Owens had his friend, some tree guy, come over this morning to check it out, and apparently there’s black mold at the roots because no one ever rakes the leaves and crap in the yard, and I guess that hurt the live oak and made it susceptible to the high winds.”
“Were we supposed to rake? I feel bad if it was our fault.” The trees in this neighborhood are so beautiful, and to think we’re responsible for one falling breaks my heart.
Nick folds his arms. “You’ve only been here since this summer. I’m guessing that problem started a while back.”
“Y’all, what are we going to do?” Paige groans. “October is a terrible time to look for an apartment. Everything fills up at the first of the year, before summer school, or in August.”
Marcus stands and wraps his arms around her. “I already told you to crash at my place.”
She wiggles out of his hold. “But what about Abby? We’re a package deal. Can she maybe sleep on your couch?”
Although Marcus keeps his expression blank, something tells me he’s not jazzed about this idea. “My cousin sometimes stays at my place, so I don’t think I can swing that.”
I give my roommate a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay, Paige. Take what you can get. Maybe I can grab a motel for a few days until I figure out something. Perhaps student housing has some options. I really just need an apartment for, like, ten weeks.”
“What happens in ten weeks?” she asks.
“I’m going to London. I meant to tell you yesterday when you were doing my makeover. I just bought the ticket.” The excitement I’d had when I pulled the trigger has waned in the aftermath of so much craziness. It also means I don’t have a ton of cash saved up for another apartment. “I wasn’t sure I could go through with it since I’ll be traveling by myself, but I’ll take baby steps. This month, I’ll get the plane ticket. Next month, I’ll book the hostels.”
“Hostels? You’ve got to be kidding.” Nick frowns. “Aren’t those dangerous? You’re basically sleeping in a room full of strangers.”
That is a bit terrifying, but I’ve spent the last few years being told what I can and can’t do. I won’t go down that path again. “I’m sure I can find places that aren’t quite so… unstructured.”
He scrubs his face. “Okay, that’s probably a discussion for another day. Let’s focus on where you’re going to live for the next two and a half months.”
Hazel grabs my arm. “Come live with me and Daddy.”
Chuckling, I squeeze her in a gentle hug. “You’re so sweet, and I love you to pieces, but you probably don’t have the space.” Plus, I’d be lusting over your father the whole time. That can’t be healthy.
“Nick can make the space,” Paige teases, and I shoot her a look. She winks at me. “Just think about it, Nick. Your babysitter will only be five feet away.”
Hot embarrassment shoots through me. “Paige, the man needs his space.”
Finally, I gather the courage to look at him, and he shrugs. “It isn’t the worst idea.”
So I can watch him date other women? What if he brings them home at night? What if I can hear them hooking up? The thought makes me nauseated.
I shake my head. “It’s asking too much. I’m going to grab a room at that motel over by the east side of campus, at least for a few days. It’ll give me time to find something else.”
With a groan, I pull myself to a stand and motion behind me. “Going to pack a few things.” I can get my bedroom door open since the tree guy removed the oak from the side of the house. It’s stacked like firewood next to the fence now.
But when I get to my room, the destruction is so intense, I want to cry. There’s sawdust and debris everywhere. My bedding is destroyed, shredded, and the gaping hole in the house is covered with a tarp. Scrabble letters litter the floor.
That tree could’ve killed me.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I’m alive. I’m in one piece.
Nodding, I try to take comfort that I have my health. If I’d been asleep in bed, I could’ve been impaled or maimed for life.
