Marty tried to converse in the car, but I wasn’t in the mood. She asked questions about the city and the country, and the taxi driver volunteered after the awkward silence forced someone to engage. I sat in the front, pressed against the door, willing myself to open it, jump out, and escape this nightmare.
“Here ya are.” I paid the cab driver and exited the car, stomping toward my apartment. Marty and Scott fumbled with their luggage and hurried behind me, running to catch up.
We filed into my quiet apartment, and I pointed to the couches. “That’s where you’ll be staying.” In the corner sat a deflated air mattress and a pile of blankets and sheets. “My roommates are out, but should be home in a few hours.” I couldn’t believe I skipped class for this.
Marty dropped her things. “This looks great, Rory!”
I smirked at her overly enthusiastic compliment. “Let me show you around.” We walked through the tiny apartment, and I showed them the kitchen and the bathroom. “I know you’re tired, so I’m going to leave you. Maybe we can figure out what we’re doing tonight in a few hours. Shower if you need one. The towels are in the closet. I have some schoolwork to do, so make yourself comfortable.” I closed my bedroom door and flopped on my bed.
I wasn’t tired, but needed to get away from them. Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday, and I refused to let one ex-boyfriend dampen my mood.
I pulled out a notebook and pen, doodling as I thought. When life gets too complicated, I do what I always do. I make lists. How do I handle this? I had Jaime to consider, Thanksgiving weekend to host, and a variety of relationships and personalities to manage. My emotional strength had stabilized with Jaime, but it now teetered precariously with Scott’s arrival. I jotted down a few avenues: ignore him, talk to him, talk to Marty. The only option that seemed halfway decent was to ignore him and deal with it when I got back to America, but I wasn’t in America, and I didn’t want to be that person anymore.
I sneaked out of my room around three-thirty and peeked into the living room. They both napped soundly on the tiny, uncomfortable couches, and I crept back into my room, feeling trapped like a lion in a cage unable to explore my homeland. I wanted to be out there prepping Thanksgiving dinner, or at least getting myself organized, but I needed to minimize the amount of time spent with them.
I pulled out Jaime’s notepad and drew him a picture. A small hill with one tree, a leprechaun, and a princess decorated the page. I drew a heart in the tree trunk and wrote R. + J. 4-EVA within it. I didn’t know if he’d ever see it, but I needed to lean into something, and right now, his support calmed me.
I heard the front door squeak open, and the familiar stomping of boots traveling across the floor echo throughout the apartment.
“Hi,” I heard. “I’m Marty, and this is Scott.”
I put my ear against the door, sure it was Jaime with the heavy footsteps, but hoped Marissa and Zoey had brought home a random friend with a similar gait.
“Jaime. I live here.”
The door to our bedroom swung open and pressed me against the wall. “Ugh,” I groaned, feeling the door slam against my nose.
He stepped into our room, and I pushed the door closed. “Ow.” My fingers turned red as I rubbed my nose, and my heart dropped to my feet. “I’m bleeding. I’m bleeding. I’m bleeding.” I sounded like a broken record but my brain wasn’t processing the impact of his arrival. I raced into our bathroom and spun the toilet paper roll until a yard of paper bunched into a messy ball. Gripping the toilet seat, I tipped my head back, and squeezed the bridge of my nose, breathing through my mouth.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be behind the door.” He didn’t smile, and watched me struggle with the bloody mess. “I met your friends.”
I dropped my head to look into his golden eyes. “Yeah, about that, Jaime. I didn’t know. I had no idea he was coming.” I shook my head in disgust and looked at the ceiling to slow the bleeding.
“It’s grand. But if anything happens that makes you feel uncomfortable, you tell me, and I’ll take care of it.”
My heart swelled and grew three sizes. I smiled behind the ball of toilet paper, but he didn’t return the expression. “Thanks, Jaime.”
“He doesn’t know about us, right?”
I shook my head. “No, neither of them.”
“Perfect. Let’s keep it that way.”
Jaime turned and exited the bathroom, and my stomach dropped. I heard his shoes stomp into the living room. “Hi, I’m Jaime. Scott, aren’t you the guy who’s ignored Rory since she got here?”
My heart fell to my stomach, and my eyes widened. Heat rose within me and my neck and shoulders tensed. I wanted to disappear, but I had to go out there. I forced my body to stand and tiptoed to the door before gaining enough courage to smooth the altercation. Peeking around the corner of the door, I watched Jaime hover over Scott and Marty.
“I didn’t mean to ignore her. College is busy, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” Jaime agreed. “But what you don’t know is that disrespect is something I won’t tolerate under my roof.”
Scott stood up, puffing his chest. “Your roof?”
“Yeah, my roof, my house, my country. If you show her or any of us disrespect, you’ll have to find yourself another place to sleep.”
I stood behind the door and threw my fisted arm up, pumping the air. You go, Jaime!
Scott placed his hands in front of him to show surrender. “No disrespect, man. I’m here to have fun and see an old friend. That’s all.”
