Chapter 4
I'd bounced around from relative to relative my whole life, crashing on couches, sleeping on the floor, even setting up a fold-out bed on the balcony.
Everywhere I stayed, there was always this invisible sign hanging over the door: [No Outsiders Allowed.]
The Langleys gave me a room, but everyone in the family had the key to that room.
But Jason said, "Stay as long as you want."
No strings attached, no "you owe me," no "you have to behave".
Of course, I knew he wasn't handing it over for nothing.
He gave me this place partly because he's got more money than he knows what to do with, and partly because I used to be Terry's girlfriend.
Keeping me living here was a silent middle finger to Terry, and a constant thorn in the Langleys' side.
I wanted a home, and he wanted to drive the Langleys crazy.
In the living room, Jason and I were deep into a ranked match, right at the make-or-break moment.
On the screen, the team fight was in full swing. Jason's Jinx had racked up a quadra kill. One more, and he'd clean up with a penta.
Jason's phone buzzed.
He frowned, not bothering to answer.
The call dropped, then started up again.
Jason hit decline.
His phone buzzed again.
"Damn it," he muttered, took a deep breath, and picked up his phone from the coffee table to check the screen.
He paused for a second.
"Terry?" he said.
I couldn't catch what he was saying, but I saw Jason's frown get deeper.
"Now?" he said. "Alright, I'm on the 31st floor. Come on up."
He hung up and turned to me, his expression a bit complicated.
Jason set his phone down. "Terry says he wants to bring something over. He'll be up in a minute."
I froze for a second. "Wait... now?"
"Now," he said.
My heart skipped a beat.
Soon, the doorbell rang.
Jason pressed his fingers to his brow and then got up to answer the door.
I sat frozen on the couch, fingers still on the mouse. The League of Legends screen was already gray. The defeat screen was up, all because neither of us moved during the team fight.
The sound of the door opening came from the entryway.
"Sorry to bother you," Terry said, his voice flat as he stepped inside.
I heard Jason blocking the doorway, with a smile that never touched his eyes. "What's so important you had to bring it over right now?"
Terry didn't answer. His footsteps walked past the entryway and straight into the living room.
Terry stopped in his tracks.
"Sophie, you forgot your condoms," Terry said.
I slowly turned my head.
Terry stood in the middle of the living room, wearing a white shirt, black pants, cuffs rolled up, like at the convenience store. He held that little box and gave it a casual shake in my direction, his face totally unreadable.
I figured he'd have tossed the condoms by now, or maybe kept them for himself. After all, I only shoved them at him to get under his skin.
But here he was, showing up in the middle of the night to return them to me and doing it right in front of Jason?
Terry set the box of condoms down on the entryway console, handling it gently, like it might break if he wasn't careful.
"Back where it belongs," he said, his voice flat.
The air in the living room felt like it had been sucked out.
After setting down the box, Terry didn't look like he was about to leave. He stepped further inside, his eyes scanning the women's slippers by the door, the two computer mice lined up on the coffee table, and finally the men's hoodie draped over the couch armrest.
His gaze paused on the hoodie for a second.
Then he glanced at me and asked offhandedly, "You live here?"
I kept quiet, but Jason spoke up first, "I transferred the place over to Sophie. Now she's got the place to herself."
"Herself?" Terry repeated, his gaze drifting to the two gaming mice on the coffee table. "Playing games together, huh? That's pretty lively."