Vanessa looked like a disruption given human form.
I forced myself to inhale, slow, through my nose.
“Why are you really here?” I asked. “What happened?”
Vanessa’s expression shifted instantly, like a switch flipped. Her eyes widened. Her mouth softened. She let out a sigh that sounded rehearsed.
“Fine,” she said. “If you need the whole sob story, I got evicted.”
I blinked. “Evicted?”
“Mm-hmm,” she said, nodding like it was an annoying inconvenience. “My landlord is a complete jerk. I was only late twice and suddenly he’s all, pay or get out. Like he’s never been late on anything in his life. So unfair.”
The words landed in my chest like something heavy. Evicted. Late twice. Only. Her tone made it sound like she’d been wronged by the universe.
“And you didn’t think,” I said carefully, “to tell me this before you showed up with suitcases?”
Vanessa waved a hand. “I stayed with a friend last night. She has roommates. They’re weird. They didn’t want me there. So I came here.”
“You came here without asking.”
She shrugged again, like the concept of asking was optional. “I didn’t want to bother you until I had to.”
Leave a Comment