by Taryn Plendl
My family was still back in Colorado, where I had grown up. I had gone to Penn State, mostly because I had it in my mind that it would be cool, and I needed to get away from my parents, who were dead set on sheltering me for the rest of my life. I had spent one semester at Penn State before transferring to the Community College of Philadelphia. I just wasn’t cut out for a big school. I had gotten my degree in business and was hired with the advertising agency after an internship. I actually enjoyed my job very much, and I loved Philly.
***
At some point I must have finally dozed off on my small floor mat in the sterile, cold gymnasium. I had a much greater respect for those who had been displaced in disasters and had to stay in shelters night after night.
Before I settled in last night, I called and left a message at work, letting them know I wouldn’t be in due to a personal emergency. I would call Ava later and fill her in. I hated to leave a message with details on the Human Resources line. I didn’t want anyone to panic. My phone had been on the verge of dying, so I left it plugged in to charge in the car before heading into the school.
I folded up my blanket and headed for the restroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, thankful that I always carried an extra toothbrush in my purse. I groaned when I saw my reflection. I had dark circles under my eyes and my hair was all over the place. Nice Chelsea, try not to scare any small children.
As I exited the bathroom, there was a small table with bottles of water and juice, as well as bagels and doughnuts. I grabbed a bottle of water and a cinnamon bagel and sat down. It was ridiculous that I lived in the same building with all of these people, but I had only actually met a handful of them. I watched as families huddled together, and my heart broke for those with little children, who were scared and didn’t understand why they couldn’t go home.
At least I only had myself to worry about. I watched a woman struggle to get her two toddlers to settle down with a bagel while she tried to change her baby’s diaper. The two little boys kept trying to run off, and I could tell she was struggling. I couldn’t just sit here and feel sorry for myself, so I walked over and sat next to the woman. “Hi, my name is Chelsea, apartment three-nineteen. Would you like me to read a story to the little ones while you tend to the baby?” She looked so relieved.
“Thank you! I am Alicia and this is Eric and Mason, and this is Abby,” she said and pointed at the baby. “My husband is in New York on business until tonight, and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, so if you are serious about reading the boys a story, I would be so grateful.” She smiled.
“I would love to.” I grabbed the book that was sitting by her and showed it to the boys as they settled in next to me.
After reading the same book three times, the boys were sprawled out on the mats, sound asleep. “I can’t thank you enough, Chelsea,” Alicia whispered so she didn’t wake them. I squeezed her hand as I stood up. “My pleasure.”
I was just about to the doors when I felt a hand grab my arm. “What in the hell is wrong with you, Chelsea?” My heart almost jumped out of my chest as I turned and looked up into the eyes of a very pissed off Nick.
Chapter 10
Nick
I had shown up at the river trail at five this morning for our run and waited for Chelsea for an hour before I started to look for her. I must have left a dozen messages on her phone and probably just as many text messages. When I couldn’t get a hold of her, I called Trevor. He informed me that she had called out due to an emergency, but they hadn’t heard from her directly.
I was only slightly worried until I drove to her place and realized that there had been a major fire the night before and the building had been evacuated. At that point, I just about lost it. It took me twenty minutes to locate someone who knew that a temporary shelter had been set up at one of the schools for the residents. By the time I pulled up and spotted her car, I was shaking with both relief and anger.
“Excuse me?” She pulled her arm out of my grasp. “What exactly is your problem, Nick, and what are you doing here?” I pulled her outside before I completely lost it in front of everyone.
“What am I doing here? For fuck’s sake, Chelsea, what are you doing here?” I clenched my fists.
“First, I really don’t appreciate your attitude, Nick.” She put her hands on her hips and continued, “Second, I’m here because there was a fire in my building, and I couldn’t get into my apartment.”
I ran my hands over my face, trying to calm myself. “Listen, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound angry,” I said through clenched teeth, “but I have been going fucking crazy this morning trying to find you. Where is your phone, and why in the hell didn’t you call me? You could have stayed with me last night.”
“I’m sorry you were worried, Nick. My phone died last night, so I left it on the charger in the car.” She shrugged.
“That explains why you didn’t answer my calls or texts, but why would you stay here in the first place? Why didn’t you stay with me?” The thought of her staying in a room full of strangers, on a hard mat, completely crushed me. I thought we had begun to develop a trust between each other. I had hoped that she would feel like she could come to me if she needed something.
“You had company,” she quipped.
“What? How did you know that?”
“I did come to your apartment, Nick,” she murmured as she looked over my shoulder.
“What do you mean? When?” I asked.
“I came by last night after I left my building. I was going to ask if I could crash on your couch, but I saw your … uh … friend go in your apartment, so I came here instead.” She shrugged.
“Fuck.” I couldn’t believe I managed to screw things up with her again by hooking up with some random chick. When I had gotten up to my apartment last night after Chelsea dropped me off, one of my past hook-ups called. I was so wound up with my feelings for Chelsea that I wanted to just try to forget it all for a while. Once again I let my dick get me into a hole, no pun intended.
I sighed. “Chelsea, there is nothing I wouldn’t drop for you. I wish you would have called or even knocked on my door.” I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms.
“I didn’t want to be a cock-blocker,” she mumbled against my chest.
“Did you seriously just say that?” I chuckled. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, but I can tell you right now, with certainty, you are not staying here for another minute.” I walked her to her car, and told her to follow me home.
I called Trevor as soon as I started my car. “Hey, I found her. Her building caught on fire last night.”
“Shit, is she okay?” I could hear the concern in his voice.
“Yes, but I fucked up again,” I groaned.
“What do you mean?” I heard him ask before relaying the information to Ava.
“Apparently she came by to see if she could stay with me and saw another girl go into my apartment. She stayed in a fucking shelter at the school, Trevor!” I hit the steering wheel. I was so pissed at myself.
“Shit, Nick, why didn’t she call us?”
“Christ, I don’t know, but I’m feeling like shit.” I shook my head and glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure she was behind me. “Trevor, she is my friend. She has become so damn important to me, and I keep messing up with her.” Why couldn’t I just figure this out? It shouldn’t be this hard to be a friend to Chelsea, right? I was fooling myself if I thought that it was only about friendship. Each time I saw her, I felt myself falling a bit over the platonic line. I messed up with her twice now—the first time at the wedding, and now when she needed me most. Pretty soon she was going to realize what a screw-up I was and move on. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Nick, just take care of her today,” Trevor insisted.
“I plan to. I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up as I pulled into my parking spot, motioning for her to take the visitor one next to me.
“Are you hungry?” I asked as I held the d
oor for her.
“Not really, just tired.”
“Well, you can take a shower and then get some rest.” I pushed the button on the elevator.
“Aren’t you going to work?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“No.” I was still trying to control my emotions.
“No?”
“I called in when I couldn’t find you. I’m taking the day off.” I grabbed her hand as we exited the elevator and didn’t let go until I opened my door.
“Oh, Nick, what a beautiful home! I thought it would be after I saw how nice the hall was last night.” My heart swelled, as I watched her turn around and take everything in, but at the same time, it crushed me knowing she had been right outside my door last night when I was doing the same shit I always did.
“Come on, let’s get you settled.” I led her into my room, where she paused as she looked at my un-made bed. I couldn’t be sure, but her face looked almost hurt.
I grabbed a fresh towel, in addition to a t-shirt and boxers for her to put on after. “Here, you can use these. Set your clothes outside the door, and I will put them in the wash.” She nodded and closed the door.
I grabbed the sheets off my bed and took them to the washing machine. I was half tempted to just burn them, knowing that while I was having a good time last night, Chelsea needed me and was alone. After I had put them in to wash, I went back and collected her clothes and tossed them in, too.
I heard the bathroom door open moments later as I was tucking in the new sheets. “Better?” I asked. She looked beautiful, and I had to hold myself back from pulling her into my arms again. My shirt was so big on her that it draped to her mid-thighs, looking like she had nothing underneath. Her legs were damn near perfect.
“Come climb in.” I pulled the covers back.
“In your bed?”
“I don’t have another one in the second bedroom,” I explained. “I changed the sheets for you.”
“I could sleep on the couch.” She moved toward the door.
“Forget it, Chelsea. Get in.” She looked back at me and raised her eyebrows. She was so stubborn that I was sure she would argue with me, but instead, her shoulders slumped, and she walked over to my bed.
I pulled the covers up, tucking her in, before leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead. “Get some rest. You’re safe now.” I closed the door behind me and pressed my head against the cold wall. I needed to get my shit together.
Chapter 11
Chelsea
What was that sound? I sat up and took in my surroundings, slowly remembering the last eighteen hours. Wow, I had slept like the dead. It was almost two in the afternoon, and I was hungry.
I could smell something cooking, and judging by the racket coming from the kitchen, I had to assume it was Nick taking on the task.
I dragged myself out of bed, making a pit stop in the bathroom, before I headed for the kitchen. I had to literally bite my lip to keep from laughing when I rounded the corner. Nick was working tediously over an electric griddle, making what I imagined was supposed to be grilled cheese sandwiches.
“Need some help?”
“What? Ow, shit!” He winced when hot cheese dribbled onto his hand.
I pulled a paper towel off and put a piece of ice in it. “Here, go sit down and nurse your wounds.” I picked up the spatula and shooed him.
“I can cook you know,” Nick pouted as he sat down on the bar stool.
“I don’t doubt that, Nick. I’m sure your skills in the kitchen are phenomenal,” I teased.
“There’s that sarcasm again,” he mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing, just hurry with those sandwiches, I’m hungrier than an infant at a topless bar,” he whined.
“I need to find out when I can get back into my apartment.” I sat down with our sandwiches.
“I called while you were asleep,” Nick spoke around a bite of cheese. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“You did?” It surprised me how he seemed to be the one stable thing in my life right now. He had the uncanny ability of making me feel better when I was sad or angry.
“I did; don’t sound so surprised. Hey, if you want to sit a bit closer, I bet some of my awesomeness just might rub off on you.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
“Ha! I’m afraid if I sit too close, something else might rub off on me. You forget that I saw your late night caller.” I pretended to shudder.
“Funny. Anyway, the inspector wasn’t done, and they said it could be five days to a week before you could get in for your belongings.”
“Damn. I guess I need to go shopping. I don’t have anything but the clothes on my back.”
“Technically that isn’t true; you’re still wearing my boxers.” He motioned toward my lower half. “I washed your clothes, and they’re in my bedroom. I’ll clean up if you want to go change.”
“Thanks, Nick, I really appreciate you letting me come here.” I walked back into his bedroom and changed, thinking about how wonderful it was of him to wash my clothes for me. If I had to wear them for one more day, I would have seriously started to gross myself out.
Fortunately, I had my makeup in my purse, so I wouldn’t need to purchase any of that, but I would need some clothes. In addition to some jeans and a running outfit, I would need a couple outfits for work. I guess it had been a while since I’d bought myself new clothes, so now was as good a time as any.
I searched on my phone for the number to some of the local hotels. I figured I would work my way down the line, and hope that one of them had a room for the week.
“Hello, it’s a great day at the Courtyard, how can I help you?” Wow, someone was cheery.
“Hello, I wanted to check on your room availability for a week, beginning today.” I held my breath.
“I’m sorry, but we are completely booked up for the next five days. I could get you a room for Sunday night, would that work?”
“No, thank you; I really needed the whole week.” I hung up and dialed the next hotel, but soon found that I was striking out all over the place. Everyone was booked through Sunday. I had one more to try, and then I would have to start to venture out of the city, and farther from my work and apartment.
“Holiday Inn Express, how may I help you?”
“Hi, do you have any rooms available for the next week, beginning today?” Before I could hear her answer, my phone was snatched out of my hand.
“What the ….” Turning around, I saw Nick end the call and toss my phone onto his bed.
“Why are you trying to find a hotel room? Do you not want to stay here?” Nick’s eyebrows were drawn together in a frown that created little lines in his forehead.
“Nick, I don’t want to put you out; besides, you said you didn’t have another bed,” I reminded him.
“I don’t want you to go to a hotel, Chelsea. Please stay here. You can have my bed, and I will take the couch. Please, I insist,” he pleaded.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Stay as long as you need.” His smile was so genuine that I couldn’t help but agree.
“Okay, but I will sleep on the couch,” I insisted.
“Well, we could always share the bed.” That genuine smile turned into a devious grin.
I laughed, “No, me on the couch, and you in your bed.”
“Okay, Chelsea, but you’re staying until it is safe for you to go back to your own apartment.” He tucked my wayward curls behind my ear, and I shivered from the light touch.
“I still have the magic touch, I see,” he remarked.
“It might be time for you to check your ego, Nick, because you’re really not that special,” I replied as I tried to move past him.
“Whoa, careful not to trip over my amazingness; it’s everywhere.” He grabbed my arm, as if he was helping me avoid something.
“You’re too much!” I giggled. “I’ll be back. I’m going to do some shopping.”
“Wait; let me give you a key
in case I go somewhere.”
“Thanks, Nick, for everything.”
***
I called Ava as I was heading out the door. I knew she and Trevor had been worried, so I wanted to let her know I was fine. She decided that we were due for a much-needed drink with just the girls, and promised to meet up with me after she was done with work.
I put the bags from my shopping excursion in the trunk and headed into the sports bar to meet up with the girls. The bar was bright with TVs covering almost every surface. The upbeat music that was pumping through the speakers rumbled through the wooden floor.
With just a brief glance around, I spotted Ava and Talia in a booth across from the bar. I greeted them as I slid in, and Ava jumped all over me for not calling her and Trevor last night instead of going to the shelter.
“By the time I left Nick’s, it was so late. I just wanted to get a couple hours of sleep,” I explained, as she continued to frown at me.
“Wait, hold up. Why did you leave Nick’s? He didn’t let you stay?” Talia asked, obviously confused.
“Nick had a bimbo there.” Ava rolled her eyes as she explained.
“Bullshit! While you were there?” Talia exclaimed.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “No, I never made it into his apartment. I showed up just in time to see his, uh, guest throw herself and her fake tits into his arms.”
“I don’t get it. I thought he wasn’t seeing anyone but you,” Talia stated more to herself than me.
“Nick and I aren’t seeing each other, Talia; we are just friends;” I clarified.
“Yeah, okay.” She smiled at Ava. Before I could question her, the waiter brought our drinks and appetizers. We ate, drank and laughed. Being with these two women was just what I needed today.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I read the incoming text from Adam and passed it across the table to Ava and Talia.
