Starboy

Chapter 61: No Strings Attached

Brandy

"You're joking," I say lowly. "That was him on the phone, huh?"

"No, actually it was Bianca, their new maid. My parents hate me so much that they sent a messenger to tell me this." He runs his hands through his hair and sits down on the bed.

I sit beside him. "What exactly did she tell you?"

"He's removing my name from the apartment. We have to be out by the end of the week — after that, there will be an open house."

"He can't do that." I shake my head.

"He can do anything he wants, he owns the building." He sighs. "There's nothing we can do. I'll just have to find some other place to live."

"What do you mean you'll have to find another place to live? Don't you mean us? We're doing this together, Benji."

"No, B, we aren't. You already have somewhere to live — right here." He looks around. "This is my problem, I'll deal with it."

"Your problem?" I say. "This is our problem. And I'm not going to let your dad do this. He can't just kick us out of our home because he's mad at you, that's ridiculous."

"We don't even pay rent, B. We've been living there for free for months now. Evicting us isn't exactly a crime," he says.

"Why aren't you more angry about this?" I raise my voice slightly.

"Because I saw it coming," he says. "And so did you. We knew this would happen, why should we pretend to be surprised? There's nothing else we can do. We'll figure something out."

"Benji-"

"Promise me you'll leave it alone. Promise."

I sigh. "I promise."

When we get back to the apartment, there is a tension in the air between us. We're both sad about losing the place that brought us together and we know there is nothing else to say or do about it.

I remember the first time I walked into this apartment — how little I knew about the things that would happen here. I started school here, had my first kiss here, had some memorable meltdowns here... I just can't believe I have to say goodbye to it all.

I go into Benji's room and he's hovered over a laptop looking for apartments on the internet. I sit next to him and lean my head on his broad shoulder.

"How the hell am I going to pay for this?" He sighs. "Why is a single bedroom apartment so expensive? What the hell is wrong with these people?"

"I'm going to call Hellen and ask her if there are any openings at her camera store. If we both get jobs we might be able to make enough money to rent a decent place nearby. And maybe I can ask my dad for a loan."

"No," he says sternly. "I'm not taking any money from anyone, especially not your dad. And you don't have to work, I don't want you to be stressed out from school and work."

"What about you? You're also a student." I remind him. "Plus, there's no way a part time minimum wage worker can afford a place for us. I need to chip in too."

"Then I'll work full time."

"What about school?"

He inhales deeply. "I'll drop out."

I shut his computer closed. "You won't drop out," I say. "I won't let you."

"It's not up to you. Don't worry about me, B, I can manage myself."