Dance In The Rain

~6~ Sharing Space

You know the saying 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder?' Well, I don't think it applies in this situation.

This is awkward AF

We walk into the rundown living room and look around, and I can basically see the entire house from this one room.

The kitchen is tiny with an eat-in area. There's seriously no island? Wait...Hold up! IS THERE NO DISHWASHER?!?!

As I'm about to close my eyes and hope that I'll wake up from this hellish nightmare, Holden clears his throat.

"See, uh.......I kinda have a situation," he starts, scratching the back of his neck with his hand and blowing out a breath.

When neither of us say anything, he nods and bites his bottom lip. "Eventually I want to get a bigger house, but teachers don't really make a lot of money.....I only have two bedrooms......"

At our matching looks of horror, Holden holds out his hand. "Ok ok, don't hurt me yet, I have a plan!"

"I've sectioned the bigger of the two rooms off, and there's a black partition separating it so you guys will have privacy."

When our looks don't change, he slumps his shoulders.

"Guys, I found out about this yesterday at 3. I pulled an all-nighter and worked like a mad man, switching my room out. My room was bigger so I figured it would be the smartest thing to do. I promise this is only temporary until I can figure something else out."

Tate simply walks down the small hall and peeks in the rooms until he sees ours, and goes in quietly. Holden and I follow after him and stop, staring at what he is.

Two twin mattresses, without bed frames, on the floor...

"I need you guys to just REALLY keep an open mind. I promise I'll get you beds...."

Tate looks at me and shrugs. "Which side?"

"Don't care."

He nods as he goes to the right side and puts his suitcase down, laying on his mattress silently and turning to his side, facing the wall.

"When's the last time you two ate? I can make you something...." Holden says quietly to me.

"I just want to go to sleep," I say. It's after eleven, and I feel like I'm going to pass out.

Holden nods and acts like he wants to say something. After a minute he sighs and rests his hand on my shoulder. "If you need me at all during the night, come get me. Anything in the kitchen is yours...Just don't go to the ocean, ok?"

I can't decide if he actually wanted an answer, so I just ignore him as I sit on my bed and look at the wall.

This blows

~*~

I get pajamas out of my suitcase and get dressed, fighting the urge to cry. As I lay in my bed, I can't decide if Tate is asleep or not—He hasn't even changed out of his clothes yet.

After about half an hour I decide to get a drink of water. I can't sleep all night with such a dry throat.

I make it down the hall when I hear Holden speaking in hushed tones. "Baby I'm sorry...No, you can't stay tonight...I know but their worlds just got flipped upside down and I'm not having a woman they've never met before sleep over...I get it, I'm devastated too. This wasn't how my life was supposed to go......All I wanted was to get away from my shit-show of a family and now I'm stuck raising them!....Just give me some time to get them settled, please?........."

I can't keep listening as I walk quickly back to our room.

Holden doesn't want me—Nobody ever wants me.