My Best Friend's Ex (Edited)

Part 2 (Edited)

Together, we ride an Uber to the stop near the apartment I've been sharing with Adalyn since the beginning of this year. Logan teases me, accusing me of making something up to get out of touching Mr. Freeland's penis. Naturally, I deny every accusation while feeling very lucky I was able to avoid the touching of old dick today.

That is until I show up at our little house.

When we walk up to the apartment, Adalyn is sitting on the steps, a paper in her hand. What is going on? Adalyn doesn't sit outside. She's afraid of the sun, not really, but she's usually inside, her nose buried in a book preparing for our upcoming nursing exams.

"Adalyn, is everything okay?" I close the space between us just as she holds up the piece of paper in her hand.

"We're being evicted."

"What?" I shout as I take the paper. Logan hovers over my shoulder, reading the notice at the same time. At least he knows I wasn't lying now.

It takes me a few tries to process the words on the bright red paper. "We're being evicted," I whisper in shock. "How can that be? We've been paying our rent on time. We haven't done anything to the property that would get us evicted. We forgot trash day that one time, but I don't think that would be cause for eviction."

From over my shoulder, Logan points at a sentence and says, "Your landlord hasn't been paying the mortgage. You have one week to find a new place."

"A week?" How did I miss that? I scan the paper again, but nothing makes sense. "So because our landlord is an irresponsible idiot, we get punished? How is that fair?"

Logan pulls me into a hug, taking the paper from me to read some more. "Life isn't fair, sweetheart. Banks don't care about the people living in the house, they just care about the bottom line."

I snuggle into his warmth. "But a week? That seems short to me."

"Yeah, how can we possibly find a place to stay for a week in the middle of the semester? All the student housing is full by now," Adalyn adds.

"There is a buyer already interested in the space," Logan says. "The bank is probably opting for a short sale in the hopes of getting the money off their hands."

"Can't we talk to the bank? Maybe they want to rent it to us."

Logan shakes his head. "Sorry, sweetheart, banks aren't really into the landlord business." He hands the paper back to Adalyn. "You two need to start searching for another place to stay because, in a week, you won't be living here anymore."

Adalyn lies back on the porch, the warm winter's day not affecting her need to retreat inside. "This is crap."

"Who can I send a nasty gram to?" I ask, my mind already starting to type out the letter. It would start with something like, "You piece of crap son of a bitch asshole . . ." Yeah, that sounds about right.

"You can send one to me," Logan jokes as he releases me and sits down on the porch next to Adalyn.

"That's not helpful." I run my hands over my face and think. "I don't have time to search for a new place right now. I have clinicals all week, and I have to study. Plus, I have volunteering hours at the animal shelter. I can't cancel on them again."

"You can stay with me until you find a place," Logan suggests.

I put my hand on my hip, ready to disagree. "You live in a three-bedroom apartment with six men. You sleep in bunk beds. I'm not staying with you."

He shrugs. "Don't judge my living situation. Rent is cheap as fuck." It's true, he pays two hundred dollars a month for everything. EVERYTHING. It's not fair. Although, I don't think I would ever shack up with that many people in such a small space.

"Ugh." I sit on the sidewalk, not minding the cold cement against my scrub-covered ass. "Looks like I'll stay up late, looking for a place."

"You're good at stuff like this, Em, you'll find a place. I do not doubt it." Logan winks at me.

I can't help but agree with him. I'm good at stuff like this, but for others, not for me. I've always been the nurturing one in my group of friends, making sure everyone is taken care of. But when it comes to me, when it comes to putting myself first, I'm freaking terrible at it. I'm more likely to buy a cup of coffee for a friend so they can stay awake in class, than myself. Perhaps it's a major flaw that I never do anything for myself.

But hey, I guess that will make me a good nurse, right? Always taking care of others?