4. Lucia
four
Lucia
The best part about the weather getting colder is that peppermint mochas are finally back on the menu. My favorite coffee shop, Urban Grind, makes the best ones.
I figure I deserve to treat myself after another hellish week of apartment hunting.
That’s going just as well as before. And by that, I mean I’ve come up with nothing.
Well, that’s not quite true.
I did find a new apartment to look at yesterday.
But as soon as I stepped into the building, a rat ran across the floor in front of me. Turned my ass right back around.
I’ll listen to my friends have sex before I live with rats.
I’m not that prideful.
I’m still trying to avoid it, though, so after I grab my drink from the barista, I wander over to the bulletin board hanging on the wall. Coffee shops are notorious places for people to post their classified ads.
I’ve had no luck online, but maybe someone is subletting their apartment, and they’ll take pity on the thirty-one-year-old athletic trainer that clearly does not have her shit together.
That’s so unlike me. I’m a planner. I’ve always been a planner. I make lists; I have schedules. But when it comes to this apartment search, I keep dragging my feet, hoping something is going to just magically appear.
I let out a defeated sigh when I don’t find anything posted on the board, and since my mind is swirling, I don’t hear someone walk up behind me.
“Lucia?”
The annoyance I felt before is nothing like the anger I feel right now.
I turn around in a huff. “Matthew.”
He chuckles and rolls his eyes. “So formal.”
“Do you need something?” I chide, staring down the man I used to call mine.
“Just wanted to say hi.”
“Why?”
Matt sighs. “Why are you acting like this?”
“Because you’re an unfaithful asshole.” I cross my arms, annoyed that he even has the audacity to speak to me right now.
“Jesus, Luc,” he breathes. “Are you going to hold that over my head forever?”
“Uh, yeah,” I scoff. “Seems reasonable that I’d still be unhappy about you fucking your coworker for the last six months we were together. How is Anna, by the way?”
“She’s great,” he states, looking at the ground and refusing to meet my eyes.
“You cheat on her yet?”
Matt whips his head up so quickly that I’m surprised he doesn’t end up with whiplash. “What the fuck?”
“Huh,” I hum. “That’s not a no.”
“No, I haven’t cheated on her,” he groans.
I cock my head to the side questioningly. “Just me you wanted to cheat on then?”
“Fucking hell,” he gripes. “Will you let up already?”
I shrug nonchalantly. “Nope, don’t plan on it, Matthew.”
“What the hell did I see in you again?” he chides, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he’s the one exasperated by this conversation.
“You saw a confident woman who has no issue standing up for herself. And that’s exactly who I still am. You just don’t like that this side of me is now directed at you.”
He lets out a deep breath. “Of course, I don’t like that being directed at me. I miss you sometimes, you know.”
I just stare at him. “You’re kidding, right?”
He shoves his hands into his back pockets. “No, I’m not kidding. We were good together.”
I can’t hold back my laughter. He’s supposedly never cheated on Anna, but here the prick is reminiscing on our relationship.
“We weren’t good together. I could barely even get you to have sex with me because you saved all of that for your mistress.” I shoot him a smile with all the faux-sweetness I can muster. “And on that note, I’ve gotta go. Apartments don’t search for themselves.”
“You need an apartment?”
Shit.
I didn’t mean to tell him about that.
“No. Why would I need an apartment?”
Matt shakes his head. “You tell me. You’re the one searching for an apartment.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You literally just said you were.”
“I don’t recall ever saying that.”
“Still as stubborn as ever,” he chuckles. “I’ve got room for you if you need it.”
“Nope, I don’t need it. Besides, what would your girlfriend think about your ex-girlfriend living with you?”
“Well, you apparently need somewhere to stay.”
“No, I don’t,” I lie. “I… have a new place to live already. With a roommate.”
Oh God, please don’t ask for more information. Please don’t let me fall into this trap just to save face.
“Who?”
Goddammit.
My stomach churns, but I force myself to say it. Because, once again, I’m too prideful for my own good. I can’t let my ex think I’m falling apart.
“Ari.”
“What?”
“What?” I shrug, pretending to be completely unbothered. Like this is totally a normal thing I would do and not a last-ditch attempt to seem put-together.
“You don’t even like Ari, Luc,” Matt sighs. “Why the hell would you live with him?”
Instead of coming clean, I just dig the lie deeper because I can’t help myself. “Turns out that he’s not unbearable when you aren’t around.”
Matt stares at me for a moment before just shaking his head and giving up the fight. “Whatever you say. But you know my number if you change your mind.” And he finally walks off.
Like hell would I change my mind, never for Matt. I don’t even want to be in his presence anymore.
I just need to find somewhere to stay.
I glance again at the bulletin board in front of me, and I’m left with the realization that this search is going nowhere.
I’m weeks away from my lease ending, and I’m not any closer to finding a new place to go.
My options have dwindled to the point where I really only have one left.
Fuck me.
With a defeated groan, I pull out my phone, shooting off a text to the last person I ever expected.
Lucia
So…
Hi
Ari
Um, hi?
Why are you texting me?
Lucia
Because desperate times call for desperate measures
Ari
What exactly does that mean?
Lucia
That I’m officially desperate
And I don’t want a cardboard box
Ari
Well, I wasn’t expecting that
Lucia
Believe me, I wasn’t either
But I don’t think I have another choice
Can you meet me at Urban Grind so we can talk about it?
Ari
…yeah
I’ll meet you there
I slip my phone back into my pocket and throw my head back, wondering how the hell I went from being an independent woman with my own place to now needing to live with Ari fucking Morgan.