CHAPTER 4 #2
This room had become Harlow’s second home since Larissa had received this house as a gift for her graduation.
The closet had most of Harlow’s worldly possessions stuffed away inside it and nothing of Larissa’s.
The bed technically didn’t belong to Harlow, but she’d brought her own bed set over once after a different breakup and used it.
Larissa had just left it there for her, and now, she was sleeping on it as if they were permanent roommates.
She couldn’t be roommates with Larissa, though, because it felt too real.
It felt like they were a couple, and that meant that once again, it was time for her to go.
She pulled out her own computer, set it on the bed, and after going to the bathroom and taking care of everything she needed there, she returned and opened it, finding the website she’d now used on several occasions.
She entered in the zip code and a ten-mile range and hit the search icon, waiting a few seconds until the results appeared.
Then, she was able to add in some filters and chose central air because she did not do well in the heat, a parking spot for her car, and an in-unit washer and dryer.
Over sixty apartments matched those parameters, which was too many for her to look at tonight, so she added a price range filter and indicated that she was interested in one or two bedrooms but no studios and nothing bigger than two.
She couldn’t find a filter for lease terms, but Harlow was ready for something long-term.
She knew she needed to get over Larissa, but it would take her some time, and she was determined not to make yet another woman suffer through a relationship with her when there was someone else still trapped in her heart, so she’d be single for a while.
A year-long lease would be her minimum, but if they offered eighteen months or two years, she’d take it.
Harlow needed to stay put for once. It would do her some good to not move once a year or in with someone else until she was finally ready to say goodbye to Larissa.
Then, there was a knock at her door, which scared the crap out of her.
“Come in,” she said after a ridiculous gasp and closed her laptop.
She watched as the door opened, and Larissa stood there, looking adorably tired as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.
“You’re home?” she asked softly.
“I got in about thirty minutes ago. You were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you. Did you hear the shower or something?”
“No. I just fell asleep with my phone, and it fell onto my chest. Scared me to death. Then, I realized what time it was and wanted to check on you to see if you were home.”
“I’m here. All good. Just getting ready to go to sleep.”
“With your computer?” Larissa asked as she sat down on the side of her bed.
“Searching for apartments before sleep,” she explained.
“Find anything?”
“Not yet. But I promise, I’ll be out of your hair soon.”
“You know you can stay here as long as you need to. I’m not trying to kick you out. I just can’t imagine you want to be here for too long.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You like your own space. Besides, it’s probably weird, bringing women back here.”
“I’ve never brought a woman back here.”
“I know. I mean that it’s weird, so you don’t.”
Larissa removed her glasses and wiped her tired eyes before putting them back on.
“You fell asleep earlier than usual. I expected you to still be working at the table or on the couch when I got back.”
“I didn’t feel well after you left. My head started to hurt, so I took a bath and tried to get to sleep early. A lot of good that did me, huh?”
“How’s your head now?” she asked and shifted in order to place her hand on Larissa’s forehead. “You’re not warm.”
“I’m okay. I already took something for it, so the headache is gone. Just tired now. I should get some sleep. Oh, and I hope it’s okay: I scheduled the first interview and reserved the conference room with your membership info.”
“Yeah, that’s the point,” Harlow replied.
“Can you be there?”
“For the interview? Yeah, sure. Just let me know when, and I’m there unless I have to work.”
“They’ll all be after your work. I want you to be there.
This was really your idea, Harlow. I want you to be a part of it, but I also don’t want you to have to do any of the work, you know?
I’m hoping it could be kind of fun for you.
It’s not the going-out-to-the-bar-and-meeting-women fun, but maybe it could still be a fun thing for us to do outside of the house. I know I’m a pretty boring friend.”
“You’re not boring,” she said. “I have fun sitting on the couch while you work and I watch a movie, Lou. I wanted you to go out tonight because I worry about you. That’s all.”
“I know. I promise, I’ll try, okay?”
“Okay,” Harlow replied, nodding. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I will. Don’t stay up too late,” Larissa told her. “I worry about you, too, you know?”
When Harlow smiled at her, Larissa stood and left the room, closing the door behind her. Harlow opened her computer again and saw that there were nineteen results from her search. She’d start there.