Chapter 29
Lainey
“A week?” I repeat, my voice climbing to a near shriek.
I stare at the ceiling, hands on my hips, willing it to stop. The slow, taunting rhythm of water falling into the bucket below has been the soundtrack of my life since last night, and I’m officially at my wit’s end.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Meredith, my property manager, says brightly, as if she’s giving me the weather report and not a sentence of total upheaval. “We’ve figured out the issue. It’s the upstairs unit’s plumbing. A burst pipe. Big mess.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Great.”
“The plumbers have already started working upstairs, but with the extent of the damage…”
I pace the length of my living room, dodging the growing puddle near my couch. “Meredith, my ceiling is leaking. Actively. Like it’s auditioning to be Niagara Falls. And you’re telling me I have to live like this for a week?”
“Well, we can offer a discount on next month’s rent,” she offers, her chirpy tone only amplifying my irritation. “Do you have anywhere else you can stay in the meantime?”
I rub my temples, glancing at the bucket catching the water near my coffee table. I’d already texted Chloe and Janelle when this disaster started last night, and both had immediately offered their places. I’d brushed them off, hoping for a quick resolution. Clearly, I was too optimistic.
“I’ll figure something out,” I mutter before hanging up.
As if on cue, my phone buzzes with a text in our group chat.
Chloe: Any update? How bad is it?
Janelle: Please tell me they fixed it.
I sigh and type back.
Lainey: It’s going to take a week.
Their responses come almost immediately.
Chloe: Stay with us! Wyatt and I have the guest room ready.
Janelle: No way. Stay with me. Newlyweds aren’t good for your mental health. You might see things. Hear things. Be traumatized.
I snort, rolling my eyes at Janelle’s teasing.
Lainey: LOL. Thanks for the visual, Janelle.
The group chat devolves into laughing emojis and Chloe insisting she and Wyatt are “discreet,” which only makes Janelle double down. I’m in the middle of typing a sarcastic comeback when my phone rings again.
Zach.
“Hey,” I answer warily.
“I heard you’re dealing with a leak,” he says, his voice laced with amusement.
“Ugh. Wyatt and his big mouth,” I groan.
Zach laughs. It’s a deep, rich sound that shouldn’t make my insides flutter, but does anyway. “You’re not seriously thinking of staying with Wyatt and Chloe, are you? You’ll disrupt their… uh, extracurriculars.”
“Gross,” I say, but I can’t help but laugh. “Why does everyone keep bringing that up?”
“Because it’s true,” Zach says matter-of-factly. “Just move in with me, Lainey. Problem solved.”
I blink, caught off guard. “Don’t rush my decision, Zach. I told you I’ll think about it. Besides, Janelle offered her place too.”
He makes an exaggerated scoffing sound. “Lainey. Come on. It’s fate. The universe is literally screaming at you to move in with me.”
I roll my eyes so hard it’s a miracle they don’t fall out. “That’s not funny, Zach. Are you seriously telling me that the universe caused my upstairs neighbors’ plumbing to explode just so I’d move in with you?”
“Yes,” he says without missing a beat. “So, are you moving in now?”
“No,” I say firmly. “Actually, I was thinking about taking a vacation and visiting my sister while they fix this.”
“What?” Zach sounds genuinely offended. “Without discussing it with me?”
“I didn’t realize I needed to consult with my fake boyfriend about visiting my sister,” I shoot back, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
“You’re taking my baby out of state without me. I should know.” His voice softens on the words “my baby,” and they hit me like a sucker punch.
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. There’s a warm, fluttery sensation in my chest that I wasn’t expecting, and it throws me completely off balance.
“Don’t be dramatic, Zach,” I finally manage, my voice softer than I intend. “It’s only a week. Plus, you’ll be busy with preseason and hockey practice.”
“A week’s a long time,” he says, his tone light but edged with something I can’t quite place. “I won’t get to see your pretty little face for an entire week.”
I snort. “Didn’t I tell you not to fall in love with me?”
The line goes quiet, and for a moment, I wonder if I’ve pushed him too far. Then he starts coughing—loud, awkward, and completely unconvincing.
“Well,” he says after a moment, his voice deliberately casual. “Let’s talk more about this over dinner. Are you free tonight?”
“Tonight?” I glance at the chaos of my apartment, the bucket still catching water from my ceiling. “Uh… yeah, I guess.”
“Great,” Zach says, his tone shifting to that annoyingly confident one he uses when he knows he’s won. “My sisters have been bugging me to bring you over.”
My heart flips. “Aww, I miss them too. Wait—are we having dinner with your family?”
“Yep,” he says cheerfully. “I’ll pick you up at five.”
Before I can protest, he hangs up.
I stare at my phone, the sound of the ceiling dripping into the bucket the only thing grounding me in reality. Dinner with Zach’s family?
Something about this dinner feels off. Like I’m walking into something bigger than I realize.
And for reasons I can’t explain, it leaves me more unsettled than the mess above my head.