Chapter 8 #3
Both hands go into his hair as he stares at the stain. “It can’t have been there long. I did the last crack check just a week ago.”
The… crack check? “Do you often go around checking cracks? Wanna check mine?”
“Every month,” he says absently. “It’s an old building, and the plaster cracks a lot.”
Way to take all the fun out of it.
“So what’s above this? Plumbing?” The attic is the only floor above us, and I try to visualize the layout.
“The crash room.” Kieran tosses the words over his shoulder as he races out, and I scramble off the bed to follow. My kit’s up there!
I hear him swearing while I’m still only halfway up the attic stairs. When I peer over his shoulder into the room, I can see why.
“It could be worse?” I don’t know what makes me say it, but he turns slowly to give me a fulminating glare.
“Well, it could. Imagine if the roof had caved in. Or if it was still raining.” I glance at the window to make sure it’s not.
Thankfully, it seems the squall has passed.
Though not before leaking a few gallons of water through the roof.
“Ouch,” Gabe says from behind me, and I try not to jump. I didn’t even know he’d followed me. “You must have a loose roof tile or something.”
I nudge Kieran out of the way and enter the room properly.
It’s really not that bad. There’s a huge wet patch of plaster on the ceiling dripping water in multiple places, and both beds are wet, as is the floor between them—that’s probably where it seeped through to the ceiling below.
It’s an old building, and I’m not sure how well-insulated it is between floors.
But in terms of actual damage, there’s not much.
And, bright side, my kit’s over by the window where it’s still completely dry.
“This isn’t too bad,” I tell Kieran, using my most reassuring voice. “We’ll mop up the water and put something out to catch the drips until it stops.” I look out the window again to make sure it really has stopped raining. “That shouldn’t be too long; it’s just whatever’s left up there now.”
He takes a deep breath. “And what if it rains again?”
I scratch my neck. “Is it supposed to?”
“No. But then, it wasn’t forecast to rain at all.
” He studies the soaked patch of carpet, seemingly mesmerized by the steady drips of water.
I guess it’s a soothing kind of sound. Not so much inside a bedroom, though.
“Could you go down to the break room and ask Josh and Skye to come up, please? And bring some buckets and mops.”
“Sure. Gabe can help you—”
He shakes his head. “No, Gabe hasn’t eaten yet. Please take him down so he can have dinner. Keep him company. We’ll be down as soon as this is taken care of.”
I open my mouth to argue, but Gabe says, “Will do! Just let us know if there’s anything we can do to help” and gives me a look that clearly says “shut up.”
So I obediently follow him out and down the stairs to the third floor. “What the fuck, Gabe?” I ask when I’m sure we’re out of Kieran’s earshot. “That was rude.”
He snorts. “Like you care about being rude. Also, the man wanted a minute alone. Learn to take a hint.”
Oh. “He just wanted to get rid of me” is all I can think to say as I lead the way to the stairs. The elevator would be faster, but the stairs will keep me fit. Fitness is important when your job is hunting demons and other weird creatures.
“I wonder why? You’ve been a total bag of dicks since I got here. When are you going to realize that the whole eighth-grade tease-the-person-you-like thing doesn’t apply to adults in the real world? If you’ve got a thing for the foxy redhead, hit on him. Don’t torment him.”
I grin. “He is foxy, isn’t he?”
Gabe groans. “Not the point.”
I stop and grab his arm so he has to as well. “Here’s the thing, though. If you decide to stay, I’m going to want to visit you. And it could be awkward if Kieran and I fuck now, and then I turn up every few months.”
“Why?” my best friend asks. “You’re both adults. What’s awkward about a casual fuck? Unless you have feelings for him and think you won’t be able to handle seeing him with someone else down the track.”
I hate my best friend. “I’ve been here two days, Gabe. How could I have feelings for him?”
He laughs. “Oh my god, you do!”
“I do not. Stop it. We all know I have a thing for redheads, and the way he’s always messing with his hair is cute. Maybe it’s just a tiny, surface-level crush. That’s all. And I don’t want to make things difficult for you if he has a thing for me.”
Gabe snorts again. “He doesn’t.”
Ouch. “He might.” I start walking down the stairs again.
“No, Con, he doesn’t. Probably because you’ve been so obnoxious. Why don’t you try being nice to him and see what happens?”
Nice? “I’m nice!” What’s he trying to say? “Anyway, that brings us back to the original problem—if he has a thing for me, it could be awkward later on.” I pause. “Do you think you’ll stay?”
He shrugs as we reach the ground floor. “I want to check the place out properly first, talk to everyone and get a feel for them. But my gut’s saying yes.”
See? It would be awkward.