Common Areas Read online

  “Alright,” Mom relented and took a deep breath. “I have vacation coming up, and I don’t mind going to visit Karen. Are you sure you won’t come with me?” The worry was evident. “I know she would be happy to see you.”

  I tucked into him and closed my eyes. There were so many things I needed to do. I couldn’t take the time to hide away when I needed to rebuild my life from scratch. So, I couldn’t take comfort in my mother. Since Tyler was readily offering it to me, I relaxed against him.

  “I have a lot to do,” I murmured to her. “I messed so many things up by giving into him.”

  “We all make mistakes, baby,” she soothed. “We’re just so lucky this one didn’t kill you.”

  8

  After a nap, which I unintentionally had on Tyler, I decided the best way to avoid awkwardness between us was to start supper. I expected him to stay in front of the television to play his video games, but he didn't. He followed me to the kitchen and watched as I rummaged through the cabinets and fridge.

  “Did you guys pool your money together to buy this place?” I asked; now seemed as good a time as any to get information from him.

  “Nah.” He was seated at the island, watching me with a hint of curiosity. “Chase’s grandmother left this place to him. He was the favorite or something. When he first got it, it was a frilly, pink, sixties mess.” He rolled a shoulder and pulled out his phone, “You could say he focused his grief on remodeling the place into what it looks like today.”

  I paused in flaying the chicken breast before me and turned to look at him. “Is that what Chase does? Work on houses?”

  He didn’t really strike me as a contractor, or something that would do that. But what did I know? The only thing I knew about construction was what I’d seen on HGTV.

  That got me a snort. “I guess you could say that’s what he does.”

  How do you take a response like that? I tried not to let that make me uneasy and went back to preparing our dinner. I made sure I had enough for the four of us, thinking about Chase and Patton even though I had no clue when they would be home.

  “What about you?” I asked as I put a pot of penne pasta on to boil.

  I figured a baked ziti would be a great way to introduce my culinary skills to my roommates. Even if there wasn’t the right kind of pasta in the pantry, it didn’t matter. I was good at adapting.

  “Me?” He had pulled his phone out and seemed to be idling scrolling through social media. “What about me?”

  “What do you do? I know Chase is in construction, now, and Patton is a nurse. What do you do?” Surely he didn’t stay at home all day.

  Tyler’s lips quirked upward, and he put his phone down. He smirked at me like he expected something from me. When I didn’t give him whatever he was looking for, he leaned further onto the counter.

  “What do you think I do?”

  I had no clue, so all I could do was shrug before went about buttering the baking dish. I figured the busier I was the less likely I was to fall into something that would have him flirting.

  He gave me a pout when it was clear I wasn’t playing along. “I work Thursday through Sunday nights. So, we won’t be able to hang on the weekends. Unless you decide you want to meet me at the club.” There was something about the way he said it that I didn’t get. “I would be glad to give you an example of what I do for a living.”

  “Or…” I gave him a smile as I went about draining the pasta and putting all the bits together. “You could just tell me?” Aside from the sudden return of the flirtation, I found something seizing in my stomach. What were the chances that Tyler worked with Jeff?

  The front door closed and Patton let out a loud groan, “I hope you got enough eggrolls for everybody, asshat.” I looked to see him coming up the hallway, dropping a book bag and looking genuinely exhausted. “I want two, not one and a half, two full eggrolls.” He paused in the doorway to the kitchen and blinked at me before giving me a smile that seemed to light up his face. “Hey Em.”

  “Hey.” I smiled in return. The fact that he looked so happy to see me put some of my fears to rest. “You have a good day?”

  I felt domestic, this was my element. This was something I’d been doing with Jeff since I moved in with him and quit my job. I felt natural to slip right into that place again.

  He grunted and came to join Tyler at the island. He slumped onto a stool then leaned heavily against the countertop. “Long, got twelve-hour shifts this week.” He paused after that, eyeing me then looking at the man beside him. “Why is she cooking?”

  Tyler just shrugged at him. “She raided the fridge after we ran some errands, and I didn’t question it. I’ve learned that you don’t say dumb shit when a woman is cooking. Just hope it’s as good as it smells.”

  “But it's your turn to cook,” Patton said stubbornly. “Why change the rotation?”

  “Chase told me I could,” I broke in as they started to question it. “I offered,” I had to correct myself, I didn’t want it to seem like he had told me to. I had volunteered to cook. I didn’t want to create trouble.

  They exchanged looks before Patton raised an eyebrow at me. “What’s for dinner then?”

  “Baked ziti, well… sort of. You didn’t have ziti, so I improvised. Give it another twenty minutes and you can tell me if the kind of pasta you use matters.” I hoped to make an impression on them, though I don’t know why. Maybe if I was useful, they would overlook the ordeal that brought me here.

  They both looked intrigued. We spent the next half an hour chit chatting about Patton’s day. Turned out he worked in the emergency room, something that saw a lot of people in dire situations on a regular basis. It made me feel better about how he had checked me out the morning after I arrived. He’d seen worse.

  When dinner was finally done, I waited and watched as both of them tried it. Tyler ate without any sort of trepidation. He devoured it as if he had been starving, though I knew full well he had eaten today. Patton was more cautious, blowing on the steaming noodles before he took the first bite. When he hummed with satisfaction and continued eating, I knew I was good with both.

  “Chase had mentioned that an Adam had been your cook before,” I broached carefully. “I’m assuming I’m taking Adam’s room. He a friend that moved?”

  “Yeah, something like that,” Patton offered as he got up for a second helping.

  “He was fucking Chase’s girlfriend,” Tyler said without any sort of hesitation. “He got caught in the act and was kicked out. It was just a few weeks ago, too,” he said around a mouthful of food. “We were both surprised when he let you stay.”

  “Surprised,” Patton echoed the other man and looked irritated as he spoke, “because he was intent on the fact that women were nothing but trouble.” Then he grimaced as he seemed to think better of what he said. “It’s a common thought after having something like that happen. Don’t take it personally.” Looking at him I could see his struggle to backpedal. “I wasn’t trying to imply anything.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said gently.

  “Whelp, I’m out,” Tyler proclaimed and was quick to get up from the island. Without offering any sort of explanation, he fled the kitchen to the front of the house, disappearing into the living room.

  I didn’t bother to object, but Patton hollered, “Just because she took your day to cook doesn’t mean she took your job to clean up the kitchen.”

  “Can’t hear you,” was hollered back. “Playing video games! Volumes too loud!”

  “Prick,” Patton grumbled as he began to pick up the plates. I could see the weariness with the stiffness of his shoulders as he rounded the island to the sink. “Dude hates to cook and clean. Usually, on his night, he gets the throwaway stuff just so he doesn’t have to do anything.” He started to rinse his plate as he spoke, “He should help instead of fucking off.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention and draw him away from his grumbling. “I can take care of it. It's only f
air since I made the mess.”

  He trailed off and gave me a look I couldn’t really decipher, he looked almost hopeful merely from me touching him. “Don’t let Ty take advantage of you,” he said after a length. “Anything to do with the word clean and he’s gonna try to worm his way out of it.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” I tried to soothe as I edged him out of the way. He lingered for a moment before he relented and backed away from the sink. I’d already cleaned the majority of the mess as I was cooking, scrubbing pots as I went so that the end result would be easier.

  I could feel eyes on me as I went about washing the plates that had been left. I didn’t let it distract me, and eventually, there were footsteps leading out of the kitchen then up the stairs. When I glanced over a shoulder, I spied Tyler in the doorway of the living room. His eyes were narrowed, but he wasn’t looking at me.

  I’d missed something.

  I went about making Chase a plate, though he hadn’t come home yet, and then finished cleaning up. I put his plate in the microwave then made myself comfortable at the island. I took this time to explore the internet on my new phone. I no longer had any social media profiles, and I wasn’t eager to delve right back into them. It felt something like that might give Jeff a clue as to where I was.

  My main concern was finding a job. I needed to start putting my name out there now if I was going to get back on my feet. The prospect of being independent again was a rush, and I became so absorbed in my internet search that I didn’t hear the front door open and close. I didn’t even hear the heavy footfalls coming up behind me.

  “Figured Tyler’d have you runnin’ for hills by now.” There was a slight slur in his speech, and I looked over a shoulder to see Chase darkening the doorway to the kitchen. “But you’re still here.” He didn’t sound surprised, really. His eyes were half-lidded, and I felt them as he took the time to really look at me.

  “I’ve got nowhere else to go,” I admitted after a length. It might not be the full truth, but Jeff would have a harder time finding me here. “I fixed you a plate.” I nodded towards the microwave. “I can heat it up for you, if you want?” I put my phone down and started to stand.

  “Nope.” He shook his head then continued on to his bedroom. “Nope,” he rumbled again after giving me a final look before he closed the door.

  What did that mean?

  9

  It didn’t take long for me to feel at home. Even with his schedule, Patton made just as much an effort to make me feel at home as Tyler. We had started up a tradition of movie night, though Chase didn’t participate. The one night he walked in on us piled up on the couch, he gave us a hard disapproving look.

  I couldn’t fathom why. I was holding the popcorn bowl and both Ty and Patton had their hands in it. They seemed absorbed in the movie, a science fiction film that didn’t really hold my interest. I just sat between them for the popcorn, and the fact that I didn’t want to be in my room alone.

  It wasn’t until after the movie was over, and I had decided I needed a shower, that I realized what I had been overlooking. I was on the second-floor landing when I heard them talking in the kitchen.

  “You need to stop thinking with your dicks,” Chase growled out. “All you are going to do is cause trouble.”

  “I don’t get what you’re talking about,” Patton huffed. “We were just watching a movie.”

  “Yeah, Dad.” Tyler’s voice was thick with sarcasm. “Everyone was keeping their hands to themselves.”

  There was a snort. “She just got out of an abusive relationship. If either of you will be relationship material, all you are going to be is a rebound. It’d be nothing beyond a pointless fuck.”

  “First,” Tyler was quick to speak up, “there’s nothing ever pointless about fucking.” That got a disgruntled noise from what I assumed was Chase. I didn’t bother to venture closer to the railing, because I didn’t want to give myself away. “Secondly,” Tyler kept going, “if, and this is a big if, Em decides she wants to knock boots with any of us it shouldn’t be an issue. She’s a big girl. If you sat down and had a conversation with her you might figure out that she’s capable of making decisions on her own. After all, that’s what led her to us.”

  “Are you saying this because you're jealous?” Patton asked softly. “Are you trying to lay some sort of claim? I get what Adam did was some serious dickery, but man you can’t do that with Emily.”

  “She can make choices all by herself,” Tyler supplied right behind him. “If she wants to fuck all three of us, all I can say is ‘yes please, ma’am. Can I have some more?’”

  I nearly choked on that. I hadn’t really thought about it seriously. I thought Tyler’s flirting was aimless. I didn’t consider that he might actually want me, especially considering the fact that my face had been splotchy with bruises. I took a deep breath and held it. They were still talking, and I hadn’t managed to give myself away yet.

  “Keep it in your fucking pants,” Chase barked. “The only thing that fucking her is going to do is cause drama. I’ve had enough of it.”

  “Can’t call dibs if you’re not willing to do the work,” Tyler spoke up again. “If you want to tap that either make the effort and get to know her, trust me it gets better, or wait in line. Otherwise,” I heard the stool he sat on scoot backward, “this is shit that shouldn’t even bother you.”

  I was stunned and could hear the footsteps coming up to the stairs. I backpedaled back into the bathroom, clutching my towel. I was dressed, but there was something about clinging to it that grounded me. I flushed the toilet and opened the bathroom door just as Tyler passed by it.

  The look he gave me was heated. Did he know I heard everything?

  10

  At first, I wasn’t sure how to react. My gut reaction was fear as these three men were talking about attraction they had felt towards me. I felt stupid for overlooking it. Tyler had clearly been flirting from the moment I’d moved in. Patton seemed caring, but I thought that was just because I was battered, Though it didn’t change when the bruises started to fade. Neither of them even shied away when the other was around.

  It had me analyzing every casual touch I’d received from either man. I still couldn’t pinpoint anything inappropriate.

  How could I have been so oblivious? Could I live here knowing that they wanted me? Was it safe?

  I didn’t feel threatened. If anything, my heart had been racing the entire time I listened in. Chase had expressed concern that I would treat them as if they were rebounds, yet he hadn’t even taken the opportunity to get to know me. The fact that Patton asked if he was jealous had me wondering if there was more that I’d missed.

  So, how should I handle this?

  I spent the rest of the night in bed, well after Chase had slammed the door to his bedroom. I had to feign fatigue to Patton, who had stayed in the kitchen with his phone. He looked disappointed, but he still gave me an easy smile.

  It made my heart skip a beat.

  The next morning, when I heard the sound of rummaging in the kitchen, I just stayed in bed. It was safer that way. I knew there was no way I could pretend I didn't eavesdrop on them.

  The clatter in the kitchen grew louder followed by an irritated groan. I decided then there was only one way to handle this. Head on. I was done cowering.

  I got up and grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms, I tugged them on them drug my fingers through my hair in an attempt to tame the bed head that I knew I was rocking. I opened up my door to see Tyler at the counter with a mess of cereal and milk. He looked startled when I came out of my room, like he’d been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

  He tried to cover it with a flirty grin and a lazy, “Good mornin’.”

  I came to the island and leveled a hard look at him, “How did that conversation last night come up, and were you guys just trying to scare me out of here?” I didn’t want to think this was a scare tactic, but I couldn’t imagine it being any other way now.

  Tha
t startled look was back, and he picked up his bowl and stepped away from the island, leaving it between us. “Not a scare tactic at all,” he admitted. “The only scare tactic that was attempted on you was after your first day here. And honestly, all Chase did was tell me to be myself to see how long you lasted before you ran.” He rolled a shoulder. “I figured you were either really fucking desperate, or it took more than some overly obvious flirting to rattle you.”

  “So, you started that conversation?” I eyed him speculatively. He didn’t look like he was on the defensive, but I was finding that I couldn’t trust what I saw with the man in front of me.

  “I didn’t.” He began to eat his cereal with what appeared to be little care for me. “Chase did,” he said around a mouth full. “When he saw us watching movies, he thought we looked too comfortable.” He shrugged and kept eating. It was like he wasn’t concerned by it at all.