Bender (The Core Four #1)(9)
We got to the top of the beige carpeted staircase and there was once again an open space. I could see the rail that looked down to the living room in front of me. But off to the left there were two doors and to the right was one. Dodger opened the first door, and inside it was semi-dark because the shades were closed and heavy curtains blocked any light. A king-size bed in the center of one wall had a dark blue comforter and across from it was a large television mounted on the wall with a dresser just below. There was memorabilia on almost every single surface that I could see, but it was too dim to see what it was for.
“Here’s the master bedroom. Sorry, obviously it’s going to be a bit bigger than your room,” Dodger said.
“Oh, that’s not a problem. At least this one has a door.”
Macie let out a little giggle. Dodger looked confused. She looked over at him with a smirk. “Don’t ask.”
He walked in front of us and crossed the space to the second closed door. “Here’s the bathroom for upstairs. Unfortunately it’ll have to be shared. But it shouldn’t really be an issue. Well, unless you are wanting to put all that frilly pink shit on the toilet seat and a rug.” I grinned and shook my head. “Okay good.” He closed the door and went to the last opening. “Here would be your room. There’s a lock on the inside, if you feel like you need it. Although I can tell you that your privacy won’t be interrupted. Have a look around, and I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen.”
He turned and left. I stepped forward and turned on the light. The room was a clean slate. It wasn’t huge, but it was bigger than where I was currently sleeping. My bedroom at home only had a bed and a dresser. But this room, this one I could put a bed, dresser, television on the wall, and a desk so I could finally have a place to study. I was mentally decorating the place and getting excited about all the possibilities. The only issue was that I wouldn’t be able to bring any of my furniture from my mom’s house. Even though it was mine, it technically belonged to her, and I still wasn’t sure how she was going to react to me moving out. With all of the thoughts flying around, I realized that I really wanted to move out. It wouldn’t take but a few months to earn enough money to start buying my own things. In the meantime I’d sleep on an air mattress. This apartment seemed perfect and almost too good to be true. College students didn’t typically live in places this nice. There was a nagging feeling that there must be some kind of catch. Like, did Dodger walk around the house naked? That didn’t really seem like a hardship I couldn’t handle. Did he bring girls over every night? Again, I could just close my door and ignore it. Was I going to be forced to cook for the both of us? I already did that at home so it wouldn’t make much difference.
“So what do you think?” Macie asked in a hushed voice.
I looked around again and glanced at the door. “It feels like I’m missing something. Like it’s too good to be true, if that makes any sense.”
She rolled her eyes. “Pessimist. Dodger was pretty straight forward with what’s expected. I think you should take this one. Could you imagine going to anymore places like the last two?”
I shivered. “I’d rather fail A&P and live with my mom.” She chortled. “It just seems too cheap though. I mean, four hundred dollars for a place like this? I mean, I know he said most of the rent is paid for, but why not split it evenly?”
Macie shrugged with indifference, and it frustrated me. Sometimes it was hard to remember that money meant nothing to her, and that was because she’d always had it. “Take what’s being offered to you, Keegan. If you don’t, some other college girl is going to swoop in and snatch this place up.”
“And would that be because of Mr. Hottie Pants downstairs?” I raised my eyebrow at her.
“What? No! I’m not interested in Hottie Pa… I mean Dodger.” Her cheeks were turning pink for the second time today. She grabbed my hand. “Listen to me, this isn’t your typical college dorm room, or frat house, where you have no doors and bands screaming in your ears. This is a good shot Keeg, take it. Get out from under your mom’s manipulation and start living your life. Mr. Hottie Pants just makes this place’s rating go from a perfect ten to an eleven. He’s just a bonus. But this place will be perfect for you.”
I smiled at her, knowing she was right. “If I take it, you can’t be sleeping with my roommate, Mace.” She scrunched her nose up like she was going to argue. “No I mean it. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want you to come over here if things go sour, and it be awkward for everyone. Dodger is off-limits.”
She huffed. “Fine. Can we go downstairs and at least give him the good news?”
I quietly clapped my hands like a young teenage girl. “Yes!”
She grinned big and tugged me toward the stairs. When we got downstairs, Dodger was sitting at the table that made up the dining room. It still opened to the living room and kitchen, but it was separate from both spaces. He had a couple of papers in front of him. As I approached, he must have read my face, because he gloriously smiled at me and slid the papers my way. It was seriously a sin to look that good.
“Here’s the contract stating what you are expected to pay, the dates that everything is due, and a few other minor things that we didn’t really go over. Like no painting the walls crazy colors, having overnight guests without letting the roommate know… blah, blah, blah, that sort of thing. Majority of it is basically taken verbatim from the lease that was signed to live here. I’m sure you understand.” His blue eyes sparkled with excitement.