Hail Mary: An Enemies-to-Lovers Roommate Sports Romance(10)

“Right,” I said, again annoyed that he even felt the need to say that, as if it wasn’t common sense.

He left along with the small crew he’d brought with him.

Leo, however, was still standing behind me once the truck pulled away.

“Did a pipe burst or something?”

“Go away,” I clipped before heading for the house.

He was on my heels. “It sounds pretty serious.”

I ignored him, opening the front door of the house and attempting to slam it in his face. But he caught it, and then he dipped his head through and whistled at what he saw.

It was a fucking mess.

Not just one pipe had burst. It was as if one gave out and the rest of the pipes decided they were tired, too, so they threw in the towel and joined the first. There was a giant hole in the ceiling where water had built and caused it to collapse, and if that were all I had to worry about, maybe I could have stayed. But the entire system had gone. Water was everywhere, and so was debris, and I just stared at it all with Leo at my side.

“You can’t stay here,” he said, assessing the damage with his thick brows bent together. His dark, messy hair was still half-stuck to his forehead, his lips a bit chapped from the sun as he looked around. How he made sweat and sun-damage so appealing was beyond me, and I filed it as just another reason to hate him.

And I already had plenty.

“Wow, where would I be without you to point out the obvious?”

He shook his head. “Do you have a place to go? Need a ride or anything?”

I made an exasperated noise in my throat and pushed inside, not caring at this point that he was still standing in my doorway. “My car isn’t an issue, idiot. And I’m fine. You can leave now. Thank you for the neighborly concern.”

I shot each word out like pellets from a gun chamber, surveying the house and trying to decide where to start, what I needed to get out, and what could possibly remain behind. The fact that I didn’t have anywhere to move any of it was an issue I would deal with once Leo got out of my hair.

“You can stay with us.”

I laughed — and not an amused laugh, but one that was laced with bitter anger and resentment.

“I’m serious,” Leo said, pushing inside and carefully side-stepping where the ceiling had collapsed. “You don’t even have to pay rent. Holden’s room is free now since he and Julep moved to Charlotte.”

I spun on my heels. “You really expect me to move in with you and two other football players?”

He shrugged, a cocky smirk playing on his lips. “What I expect is that you don’t have as many options as you’re acting like you do.”

I clamped my mouth shut, jaw aching with how hard I ground my teeth. He was right. I didn’t have a single option, really, other than stay a few nights at a hotel and try to find a cheap interim place on Craigslist. And even those options meant I’d have limited funds for things like food and gas after the fact. I was trying to work on a savings, but as an apprentice slash shop assistant, I didn’t have much to make ends meet, let along stash aside for a rainy day.

I didn’t think Margie would charge me rent while she fixed the place, but I also didn’t think she’d let me completely out of the new lease I’d just re-signed.

Even if she did, I didn’t have anywhere to go. And with fall just around the corner, I’d be fighting against the rush of NBU students trying to find places, too. I’d dealt with that nightmare time and time again already. The thought of having to face it again now made me want to fall into a heap on the floor and cry.

“Hear me out,” he said, approaching me slowly when I didn’t immediately respond. “You get to stay for free. It’s right across the street, so you don’t have to move all your stuff into storage or across town. You don’t even have to change your mailing address. You have me and the other guys to help you move. You have your own room. We’re clean…” He paused. “Ish.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Did I mention it’s free?”

I chewed my lip, hating how many good points he had. It wasn’t like I didn’t know the guys, either. I’d spent enough time partying or hanging out at The Pit now, thanks to Julep, that I felt like an adopted little sister.

It would be nice to not have to worry about paying rent for a while, to possibly get some sort of savings started…

I shook my head for even considering it, mentally slapping myself. This was Leo Hernandez, for God’s sake. This was the prick who’d made my entire high school existence absolutely miserable and then completely forgotten about it because that was how little it mattered to him.

How little I mattered to him.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, turning on my heels.

His hand shot out, catching me by the crook of my elbow. Heat shot through me just as much as revulsion as I pulled away from the touch.

“Come on. Let us help you out. You’re Julep’s friend, and therefore, a friend of ours.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Since when are you nice?”

He feigned offense, pressing a hand to his chest. “Me? I’m always nice. I’m the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.”

I blinked at him, ignoring the urge to refute that statement in a law-based manner complete with evidence and a jury of women I knew would find his ass guilty.