The Tribuo - 47. Part V, Preface/Chapter 1

Preface

“Hail Mary, full of Grace…”

The steps creak under my weight.

“The Lord is with Thee…”

This window has been broken for ages, it seems.

“Blessed art Thou among women…”

Gotta be careful with all the broken glass and wooden chips. I hate splinters.

“And blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus…”

On the other hand…

“Holy Mary, Mother of God…”

Worrying about a splinter or a cut right now is downright ridiculous. I look down. So delightfully far…

“Pray for us sinners now…”

The air is cold and crisp. Feels refreshing. Deep breath… Feels like I am bathing in cold water from the inside.

“And at the hour of our death…”

I grab the fragile frame of the window, my fingers immediately twitching from an expected intrusion of a splinter. “I am coming home,” I whisper.

“Amen.”

_____________________________________________________

- I -

JESS

It was the end of October when Coleen waltzed into my bedroom and announced that she was finally engaged. She waved her skinny hand in front of my face, demonstrating her ring, and I just sighed. I knew what was coming next.

“Jess…”

Wow, she actually looked somewhat guilty! I firmly believed she was incapable of such a thing.

“Jess, I am moving out…”

Yup, I knew it was coming. I guess I will have to start looking for a new roommate. If she moves out by the end of November…

“I am moving out this weekend,” she finished and I blinked.

“Come again?” I said, thinking that I probably didn’t hear her quite right.

“This weekend,” she repeated without looking at me. “I am so sorry! Tom really wants me to move in with him as soon as possible, and…”

“Wow!” Okay, it finally registered. “Hold it! Just a second… This weekend?!”

She nodded, still avoiding my eyes.

“Coleen, are you freaking kidding me?” Oh, man, I couldn’t believe this! Well, no -- actually, I could. But I was pissed off now. “Please, tell me that you will cover at least half of November! I can’t afford paying for…”

“Oh, don’t worry!” she interrupted me and finally looked in my eyes.

Be still my heart… She is actually going to pay…?

“Tom will find someone else before I move out!”

Ah, never mind. Well, Tom was more reliable than her… There was a good chance that he would actually find someone.

“Coleen,” I said evenly. “Today is Wednesday. That means he has to find someone by Monday. The rent is due on the fifth, which is next Friday…”

“I know, I know,” she nodded so rapidly that she immediately reminded me of a bobblehead toy. The resemblance was uncanny. “He said he knows a guy who knows a guy who thinks he knows a guy who needs a place, so…”

“Well,” I shrugged. “Then it’s set in stone, isn’t it? I mean, it’s almost as if that… Guy, was it? He’s practically here already, writing me a check for his half of the rent! Coleen, I have to pay for my car, my phone, and my only credit card… Oh, and stuff like food, you know…” Now I was seething. “I won’t be able to pay for the entire month of November!”

“You won’t have to!” she was shaking her head now. As rapidly. “I swear you will have a new roommate by Sunday!”

“I'd better…” I muttered, thinking that I would probably have to borrow money from Lex again. God, I hate borrowing money from people! “Otherwise, I will show up on your doorstep and…”

“Umm…” she said, and I just closed my eyes. “Yeah… About that… Jess, we are moving to Vermont.”

Son of a bitch. I will have to borrow money from Lex again.

“Look, I swear to you, okay?” she sounded sincere enough, but I didn’t dare opening my eyes, afraid that I would do her some bodily harm. “You won’t be alone in this place for long! Tell you what…” she took a very deep breath. “If Tom won’t find anyone by Sunday, I’ll make him pay for my half of the rent, how’s that?”

I snorted.

“He is as broke as me,” I said bitterly.

“Pfft!” she said. “He’ll get money from his parents.”

"Just go pack your stuff,” I said in defeat.

She bounced away and I thought that I would need to call Lex soon, but then I decided to give Coleen (well, Tom, actually) the benefit of the doubt and wait a couple of days. Unlike Coleen, Tom was actually somewhat reliable.

*****

On Saturday night, right before Coleen was about to hop into the moving truck, Tom came up to me and he was grinning from ear to ear.

“Guess what,” he said.

“You are going to give me half of November rent,” I offered without any hope.

“Umm, no,” he said.

Ugh, I knew it.

“But...” he raised his forefinger. “You gonna get your roommate tomorrow night.”

“You gonna mail him to me or something?” I asked without even a hint of a smile.

“No,” he answered patiently. “He is coming here tomorrow night…” he frowned for a second. “Well, I think he is coming tomorrow night…”

“Tom… I know that you guys are leaving tomorrow morning,” I said tiredly. “Stop making stuff up. Lying is bad, remember?”

He laughed.

“Not lying,” he shook his head. “The guy is supposed to come here tomorrow… His name is…” He frowned again. “Ah, crap… I am bad with names… It’s Roland something…”

“Just go,” I waved my hand at him. “Have fun with your fiancée. She is a dreadful roommate, by the way, just so you know.”

“I know,” he nodded. “But seriously, Jess. He’ll be here, I swear!”

“Go,” I pushed him on the shoulder. “Tell her to call me when you guys get to Vermont.”

“She will,” he grinned and walked away.

I waved to both of them for the last time before the truck took off, sighed, and went inside. Time to call Lex.

…I was biting my lip while waiting for him to pick up the phone. God, I hate borrowing money!

“Hey,” he said finally.

“Hey,” I sighed. “Lex, I…”

“I know,” he interrupted me with a snort. “Miss Queen B just left, didn’t she?”

“Oy,” I sighed. “Yeah, she did. Lex, I…”

“I know,” he interrupted me again. “You hate it, but you need it. I’ll come over tomorrow. Going to bed right now.”

“Bed?” I hemmed. “Really? Who’s in there?”

“Me and my two hands,” he sighed. “I have a bitch of a headache… Plus, if there was in fact someone else in my bed, you’d be the first one to know, believe me.”

Yeah, I knew that.

“Okay,” I smiled. “Lex, I…”

“I know,” he sighed again. “And don’t mention it. One day I might be the one who needs a favor.”

“I owe you, like, fifty favors by now,” I said, and he laughed.

“Well, one day I might need fifty favors… All at once.”

“Deal,” I said seriously. “Night, Lex.”

“Night. I love you.”

“Love you back,” I said and hung up the phone.

I wasn’t lying when I said I loved him. I really did. Lex was my best friend on the face of the planet for almost three years now. I’ve met him in one of my classes when we were both freshmen in college. At first, I almost had an enormous crush on him. I mean, he was a hell of an eye candy. Tall (and I love tall guys, I really do), dark, and handsome. Sounds cheesy, I know, but that was Lex for you.

It seemed that he liked me as well; we would hang out all the time, sit together in all our classes, stuff like that. I knew for a fact that he wasn’t dating anyone, and it was puzzling the hell out of me when he wouldn’t make a move when we were alone. Finally, I just asked him straightforward (I always hated beating around the bush). He looked like he was trying not to panic. Later, I realized that was exactly what he was trying to do. Not to panic.

“What?” I frowned when he just sat there, avoiding my eyes. “Lex, if I am not your type, just say so! It’s not like I am going to hate you forever or something stupid like that…”

“You are not my type,” he said quietly.

“Oh,” was my clever response. I didn’t expect that, to be honest. “You like busty blondes, huh?” I tried to be funny, but made the whole thing even more uncomfortable.

“No,” he shook his head, and finally looked at me. “Jess, I am gay, okay?”

I just stared at him. He looked like the straightest of them all, seriously.

“Oh,” I said finally, and he looked away. “I would never…”

“Yeah,” he snorted. “I just don’t go around announcing this shit to people. I mean, it’s nobody’s business, right?”

“Right,” I nodded slowly. “So hold on… You mean, nobody knows?”

“Not in this school,” he shrugged. “I got burned a couple of years ago in high school… My mom had to move because shit kinda hit the fan… It was bad. So after that I just keep my mouth shut. Plus, this is a school, you know… Not a dating service.”

“Huh,” I said thoughtfully. “Well, I feel all warm and fuzzy that you shared it with me… You probably did it so I wouldn't rape you or something…”

He laughed at that.

“Yeah,” he said seriously. “That’s the only reason.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” I said, and he rolled his eyes.

“I know,” he nodded. “Otherwise, I would’ve let you rape me.”

“You sure you are not bi?” I asked with false hope in my voice.

“I am positive,” he grinned.

And ever since then we became just another cliché in the book -- a straight girl and a gay guy, best friends. Except, everyone thought we were a couple, since nobody knew about Lex. I didn’t care about what people thought and neither did Lex.

…I sighed and shoved my phone into the charger. Damn, have I mentioned that I hate borrowing money? I swore rather loudly and decided to go to bed early myself. Might as well.