Roommates (Soulmates #1) (3 page)

Chapter 4: Ethan

“I’ve
decided to let you stay,” I said, forking another clump of scrambled eggs.
“Since this breakfast isn’t half bad.”

She
swallowed the bite she was chewing. “I didn’t realize you were thinking about
kicking me out, but thanks. I’m glad my eggs have helped you decide to do the
right thing.”

“You’re
welcome.”

“Maybe
you could celebrate my good luck by putting some clothes on.”

I
looked up from my plate.

Her
hazel eyes were down on her eggs.

“I
thought you were an artiste?”

“I’m
an actress.”

“A
wannabe actress.”

“Better
than an honest to goodness asshole.”

One
side of my mouth curled up in a smile.

She
raised her eyebrows. “What’s your point?”

“No
point,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I’m just surprised that a half naked
human body would be so offensive to you.”

“And
I’m surprised you didn’t learn some respect after all those years in boarding
school.”

I
narrowed my eyes at her. “Respect? You’re the one that showed up here
uninvited.”

“Your
dad said it was okay.”

“What
the heck does that even mean? You think his lack of consideration for my
privacy is an excuse for your rudeness?”

She
pulled a knee up to her chest and hugged it. “Look, Ethan. I only need to stay
for a few days. I thought it would be okay because I’ve never asked you for
anything.”

I
blinked at her. I supposed that was true, but she’d demanded so much of my
attention over the years it felt like it couldn’t be.

“Plus,
I would do it for you.”

I
rolled my eyes.

She
raised her eyebrows. “But if I’m really cramping your style so much, just say
the word and I’ll go.”

I
bit one of my triangles of toast in half. “Where would you go?”

“I
don’t know. I’ll figure something out if I have to,” she said. “But frankly,
I’m beyond stressed out over this audition, and I really don’t need your shit right
now.”

I
groaned. Why did she have to be so fucking sensitive- to my nakedness, my
attitude? Could she not see how severely style cramping that was?

“Well?”

“You
don’t have to go, okay. I’m not even really mad at you. I’m mad at my dad for
having the audacity to copy my fucking key without permission and then lend it
out to guests without giving me so much as a heads up.”

She
pursed her lips.

“You’d
think his controlling ways would’ve lessened considering how long ago I moved
out and the fact that I went halfway across the country to get some goddamn
space, but he just won’t take a hint.”

“I
know he can be a little intense-”

I
furrowed my brow. “A little intense?! He makes Robert De Niro in Meet the
Parents look like Mr. Rogers.”

“Which
is why when he told me to take your key and show up here, I didn’t feel like I
had a choice.”

I
stared at her open face. She looked so young in her matching pajamas, so
innocent. And I knew she was telling the truth.

After
all, I got out.

I’d
learned how to say no to my dad after years of practice and distance, distance
she never had. And even though he wasn’t her father, he was intimidating in a
way I can only imagine was hellish for her growing up.

Plus,
without me around to distract him, I often worried about how things must’ve
been for her after I left.

But,
selfishly, I didn’t care. Because even though my dad was a controlling prick, I
knew she was safe under his roof, though I admit it never occurred to me that
she might ever be under mine.

“You
gonna eat that?” I asked, lifting my chin towards her last triangle of toast.

She
slid her plate towards me.

“Tell
me about your audition,” I said.

“Yeah?”

“Sure.”
I figured I’d given her enough hell for the day, which I had to do because she
couldn’t stay. She couldn’t like it here.

But
considering that her time was limited, I might as well get her talking.

After
all, maybe if I got to know her, I’d discover that she wasn’t all that great
anymore and that I’d outgrown my stupid childhood crush on her, a crush I never
should’ve had in the first place.

Cause
back then she was a weird drama student teacher’s pet who I couldn’t be seen to
acknowledge, much less like.

And
yet, in those days, everything about her was interesting to me: the way she
looked in headbands, the way she hummed to herself when she thought no one was
paying attention, the stupid pride she took in her grades. She was like another
species, and most of the time, I couldn’t tell if I was studying her or hunting
her.

“One
of my professors told me about it. It’s the story of the Beach Boys and their
rise to-”

“So
are you going for the part of Dennis or Brian?”

She
cocked her head. “Very funny.”

I
smiled. I knew androgynous looks were in these days, but Jen couldn’t have
played a convincing man if she were the best actor in the world.

“To
be honest, I’d be happy with anything. I mean, this is my first audition for
something this big. If I even get to be an extra I’ll be thrilled.” She pulled
her feet up and sat cross legged. “It would be a relief to have something on my
resume besides school productions, ya know?”

I
folded my arms across my chest. “So what do you have to do to prove you’re the
person for the job?”

“I
have to read out some lines, sing a bit, and there’s a good chance they’ll
teach me a routine to see how quickly I can pick up choreography.”

“Sounds
like you’ll have plenty of chances to impress them.”

“I
hope so,” she said. “I know it would be lucky to get something so soon after
graduation, but I don’t really have a Plan B.”

“I
was never really into Plan B’s myself.”

Her
eyes softened at the edges, and I felt a twinge in my groin.

“So
what’s Plan A?” I asked. “To become a huge movie star?”

She
laughed. “That’s sort of Plan A+.”

I
raised my eyebrows.

“I’d
be happy if I could just get enough acting jobs to keep food on the table and
not have to go back to Ohio.”

“I
hear that.”

“It’s
not really fame I’m after. I just want to make a living doing what I love, if
that makes sense.”

“It
does,” I said. “And I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah?”

I
shrugged. “Of course. I love my job.”

She
narrowed her eyes at me. “You love bartending?”

“I
do.”

“Cool.”

“You
don’t have to get it,” I said, reaching for her empty plate and stacking it on
my own. “Just like I don’t have to get what you like so much about showing
people your jazz hands.”

“I
suppose.” She stood up and reached for the plates. “Here. Let me.”

I
watched her wrap her delicate fingers around the stack of dishes. “Thanks,” I
said, standing up.

She
walked around the counter to the sink and turned on the tap.

“You
know where you’re going today then?”

She
started to glance up at me but her eyes only got halfway up my chest before she
looked back down at the bottom of the sink. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Great,”
I said, walking back towards my room. “Well, break a leg.”

“Thanks,”
she said, letting her eyes meet mine for a second.

But
as I closed the door to my room, I had a horrible sinking feeling that the only
thing at risk of getting broken here was my heart.

All
over again.

Just
like the day she got cast in the role of my stepsister.

Chapter 5: Jenny

My first impression of New York was that it was a hostile, loud,
crazy place that didn’t love me back.

I don’t know why I’d built it up in my mind as this OZ where the
clouds were going to part, the sun was going to shine down on me, and my
obvious talent and stage presence would be so apparent as I walked down the
street that people would come up and say they were sure they recognized me from
somewhere and could they have a selfie and an autograph.

Instead, the overwhelming feeling I had- starting with the first
horn that nearly gave me a heart attack- was that I was in everyone’s way.

And not only was I in everyone’s way, but everyone was far more
important than I was and they were headed somewhere far more important than
where I was going.

Which made it hard to cling to my energizing hopefulness.

And as misplaced as my positivity probably was, I didn’t want to
lose it because I knew I didn’t stand a chance in this city if I didn’t nurture
my deluded self-belief.

I’d read enough celebrity biographies to know that the only way
I was ever going to make it in show businesses was if I was my biggest fan.

So I couldn’t waiver in my confidence. I couldn’t doubt my
destiny, and I couldn’t second guess my right to be here. Otherwise, everyone
else would, too.

Like the greats who went before me, I would embrace my triumphs
as much as my failures, and I would constantly remind myself that only people
who’ve made it have critics.

After all, if I didn’t believe I had talent and that
entertaining people was my true calling, I might just curl up under a blanket
with a good book and never try to get on stage again.

I certainly wouldn’t have climbed the steps onto that bus
yesterday, the bus that brought me to the heart of the action and would someday
be the bus that starred in my memories as the bus ride that changed it all.

Cause there was no going back.

If I wanted to be somebody someday, I had to keep my chin up
despite feeling like this place was going to eat me alive and spit me out.

If only my fearlessness wasn’t an act.

If only I were brave like Ethan.

I mean, he was the kind of tough I wanted to be. He didn’t give
a shit what people thought of him. He did what he wanted to do, and he didn’t
apologize for it.

I never thought I’d say this about someone that got expelled
from school, but I could learn a lot from him.

Sure, I would be fine once the audition was underway. I always
was. Being other people was what I was most comfortable with.

It was those few minutes in the beginning when I had to
introduce myself and be little ole Jennifer Layne from Middle of Freaking
Nowhere, Ohio that terrified me.

And by the seventh time a turning car honked at me, I thought I
was going to burst into tears.

Where I was from, nobody ever beeped at anyone- unless it was to
get their attention so you could offer them a friendly wave.

But this place was unsympathetic, and while I’d heard people say
it was better to be a little fish in a big pond, I was starting to think maybe
that saying hadn’t been thought through.

I squeezed my way out of the herd of people I was traveling with
to catch my breath, feeling like I finally understood what it must be like to
be a wildebeest caught in a stampede.

Once I had a bit of much needed personal space, I checked the
street signs and then my map. I was only one street away and a full hour early.
I put my stuff away, zipped my purse, and backed up against the wall of the department
store behind me as I pulled out my phone.

“Hello?”

“Brandi, it’s me,” I said, covering my open ear so I could block
out the chorus of honking taxis.

“Me who?”

“Jen!”

“Oh my god. Jenny Layne. Gosh, I haven’t talked to you since you
left for New York to become a big star.”

“You’re hilarious.”

“I’m so glad you haven’t forgotten the little people in your
life now that you’re so busy drinking after work with Amy Schumer and Jennifer
Lawrence.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, well. It hasn’t been all milk and
cookies. Amy can be a bit needy.”

“I bet. All the funniest people are.”

I cocked my head. “Are you done?”

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

“My audition is soon, and I need someone to tell me what an
awesome big deal I am because it seems like no one in this city got the memo.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “That’s going to make your rapid rise
to stardom all the more sweet.”

“Go on.”

“Just make sure you notice who’s the most rude to you so you can
snub them once you’re a big star.”

I laughed. “So far the only person on that list is Ethan, and
I’m not sure there’s any joy in snubbing someone who wouldn’t even notice.”

“Is he still the most gorgeous guy on Earth?”

“I don’t understand the question.”

“Yes you do.”

“He’s still obnoxious,” I said. “Though I guess he did tell me
to break a leg, which is, like, the nicest thing he’s ever said to me.”

“Does he have a girlfriend?”

“I’m not sure girlfriends are really his thing.”

“Only because he hasn’t seen me in years.”

“Yes. I’m sure that’s why.”

“Do you think if you get the part, he’ll let you stay with him?”

“No. I think he’s barely prepared to tolerate me for a few
days.”

“Why is he so awkward around you? You’ve never done shit to
him.”

“I know.”

“You don’t think he knows about that thing you wrote in your
diary after-”

“No. I don’t. And you’re a bitch for mentioning that and for
reading my diary in the first place.”

“Sorry, but as my best friend, you’re required to tell me
everything, and I had a feeling you were holding something back.”

“But-”

“And you were.”

“Yeah, well, I was sixteen, and I had a lot of confusing
feelings back then.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like you thought anything I didn’t think
myself-”

“Moving on swiftly-”

“Oh right. The point is, you’re the most beautiful, talented,
photogenic person I know, and you’re going to absolutely nail your audition.”

“Better.”

“And not just because it’s what you’ve always wanted, but
because then you can move me out to your mansion in L.A., and I can be your
personal spray tanner to make sure you always look red carpet ready.”

“Of course.”

“Instead of having to spend my day tanning all these
Midwesterner’s cottage cheese thighs.”

“I suppose you would really owe me then.”

“Quite happily, too.”

“Okay, well I better go.”

“Me, too. I’m training a new girl today, and if her second
victim comes out any worse than the first, we’re going to have to change the
name of the place to Fifty Shades.”

“Yikes.”

“Anyway, let me know how the audition goes and give Ethan a big
wet kiss for me.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Fair enough, bitch. Chat soon.”

I hung up, put my phone on silent so I wouldn’t forget when I
got to the audition, and slipped it in my purse.

Then I took off down the street and channeled my inner Gaga all
the way to the studio.