On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss
Chapter 9
Seth
Istep out of the shower to the sound of my phone ringing on the sink. My feet blend with the fluffy floor mat, delighting my toes as I shift forward to grab it before it stops.
Drew.
I answer it, flick on the speakerphone, and set it back down. “Hey, man,” I say. “What’s up?”
“Did you know it would take one-hundred days to see all the art on display at The Louvre?” he asks.
I chuckle as I wrap a wonderfully thick towel around my waist. Seriously, I have to find out where Heidi and Jenna shop. Girl bathroom stuff is delightful.
“I did,” I say, “but only because Heidi told me a month ago. Is she talking your ear off about it now?”
“At this moment? No. We made it to the hotel in London and she fell right to sleep, but she spent a good three hours on the plane showing me her list of must see pieces.”
“Oh, dear,” I say, still laughing as I pick up the phone. “How many?”
“It’s all of them, Seth. She wants to see all of them.”
I open the door and poke my head out to check for Jenna. Not home yet.
“Did you remind her you’re only spending two days in Paris?” I ask as I bolt for Heidi’s room.
“I was going to, but... she was just so determined. I didn’t have the heart.”
I close the door behind me. “Well, I wish you the best of luck when she wakes up.”
“Thank you,” he says. “How are things over there with you and Jenna? Are you two the best of friends yet?”
“I don’t know,” I say as I dig into my duffel bag in search of clean underwear and my sweatpants. “She stomped out after I got here and hasn’t been back since.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything!” I scoff. “Why is everyone up my ass today? I had a near-death experience.”
“You didn’t call her a hag again, did you?”
“No.”I pause. “But I might have... implied... that she was... cheap and uninteresting.”
Drew sighs.
“But that was after she went on some dumb rant about her not being my mother and telling me I needed to pick up after myself — as if I needed to be told that.” I sloppily step into my sweatpants and pull them up. “I’m not a child.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I cook for myself.”
“You’re a wonderful cook.”
“Exactly! I’m smart and handy and I don’t deserve to be belittled by some two-faced—”
“Seth.”
I reel my tongue in. “By some really cool lady who is not at all comparable to Rita Repulsa.”
“Eh, good enough,” he says, clearly too tired to argue.
I plop down on the edge of the bed with my damp towel in hand. “I’ve showered, like… three times now and I can’t get the stench of smoke off of my body.”
“Hey, man. How are you doing?” Drew asks, concerned. “Like, really?”
I pause, quickly sitting upright. “I’m all right. Maybe a little unnerved, but… I’m all right.”
“Well, talk to Wilder if you can. She can probably recommend someone. If you need to talk to somebody, I mean.”
“Yeah,” I say, moving on as I dry my ears. “By the way, the water pressure here sucks.”
“I’ve been meaning to look into that,” he says, letting the subject change.
“It felt... like a gang of homeless guys spitting on me.”
He chuckles. “Aptly put.”
“How do you let my sister live like this?”
“Hey, man, no one lets Heidi do anything, you know that.”
I shrug. “I’ll check it out in the morning. If I can’t fix it, maybe the landlord will.”
“Good luck. That guy is useless. He never repairs anything. They’ve been using the laundromat by campus for over a year now because he refuses to fix the dryer in the basement.”
“There’s a dryer in the basement?” I ask. “There’s a basement?”
“Yeah.”
A scrapping sound carries in from the hallway beyond the door. Jenna must be back now. I ignore it.
“Maybe I’ll take a look at that, too,” I say. “What time is it over there?”
“Just after 1 AM,” Drew answers.
“You should go get some rest. Heidi will no doubt drag you out come sunrise.”
“Oh, she’s voiced as much. I just wanted to call you, though. Make sure everything was… okay over there. Everything is okay, right?”
“Everything is fine. Don’t worry too much about me and Jenna. We’ll be all right.”
“You sure about that?”
Another scrape. I raise a brow.
“Yes,” I lie.
“You don’t sound very confident, Seth.”
“Drew, I’m Delta Xi. I bleed confidence.”
“O-kay,” he says, not buying it.
Yet another scrape and I rise off the bed, my curiosity taking over. “Seriously. You focus on giving my sister the best damn dream vacation of her life, all right? Work that trust fund.”
Drew chuckles. “All right. I will.”
“Talk later, man.”
I hang up and throw open the door.
Oh, what in the fresh hell is this?
A line of hot pink duct tape splits the hallway right down the center. Jenna kneels on the floor with the roll of tape in her hand, carelessly pulling off strips and laying them down two feet at a time.
Scraaaaape.
“What in God’s name are you doing now?” I ask.
Jenna doesn’t look up, clearly ignoring me as she slaps another strip of tape to the carpet and moves down toward the living room.
“Jenna.”
She sits back on her knees and exhales hard as she points at my room. “Your side of the house,” she says as moves her pointer toward her door. “My side of the house.”
I blink twice. “Seriously?”
“You stay on your side. I’ll stay on my side.”
“Seriously?”
“Boundaries.”
She tears off another piece and slaps it down.
I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe, watching as she shuffles a little farther down the hall. My lips twitch with amusement. Seeing Jenna so riled up is... slightly more endearing than expected.
Still very annoying, though.
“Oh, Jenna...”
“What?”
“The bathroom is on your side,” I point out. “Will I be issued a bucket?”
Jenna pauses. She snaps her head in the direction of the bathroom door, her jaw flexing hard.
Clearly, Ms. Abrams did not think this plan through.
“You may use the facilities,” she says slowly. “Then, you’ll get back on your side. Agreed?”
I shrug. Honestly, it’s just too cute. “Agreed.”
“The kitchen is neutral ground,” she continues, “though I’d appreciate it greatly if you stayed out while I’m in there. I’ll show you the same courtesy.”
“How thoughtful.”
She tears off another strip of tape.
“What about the living room?” I ask.
“Stay out of the living room.”
Okay, it’s less cute now.
“Stay out?” I repeat.
She lays the final piece down, splitting the hallway in half. “Yes. Stay out,” she says. “You’re not allowed in there.”
“So, I’m relegated to Heidi’s room, limited trips to the bathroom, and the occasional kitchen visit — assuming you aren’t already in it?”
Jenna hoists herself off the floor. “Yes, that’s correct.”
“Oh, come on.” I roll my eyes. “Jenna, this is stupid.”
“No, this is necessary.”
“Why?”
“Boundaries!”
“You keep saying that as if it means something!”
She places her hands on her hips with an audible huff. “Look, Seth, if you and I are going to co-exist, then I have to tell you no.”
“No? No what?”
“No, you won’t go here. No, I won’t go there. And the two of us will live in harmony together.”
“Harmony?”
“For Heidi,” she says, making me pause. “I’m setting boundaries for Heidi because she deserves better.”
I stand still, her words ringing truth.
“Also…” She straightens up. “I’m setting these boundaries for my sanity and, frankly, for my safety.”
I frown. “Your safety?”
“Yes.”
“You feel unsafe with me here?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
I laugh. How the hell else am I supposed to react?
“What’s so funny?” she asks.
I turn up my hands. “Where shall I begin? How you’re literally splitting our living space with tape like a bratty kid sister in a sitcom? Declaring entire common areas off-limits?” I smirk. “Or should I leap directly to the ridiculous accusation that I’m a danger to you, even though you’re secretly thrilled to have me here?”
Her face screws up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I step toward her, pouting my bottom lip as I carefully stay on my side. “Oh, see, the last I heard, wittle Jenna was too scawred to be here all by her wittle wonesome and she needed a big, tough man to keep her safe at night.”
She gasps, deeply offended. “That is not even remotely true!”
“No?”
“No!”
“So, you wouldn’t mind if I grabbed my stuff and left?”
“I’d be just fine,” she says, gritting her teeth. “Even better without the freeloader lounging rent-free around my house.”
“Oh, I’ll earn my keep, Jenna. Don’t you worry about that.”
Her brow furrows at that, but she doesn’t ask.
I smile. “In the meantime, I’ll treat this new house rule with the same amount of respect as I have for you.”
“Meaning?”
I reach across the line and flick her forehead.
“Hey!”She recoils and slaps my hand away. “That’s assault!”
“No, that’s battery,” I correct her. “There’s a difference and the daughter of a federal judge should know that.”
She seethes as I spin around and purposefully stomp on her side as I head back to Heidi’s room.
“I’ll sue!” she shouts after me.
“You’ll be laughed out of court.”
“Stay on your side, Seth,” she warns. “I mean it!”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah!”
I pause in the doorway. “What are you gonna do about it?”
Jenna rolls her fists, but says nothing.
Clearly, Ms. Abrams did not think this plan through.
“No, it’s fine,” I say. “You’re right, Jenna. It’s a deal. You stay on your side. I’ll stay on my side. Boundaries.”
“Thank you.”
“But...” I feign concern. “You know, I sure hope no one thinks to break in during the night, because... well, if they stay on your side, I won’t be able to help you. Those are the rules, right?”
She sneers at me.
I grin. “Goodnight, Jenna!”
I kick the door closed behind me.