Tides of the Heart (Crestwood Chronicles #1)

Chapter 18

"Charlie, I am soo sorry!"

Dressed in a cropped sweater, booty shorts, and pink fuzzy socks, Lana chews her nails and bounces with anxiety. Seated in the center of our sagging couch, I read over the lease cancellation agreement one more time.

"No penalty fee," I remark. "That's nice."

"I know!" Lana winces with apology. "I was planning to pay through next month, but Betty wouldn't let me."

Betty, our landlady, is about a million years old. She's owned this house since before property in this area cost an arm, a leg, and a firstborn child, and after her husband died, she had it remodeled into a duplex. Now she lives in the smaller unit and rents the larger out to college kids.

"Just the good ones, though," she'd told us when we moved in, which we'd taken as the warning it was. She'd been skeptical of our relationship at first, though not because she didn't approve of mix-gender room-mates; she just found it hard to believe that "two such cuties," in her words, wouldn't fall in love. Eventually, she'd caught on that Lana isn't my "type," as it were, which put an end to her attempts at matchmaking.

Reaching across the coffee table, I hand the letter back to Lana.

"Don't worry about it," I say. "I think Betty has finally noticed Hazel is basically living here now. He might as well make it official."

I glance towards the kitchenette, where Hazel is busy cooking up a healthy meal of grilled herb chicken and vegetables. It's been three weeks since the night he showed up at my door. He still hasn't fully reconciled with his dad, but he hasn't forgotten to eat again, either. In fact, I've been eating a lot better since he effectively moved in.

"So... you're not mad?" Lana asks, a hopeful note creeping into her tone.

I look back at her. Usually, I might tease her a little, but not today.

"Nah, I'm not mad. How's Trey doing?"

Stepping around the low table to sit at my side, she releases her breath with a sigh.

"Better, but still not great."

Trey, her boyfriend, is the reason she's abandoning me. Apparently, he came out to his parents when he was fifteen, but rather than accept him, they'd decided that no child was better than a trans one, and kicked him out. His aunt had taken him in and supported him ever since.

A week ago, she died unexpectedly, and having no other close relations, her funeral arrangements fell to her brother, Trey's dad. Trey had been told not to attend the service unless he came in 'proper attire,' which meant in a dress and using his deadname.

Trey looks manlier than I do, and would draw a lot more attention in a dress than in a suit, but that's neither here nor there.

What matters is that his mental health took a steep dive, and if Lana thinks making a commitment like moving in together will help anchor him, then I'm the last person to stand in the way.

"He's lucky to have you," I say.

"Yeah, yeah." She rolls her eyes and lifts her chin towards Hazel. "And that one's lucky to have you. Think you can handle him on your own, cowboy?"

Blushing, I nod. "Yeah. If he gets out of hand, I've got your number."

Lana laughs. "I don't think I'm the one he wants to spank him."

"Lana!" I glance towards Hazel again, but he's busy tossing vegetables in a low-sided pan. A round of zucchini reaches escape velocity, vaults over the edge, and rolls across the floor with Hazel in pursuit. It disappears beneath the refrigerator just as Hazel drops to his hands and knees.