Considerably Wicked [Excerpt Only]

Chapter 4: Una

Five minutes.

Una Miller checked her watch and her frown deepened into a scowl. She had been standing at the foot of the bed for five minutes in the room where Tyra, her housemate, was sleeping soundly with her guest.

She still had a class to attend, but she thought it could wait. To her, nothing was more pressing than how much she needed to talk to Tyra and how deceived she felt that very moment.

The girl had brought another guy to her house again.

Tyra had broken the house rules Una had implemented when she agreed with her doctor to start opening up to people and begin accepting renters. She had explained to Tyra the importance of following rules, but no, the latter had repeatedly ignored and broken them. And just like her previous lessees, she could throw Tyra out of her house without batting an eye. After all, she owned the house.

Una's eyes surveyed her housemate's bare back. After giving her sloppy roommate a few chances to bend the rules a little bit, she had finally decided to throw her out once and for all—out of her life! And she couldn't care less if Tyra would have to stay in the streets. She didn't need a companion like her.

Stupid girl never learned.

As the clock continued to tick, her patience was wearing thin, and when the alarm clock on Tyra's bedside table finally broke the silence in the room, she took a deep breath. Her jaw tightened when she heard a groan.

Tyra slowly eased onto her side before lifting her hand to slam the annoying clock shut. Her eyes popped open as soon as she caught the sight of Una.

"What the fuck, Una!" She grabbed the sheets to cover her breasts.

Rule number three. No swearing.

"I want you to leave my house now," Una ordered in her authoritative voice.

"Excuse me?" Tyra glanced at the guy next to her, whose hand had moved up to feel her, stroking the side of her breast. She quickly whacked his hand away and glanced up at her furious landlady.

Rule number two. Never bring your boyfriend/s or any random people into the house.

"You violated the rules. You're out," Una said. "Pack your bags and leave."

"Are you insane? I just can't leave. This has been my home for, like, forever! And we've been through a lot," Tyra protested, outraged by the sudden turn of events.

"Been through a lot? You just moved in a month ago. We barely talk to each other. We're not even friends," Una reminded her. "I own this house, and you broke most of the rules you had agreed to before you moved in. I gave you two chances. You have to leave now."

Tyra jumped out of the bed and yanked the sheets to cover herself up, revealing the guy's bare buttocks in front of Una as she did so.

Una quickly looked away, appalled by the idea of a completely nude guy in her house.

"You are a nutcase, you know? The only friends you have are your pathetic therapist and that opportunist floozy. You don't even have a dog or a cat!" Tyra yelled at her. "You will die alone."

"Whatever you say will not change the fact that I own this house, Tyra. You should have thought twice before bringing a random stranger into my house and breaking my rules. This conversation wouldn't be happening right now had you controlled your hormones. Now leave or I'll call the police and have you and your naked friend arrested." Una clenched her fists at her sides, trying desperately to control the anger that was rapidly building inside her.