Page 21 of The Other Room

Matt was sprawled on the couch in a position that made my bones ache just looking at it. He was right. We needed a new couch.

“Hey, Roomster! Welcome home. How was work?” he asked, clicking the remote to mute the TV.

“Fine,” I snapped, then closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Unless you’re in love with him, you’ll forgive him.

Determined to prove my sister wrong, I forced my lips up into an unnatural smile. “It was good. A lot easier than the past two nights. And I got cut early.”

Wide eyes met mine while he undoubtedly processed the fact I’d willingly spoken to him. And smiled. Well, kind of smiled.

“Uh, good. Great.” He tried to sit up but the bow in the couch thwarted his attempts. “Sorry. Let me just,” he grunted, “get out of this. Jesus! I’m throwing this thing out tomorrow.”

The sight of him struggling caused a real smile to start on my lips, but I bit my lower lip and forced it away.

Petunia came out of my bedroom and rubbed up against my legs. “Hey, Petunia.” I leaned down to scratch her.

“Great. I’m stuck in the couch and that damn cat has the upper hand if she decides to attack me right now.”

The smile started again, and this time I let it rise for a full second before forcing it away.

With a grunt, Matt rolled out of the hole and landed on the floor, quickly leaping to his feet and stepping out of Petunia’s swiping range.

“Ha!” He pointed at her. “Not this time.”

The smile got the best of me and I let it grow. Even showing my teeth this time.

Matt stood staring at me, then pointed at my face. “Is that... is that a smile?”

“Don’t push it,” I grumbled and pulled it down into a frown.

“Right. Don’t push it.”

Awkward silence settled between us. Having spent our lives in easy conversation and endless laughter, it was painful to feel the tension between us. Tension that I continued to put there. Tension I was going to try to ease up on. A little.

Maybe.

“Whatcha watching?” I sat on the arm of the couch to avoid getting sucked into the endless pit.

Matt took a few cautious steps toward me and then sat on the other arm. “Uh, reruns of Family Guy.”

“I love Family Guy.”

“I remember.” He smiled; a shy smile unnatural for the guy who usually lit up the room with his grins.

“Yeah.” I shook my head. “Of course you do. We used to watch it together all the time.”

“I remember that, too.” His smile grew a little more.

The silence seeped into the space between us again, and I shifted on the couch arm.

“Should I turn the volume on? You wanna watch?”

Forgive him, Jo.

With a shrug, I nodded. “Sure.”

While I sat on the uncomfortable ledge, I tried to force my eyes on the screen. Tried to keep from staring at Matt like he’d sprouted three heads. Vegging out watching Family Guy was something we’d done a hundred times, but right now it felt like the most unnatural thing in the world. It’d been over a year since I’d sat in a room alone with him. Over a year since I was even in a room with him and not glaring at him or telling him to get the hell out.