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“Yep. Thanks, Jess. See you then.”
She tossed her phone on the unmade bed and slipped on her Post Road Market uniform, tucking the black polo inside the matching black pants. She twisted her hair into a claw clip and grabbed her glasses on the nightstand, then descended the stairs. She slowed as the twinkling sound of a video game booted up downstairs.
She eyed Charlie as she grabbed her purse and coat by the door. He plopped down on the couch, holding a controller she’d never seen before.
“What is that?”
“It’s the new Switch. It finally came yesterday.”
She froze, staring at the expensive-looking video game contraption on their cheap entertainment center, the wood sagging further down the middle compared to when she first bought it at a consignment shop four years earlier. “You…bought it?”
“Yeah, like, two weeks ago,” he answered.
Her shoulders tensed as she stared at a completely oblivious Charlie, his eyes bouncing across the screen as he played.
“You bought an expensive video game console two weeks ago?” Her mind raced. How?
“Technically it’s not that expensive, not as much as a PlayStation 5.”
“Charlie…how are we able to afford that?”
He paused the game, finally looking up at her. “Huh?”
She was fuming. Grilled cheese for breakfast. No coffee. A table covered in bills and receipts because her finances were an absolute wreck.
She dropped her purse, holding up her arms. “How the fuck are we going to afford that, Charlie?” she screamed, her voice cracking “We barely have the money to pay rent!”
Charlie dropped the controller on the couch and stood up, his eyebrows raised. “Jess, for shit’s sake, it’s fine. I put it on my credit card.”
She sucked in a breath. She might be broke but there was always one thing she never messed with—her credit. Even if she didn’t use her card much, she made sure to always pay it off. She couldn’t afford to have a bad credit score. Bad credit meant never getting out of this tiny apartment and finding something bigger. Bad credit meant not replacing her ancient car, whenever that day would come. Even if she shared everything else with Charlie—everything—she had yet to share a credit card with him. And right now, staring at a brand-new Nintendo Switch that could’ve likely paid for three months’ worth of groceries, she was thankful for the little voice in her head that’d told her not to.
Except, of course, she knew Charlie. Knew that he never would’ve used his own credit card on something like this. He hoarded money and only paid the bare minimum she needed from him, month after month. Which meant only one thing.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” she roared. “Which card did you put it on?”
His shoulders dropped, his gaze softening. “Jess…”
“WHICH CARD?!”
He didn’t have to answer her, because it was clear. Charlie used the credit card connected to his father’s bank account, the one he’d kept in his wallet since he was sixteen.
“Jess, someone is standing outside.” The relief in his voice was palpable.
Jess whipped around, noticing a figure standing in the outside entryway. She stormed over and flung the door open, finding her coworker Rory standing there, wide seafoam-green eyes staring back at her with a mix of shock and pity.
Jess glared at her. “What are you doing here?”
“I-I just—”
She couldn’t take any of this girl’s bullshit high school drama right now. Not when she had her own problems to worry about. “Leave now.”
“Jess, is everything—?”
“Now, Rory!”
She nodded and shuffled backward, but Jess didn’t bother waiting for her to leave. She slammed the door and turned back to Charlie. “I thought you said you got rid of it.”
“I said I wouldn’t use it,” Charlie corrected.
