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“Well, no. It’s a restaurant that’s next to the beach. Anyway, she told me she got the job, the one she’s been filling in for.”
“So she’s staying in Florida?”
“Yeah, which means she’s getting rid of the apartment.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I can’t afford the rent. And the other apartments in that area are even more expensive. I’ll have to move to a cheaper part of town, like maybe around here.”
I don’t want her living here. It’s dangerous, especially for a girl. Even I don’t feel safe here anymore, but that might be because I was stabbed. Since that happened, I find myself constantly on alert, knowing people around here carry knives and thinking someone might stab me. I’m sure I’ll get over that fear, eventually. I just need more time to pass.
My knife wound is mostly healed now, but I still have to be careful. I have to avoid heavy lifting, which limits how much I can do at my job. Martin has me doing things like painting or patching walls and has Sean doing the jobs that require more strength. Martin decided he has enough work to keep both of us busy so Sean is going to keep working for him. It’s good, because it means I get to see Sean more and he’s doing a job he likes.
“Did I hear someone’s moving?” Martin asks, coming into the living room holding a mug of coffee. The guy drinks more coffee than anyone I know. He drinks it all day and night. Tara and I decided we’re going to buy him a new coffee maker for Christmas.
“My aunt’s staying in Florida,” Tara says. “I need to move out of her apartment. I can’t afford to stay there.”
“I’ve got a house for rent,” Martin says, sipping his coffee. “Just bought it last week. It’s a few miles from Jake’s school. It’s small, but bigger than that apartment you’re in.”
“Thanks, but I can’t afford the rent for a house. It’d be even more than an apartment.”
“I’ll give you a discount if you help fix the place up.”
“What do you mean by fix it up?”
“It’s in rough shape. It needs a lot done before I can charge what I’d like for the place. The carpet needs to be ripped out. New cabinets put in. The walls need to be painted.”
“I don’t think I could do all that myself.”
He smiles. “I realize that, which is why Jake and Sean would be helping you. If you’re interested, I’ll let you live there for half what your current apartment rent is.”
“Are you serious?” Tara looks at me, then back at Martin. “I’ll take it!”
“As I said, it’s in rough shape. And you’ll have to live there while it’s being worked on.”
“I don’t care. I just need a place to live.”
“Great! Let’s meet there tomorrow around noon. I’ll show you the place and we can go over everything that needs to be done.” He holds up his mug. “I’m going to go warm up my coffee.”
He goes to the kitchen.
“You sure you’re up for this?” I say, setting Tara on my lap. “Construction is hard work.”
“It’s not really construction. It’s just painting and fixing stuff.”
“It’ll be more than that. When Martin decides to fix up a house, it always ends up being more work than he thought. But it turns out well in the end. The house we just finished sold for twice what he paid.”
“So after we fix it up, he’s selling it? I thought these were rentals.”
“They are, until he decides to sell.”
“So I may only be living there a short time.” She sighs. “And then I’ll have to move again.”
“Martin’s not going to kick you out. And maybe by the time we’re done fixing this place, I could move in and help with the rent.”
She smiles. “Are you saying you want to live with me?”
“What if I was?”
