There was no way I could keep this up. I would have to leave long enough to call a plumber and in that time the whole bathroom would be flooded. Maybe I shouldn’t have told Rix to leave.
I should have told him to use the bucket while I called for help.
Maybe it was the exhaustion or the sudden appearance of my nemesis on the front porch but tears flooded my eyes. This whole trip was one giant fail. After everything fell apart in New York, it had seemed like a lifeline to realize that we still had a place to live, a place that no one could touch.
But so far my plan was a complete bust. I was supposed to be getting the house ready so my mom and sister would have a safe place to hide out from the craziness. It was only my second day in town and I’d already ruined one room of the house.
After a few minutes the water suddenly slowed to a trickle and then stopped completely.Panting, I pushed soggy hair out of my face. I looked around in confusion. Hendrix appeared in the doorway again.
“You’re still here?”
“Why didn’t you just turn off the main water valve?” he asked finally.
My face flushed before I turned back to the tub. I didn’t want to admit that I hadn’t known to do that. No one told me about a water valve. I wasn’t exactly Bob the Builder so why the hell would I know any of this?
“You never explained what you’re doing here.”
If he noticed my deflection, thankfully he didn’t comment.
“Tana told me you had a room to rent? She knows I’ve been looking for a place.”
I was a little skeptical that Tana would send him here knowing how much we’d always hated each other. She knows Rix is the last person I would ever want to live with. Tana wouldn’t have lived with him either if she’d had a choice growing up. Not only was Hendrix a pain in the ass but he was also a complete slob. Think sporting equipment and free weights everywhere you could trip on them with the glorious edition of socks with an odor so strong they could be used as general anesthesia.
I doubted he’d improved much over the years. That was probably why he needed to find a new place. His current roommate probably couldn’t deal with him either.
“What’s wrong with where you’re living right now? Did you get kicked out?”
He shrugged. “The owners sold the place. I’m living with my brother right now.”
I smiled at the thought of Van Halen. His older brother was flirtatious and charming, basically everything the surly Hendrix was not.
“That’s not working out?”
“It’s great. Until he’s banging his girlfriend in the next room. Which is why I really need to move out.”
I laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“Look, I know we haven’t exactly been friends in a while–“
“Ever. We haven’t been friends ever,” I interrupted.
“–but surely we can coexist in the same place for a few months. Tana said it’s just for the summer. That’s perfect. It’ll give me the time I need to find a place I want to buy.”
“Nope.”
As I walked out of the bathroom, I held my sopping wet shirt away from my skin. The last thing I wanted to do was keep wearing a gross shirt but there was no point in changing until I’d mopped up all the water from the bathroom. Gran Grace had always kept cleaning supplies in the small closet off the kitchen so I could only hope her old mop was still there. I opened the door.
Yes.
I grabbed the mop, thankful it was one of those old rag ones that lasted forever. If I got all the water up quickly it wouldn’t do permanent damage to the floors, right? Bathroom floors were made to get wet, after all.
Maybe this wouldn’t be as big of a problem as I’d thought. I called on my PhD in HGTV to mentally calculate how much it would cost if I was wrong about the bathroom floor. Having to replace the subfloor would be expensive, adding thousands to my bathroom renovation budget.
“Why not? What’s the big deal?”
Startled, I whirled around. I was so consumed by my thoughts I hadn’t realized Rix had followed right on my heels. I didn’t like the idea of him sneaking around behind me. Despite being an adult (allegedly) I didn’t trust him not to give me a wedgie or put something in my hair.
“What’s the big deal? Seriously? We hate each other.”
“Hate is a strong word.”
Rix shrank back when I whirled in his direction, the mop held in front of me like a sword.
“You stole my clothes while we were at the creek. Everybody saw my boobs!”
“The clothes thing was dumb. I shouldn’t have done that. But that’s all in the past.”
As if he wasn’t even talking, I poked him in the chest with the mop handle while listing his many sins. “You told your mom I dropped that pie at Christmas when you are the one who tripped me.”
He snickered but then shrank back when I glared at him.
“Then you told everyone that I smelled like yogurt.”
He winced at the reminder. “Well–”
“You ruined my prom!”
With that last sobering fact, I walked back to the living room. At least he’d remembered to close the front door so I wouldn’t have a house full of flies. I stopped with my hand on the front door knob.
“Thanks for stopping by.”
He sighed. “This is my only option. Otherwise I’ll end up sleeping in my car.”
“Why would you sleep in your car?”
“Anything is better than seeing Van’s naked ass cheeks again.”
A laugh escaped before I could stop it which only pissed me off more. I didn’t want to laugh at his stupid jokes or notice how strong his jawline was. His dirty blond hair shouldn’t fascinate me and I definitely shouldn’t care whether he’d have to sleep in his car.
When I didn’t say anything else, he finally got the hint. His shoulders slumped but when I opened the front door, he walked out.
I was tempted to just slam the door behind me but then I remembered he’d saved my bathroom by turning off the water. As much as I hated the idea of owing Rix for anything, I couldn’t deny the fact that he had helped. If the situation had been reversed, I might not have been so quick to end his misery.
“Thank you for turning the water off,” I finally said.
He acknowledged that with a wave over his shoulder as he skipped down the steps. Right before he reached the driveway, he turned around.
“By the way, nice bra.”
I looked down. Of course today I would be wearing a black lace bra beneath my white shirt. My wet white t-shirt.
Perfect.
-Thanks for reading the First Look excerpt for YOU RUIN EVERYTHING. Stay tuned for more information about the book, cover reveal, and release date!