Tuning Heartstrings

Chapter 9

(Written August 1, 2014) 

As soon as Jason knocks, a guy with big, black-rimmed Ray-Ban glasses opens the door. He looks at me momentarily, then at Jason, and back at me. Adjusting his glasses, he puts his left hand on his hip and sighs.

"So, first you run out, and then you return with a rando? Seriously, what is wrong with you, dude?"

Before Jason can reply, I extend my hand towards John, and he shakes it. I clear my throat.

"Hey, you must be John. Nice to meet you, I'm Liz."

He laughs. "Ah, I see you sensed the nerdiness and guessed I'm John, very accurately. I must say I am pleased, Liz." He looks back at Jason and his smile fades. "Dude, can you please tell me what the hell is going on? I am too tired to take any more bullshit from you or Liam tonight."

Jason looks at me and asks me to give him and John a second to talk. I nod and step away as they both step inside the apartment and close the door. I hear whispers of "know her from school," "needs a place to stay," and "parents" before John opens the door wide and hugs me.

"Liz, I am so sorry if I behaved rudely. We would be more than happy to share our humble abode with you. Please come on in. Here, give me your bag."

I walk in and look around the small apartment. It screams "boys live here" because it looks like someone tried to hoard everything they've ever owned and then a hurricane came and threw everything everywhere. But still, it feels safe and comforting. I catch a quick glance of the tiny '90s kitchen and see food and garbage lying all over the kitchen counters. There are printed papers thrown all over a rustic dining table. I look at the living room portion connected to the kitchen and see a guy watching TV with full concentration. From Jason's earlier description, I know it's Liam.

I look over at Jason and whisper, "Should I go say hi?" He nods but whispers back, "If he says anything remotely stupid, I'll step in."

It's been an overwhelming night, and I hope this is the last main event. My throat feels dry as I walk over to the TV. I don't remember the last time I had something to drink. Liam looks over at me, turns off the TV but doesn't move or say anything. I give him a slight awkward smile but receive an even sterner look.

"Hi, I'm Liz."

"Well, Liz, why in the world are you standing inside my apartment at 4 am?"

I turn to Jason, shrug, and give him a weird expression, thinking, jeez, that's one hell of a warm welcome. Jason walks over, but before he can say a word, John jumps in.

"Liam, Jason brought Liz home as a new roommate because she is his childhood friend and needs a place to stay."

"Well, John, tell Jason this is not a homeless shelter. This is my home. I pay one-third of the rent, and I do not want to tolerate any new people. Jason is enough of a hassle."

Jason clenches his jaw but doesn't move. As for me, well, I am still processing this warm welcome.

Jason continues glaring at Liam. "That's pretty rude of you, Liam. Liz is here and will be staying with us. She is family, and if it helps make your heart feel a bit lighter, I'll make sure her portion of the rent is paid."

Liam is about to say something but pauses, and John sees this as an excuse to sit down on one of the bean bag chairs lying by the TV. As I watch John adjust onto the bean bag, Liam catches me looking at the bean bag and speaks.

"We don't have sofas. We can't afford them yet. Also, this 'living room' is the size of a closet, so I don't think we could fit more than one in here. Anyways, you look like you haven't eaten or drank anything in days."

As the rest of us stay frozen in our spots, Liam gets up from his place, walks over to the kitchen, and grabs two slices of pizza. He then microwaves it for what I think is 25 seconds, walks over, and hands me the plate with a soda can.

"Bon appétit, Liz."

I can't tell if there's sarcasm in his tone.

John and Liam had a movie playing all this time on mute, and when John sees the pizza in my hand, he asks me to come sit with him and finish watching the movie. Jason nods at me and gestures for Liam to go into another room with him. They both leave as John and I work on finishing the pizza and the movie.

The movie has been playing for about 45 minutes when Liam walks back in and approaches me with a stern face. He motions for me to stand up.

Anxiously, I stand up quickly, wondering if my existence just pisses him off or if I've managed to mess something up somehow, some way, once again.