troubled | e.d.

forty-seven

ethan

"babe, if you would just pick it up from the— no! other side— what are you doing?" i grunt out, trying to maneuver the mini-fridge up the three flights of stairs to tessa's dorm room.

she laughs, and in the dim stairway light i see the sweat-beads on her forehead. "i'm sorry, okay! i'm not strong like you."

"you don't need to be strong you just need to not be an idiot," i breathe out, heaving it up to get a better grip.

"i have a problem with that one too," she says. "dang it."

i finally let out a strangled laugh, trying not to let it drop on my toes. "go! keep walking!"

she puts her foot up on another step, and it wobbles. "set it down, set it down."

her voice is urgent, so i lower the fridge down on its side, panting a little from the two flights we've already done.

i give the fridge a little slap on the side and wait for richard to come in and carry it up for the both of us. he's carrying up her bedspread, and sighs when he sees our defeated faces.

"come on, dolan, really?" he asks teasingly as he thrusts the comforter into my arms. "i thought you were stronger than that."

"apparently not," i admit and watch as he heaves it up in just his two hands, craning his neck to see the stair steps in front of him.

the worst possible time for all the elevators to be broken, truly.

tessa guides his footing and i follow behind, carrying nothing except the light bedspread and happy with the fact.

these past six days have been filled with me sending my family back off to new jersey, reconnecting with cameron, and laughing with tessa by how we actually thought i'd be in jail right now.

it's crazy, really.

now that the school year is starting, she lives 30 minutes away instead of 15, and her classes will keep her busy, so i think it'll be a little less time with the two of us, but i'm not worried at all.

richard carries the mini-fridge up with minimal struggles and sets it on the floor of her room. tessa paid extra not to have a roommate, which i said would lessen the experience, but she told me she would absolutely not be able to share a single space with another stranger.

so she pushed the two lifted beds together on one side, forming a queen size and leaving more room for extra stuff. her desk is already set up with her computer and school supplies, so i climb up the ladder to the bed to begin making it.

it's a lot harder than it seems. eventually after many failed attempts and groans of frustration, we lift the mattresses off the bed and lay them on the floor as we put the sheets on.

when her dad leaves to go back down to the car to get some more stuff, tessa pulls me in by the arm and rests her chin on my chest as she looks up at me with her sparkly hazel eyes.

"well hi there," i smile, pushing some of her hair out of her face.

"promise you'll come visit me even though i live a little further than before?" she asks, holding out her pinky.