Page 41 of Trust Me

“Love you, D.”

“I love you too. Tell Dad also.”

“Of course I will.”

Once again, I wondered why Oli had offered me this room. What did he get out of it? I saw him talk to people at school, plus he had Remi, so it made no sense that he would be lonely, but what else could it be? Boredom, maybe.

He had a management position, but there was no way this was easy to afford. A little help with the rent might’ve been all he needed. Five hundred was still five hundred, and it wasn’t like he’d been using the room anyway.

I quickly scanned through the rest of the lease and signed the parts they’d highlighted for me in green. When I got to the last page, my brows rose. Down in the corner, drawn with the same green highlighter, there was a little dinosaur.

A small laugh escaped me as I gathered the papers together. The office was open for another thirty minutes, and I didn’t want to forget, so I immediately headed out of the apartment and down the stairs.

It was a short walk, but I shivered in the cold. The clouds were looking a little grey, and I found myself hoping it’d rain. Not that I had to hope much. This was Seattle.

“Welcome in,” the woman at the desk called when I walked in the door.

I smiled and made my way over to her, lifting the stack of papers a little. “I’ve got this lease all signed.”

“Oh, for 201?”

I nodded. She took it from me and quickly checked that I’d signed everything.

Pushing my hands into my pockets, I glanced around the little space. “So, do you need anything else from me? I thought there’d be a whole application or something.”

Her eyes seemed to sparkle when she looked at me. “Generally, but it’s Oli.” She must’ve seen that her statement confused me because she chuckled. “Mallory trusts that he knows what he’s doing. Just don’t tell anyone we gave you special treatment.” She winked conspiratorially. “Seriously, it’s kinda . . . frowned upon. Fair housing and all that.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

“He’s just the sweetest, and honestly, we were so excited to hear about you.”

“Excited?”

“Cassandra,” another woman said from an office off to the side. She walked out of it, then looked surprised when she saw me. “Oh, I’m sorry. Are you doing a tour?”

Cassandra grinned at her. “No, this is Dean.”

“Oli’s boyfriend?” Mallory came closer, wearing the same giddy expression. “Wow, I shouldn’t be surprised, but he really did good.”

I blinked a couple of times, trying to catch up. “Wait. Oli’s—”

“So adorable,” Cassandra gushed. “Both of you.”

“I—”

Mallory turned to her. “There’s a maintenance emergency in Ms. Bridget’s unit. Can you get Tom out there?”

“Damn, he just left. I’ll call him.” She sat at her desk and picked up her phone.

Mallory smiled at me. “It was nice to meet you, Dean. I hope you’re settling in.” The phone in her office started ringing, so she gave me an apologetic look before she rushed inside to answer it.

With both women on the phone, it felt weird to wait around, even though I wanted to set the record straight. Next time, I guess.

When I left the office, I stopped at the mailbox. As soon as I opened it, a few letters fell on the ground. The thing was stuffed so full, I struggled to yank it all out. When was the last time he’d checked the damn thing?

I saw Oli’s car pull up next to mine, so I tucked the stack under my arm with a frown. He got out and started jogging to the gate like he was in a hurry.

“Hey,” I called.