The Rival’s Roommate

The first thing I learned about living in the city was that nobody cared if you were having a terrible day. The traffic didn’t care, the impatient drivers honking behind me didn’t care, and the woman beside me on the bus, who had spent the last twenty minutes loudly arguing with someone on the phone, certainly didn’t care. Even the driver seemed completely indifferent to the fact that I was beginning to regret every decision that had brought me here.

I pressed my forehead against the cool window and watched the city blur past. Tall buildings rose between crowded streets, restaurants spilled onto sidewalks, and people hurried in every direction with coffee cups, gym bags, shopping bags, children, laptops, and entire lives that seemed to move at a pace I hadn’t yet figured out how to match.

This was what I’d wanted. I had wanted a fresh start in a new city, with a new team and a chance to prove that last season had been nothing more than a bad chapter rather than the beginning of the end of my career. Still, despite everything I had told myself before coming here, my stomach twisted with nerves.

Why did I feel like throwing up?

My phone buzzed in my lap.

Mia: Are you close???

I smiled despite myself and typed back.

Me: Ten minutes.

The reply came almost immediately.

Mia: LIAR.

Me: Maybe fifteen.

Mia: I knew it. I told Mom you’d get lost.

Me: I haven’t gotten lost.

Mia: You asked me what street you’re on five minutes ago.

Me: That was research.

Three dots appeared on the screen before another message arrived.

Mia: You’re impossible. I’ll come downstairs.

I locked my phone and looked out the window again just as the apartment building appeared around the next corner.

It was nicer than I expected, much nicer than the apartment I had pictured while making the move. The six-story building was made of cream-colored brick, with enormous windows and balconies filled with plants and warm little lights. A coffee shop occupied the ground floor, its striped awnings shading several tiny tables outside.

I immediately liked it, which made me wonder if this whole move might not be such a terrible idea after all.

The bus stopped, and I grabbed my suitcase and backpack before stepping onto the pavement, where I nearly collided with a man carrying two cardboard boxes.

“Sorry!”

He caught one of the boxes before it hit the ground.

“You’re fine.”

I looked up and forgot what I was about to say.

He was tall, not just tall in the ordinary sense, but the kind of tall that made me instinctively straighten my posture. His dark hair was slightly messy, his sleeves were pushed up his forearms, and the lazy smile on his face suggested that he was far too comfortable with himself.

His eyes dropped to the suitcase beside me.

“Moving in?”

“Unfortunately.”

His smile widened.

“That bad already?”

“I’ve been here thirty seconds.”

“Fair.”

He adjusted the boxes in his arms before glancing toward the building.

“Apartment?”

“Sixth floor.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No.”

He looked at my suitcase again, and something about his expression made me suspicious that he was enjoying this conversation far more than I was.

“Good luck.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“Elevator’s broken.”

I stared at him for a moment, hoping he would laugh and admit that he was joking, but instead his smile widened.

“Welcome to the city.”

With that, he walked away, leaving me standing beside my suitcase and wondering whether I had just been welcomed or warned.

“Who was that?”

I turned to find Mia standing behind me in oversized sunglasses and leggings, wearing the biggest grin I’d seen all week.

“You made it!”

She wrapped her arms around me before I could complain.

“I hate you,” I mumbled into her shoulder.

“You love me.”

“Not right now.”

She pulled away, laughed, and grabbed the handle of my suitcase.

“Come on. I have good news.”

“The elevator?”

“Still broken.”

“Fantastic.”

“That’s not the good news.”

We started toward the building as she continued talking.

“The good news is that I cleaned the room, stocked the fridge, and bought the snacks you like.”

I looked at her.

“You’re forgiven.”

“I knew it.”

We made it up three flights before my lungs reminded me that I was a professional athlete and therefore apparently expected to enjoy suffering.

“You’re dramatic,” Mia said.

“I’m carrying a suitcase.”

“I offered.”

“You’re carrying a backpack.”

“With snacks.”

“Those snacks better be heavy.”

She laughed as we continued up the stairs, and by the time we finally reached our floor, I was questioning whether professional athletes were supposed to be this offended by a few flights of stairs.

Our apartment was at the very end of the sixth-floor hallway, and despite the exhausting climb, I immediately felt better when I stepped inside.

It was small but beautiful, with two bedrooms, a little kitchen, and a living room with huge windows overlooking the street. Fairy lights were wrapped around the balcony door, while two enormous plants sat beside the sofa, making the place feel warm and lived-in despite the fact that I had only just arrived.

I dropped my backpack and looked around.

“Oh, this is actually really nice.”

Mia grinned. “Right?”

“I know you said it was nice, but I didn’t expect this.”

“I told you.”

I walked toward the window and looked down at the city. From up there, everything seemed different; the streets were still busy, but the distance softened the chaos, turning the moving cars below into streams of light while music drifted faintly from somewhere nearby. The sunset painted the buildings orange, and for the first time since I had arrived, the tight feeling in my stomach began to ease.

Maybe this could work. Maybe I could actually make this work.

Tomorrow, I would meet the team and begin training, and I would finally get the chance to prove myself again. For tonight, though, I didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. I could simply breathe.

“There’s one thing.”

I turned around and noticed that Mia’s expression had changed.

“What?”

“My brother is coming over.”

I blinked. “And?”

“He’ll probably be here a lot.”

I stared at her.

“Mia.”

“What?”

“You said I was getting the apartment to myself.”

“I said we’d have the apartment to ourselves.”

“Exactly.”

“Mostly.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Mostly?”

She laughed nervously.

“He lives nearby.”

“How nearby?”

Before she could answer, a knock sounded at the door.

Mia’s face brightened.

“That nearby.”

She practically ran to open it while I stayed where I was, already wondering what exactly she had failed to mention.

A man’s voice drifted into the apartment.

“Hey.”

“You’re early,” Mia said.

“I had nothing better to do.”

“That’s sad.”

“Thanks.”

I heard footsteps approaching, and then he walked into the living room.

I recognized him immediately. He was the guy from downstairs, the one with the boxes and the lazy smile who had informed me that the elevator was broken. Only now he was wearing a black T-shirt and carrying a paper bag from the café downstairs.

His eyes landed on me, and for a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then his eyebrows lifted.

“Oh.”

I folded my arms.

“You.”

His mouth curved into a smile.

“Me.”

Mia looked between us.

“You two know each other?”

“Not exactly,” I said. “He almost killed me with a box.”

Ethan laughed. “I caught it.”

“After you nearly dropped it on me.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.”

“I’m an athlete. I know exaggeration.”

His eyes flicked toward my basketball bag lying beside the sofa before returning to me.

“Basketball?”

“Yes.”

“What position?”

“Point guard.”

Something changed in his expression, and I recognized the look immediately. He knew something about me.

“You’re the new recruit.”

I frowned.

“How do you know that?”

He glanced at Mia, who suddenly became very interested in rearranging the snacks on the kitchen counter.

Ethan looked back at me.

“My sister talks.”

“Too much,” Mia said.

“Definitely too much.”

I looked at her suspiciously.

“What exactly did you tell him?”

“Nothing bad.”

“That’s not an answer.”

She smiled.

“You’re going to find out tomorrow.”

Before I could question her further, Ethan held out the paper bag.

“I brought dinner.”

I looked inside and found my favorite noodles waiting for me.

My gaze immediately shifted to Mia.

She shrugged. “He remembered.”

Ethan leaned against the counter.

“I have an excellent memory.”

“Apparently.”

Our eyes met again, and I couldn’t quite figure out what was so annoyingly easy about him. I had spent the entire day exhausted, anxious, and terrified about tomorrow, yet somehow standing there with him made some of that tension disappear. I wanted to smile despite myself, which only irritated me further.

I looked away first.

“So,” he said, “you nervous?”

I knew exactly what he meant.

“The team?”

He nodded.

“A little.”

“Don’t be.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re not the one trying to prove herself.”

He was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice had softened.

“You already proved yourself. That’s why they picked you.”

I looked at him, surprised by how deeply those words landed.

They shouldn’t have meant as much as they did, but perhaps that was because I had spent the past few months listening to people tell me I wasn’t ready until, little by little, I had started believing them myself.

I smiled faintly.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Mia suddenly cleared her throat.

“Okay.”

We both looked at her.

She pointed between us.

“Whatever this is, please remember I live here too.”

I laughed, and Ethan grinned.

“Relax.”

“Good.”

He pushed away from the counter.

“I’m heading out.”

“You just got here,” Mia protested.

“I have somewhere to be.”

His eyes found mine once more.

“See you tomorrow, new girl.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t call me that.”

His smile deepened.

“Goodnight, new girl.”

Then he left, and the door clicked shut behind him.

Mia slowly turned toward me, and I already knew exactly what that look meant.

“No.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

She smiled.

“I was just going to say…”

She paused before finishing with a grin.

“…welcome home.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

Tomorrow would be my first day with the team, and somehow, without even realizing it, I had already met the first person who was going to make this city a whole lot more complicated.