Making It Fit

Prologue

Prologue

VICTOR

“I’m a failure.”

My head fell back against the wall behind my bed.

“Ouch.” I winced, then rubbed it, feeling it start to swell. It wasn’t even a proper bed, just a mattress on the floor. There were three other mattresses in the bedroom that belonged to guys I didn’t really know. It was a miracle I was alone, considering eight people were crammed into this two-bedroom apartment.

“New York ain’t cheap.” I sighed, then glanced down at the phone lying next to me. “Which is why you have to go home.”

I’d spent the last hour mustering up the courage to call Chad. He was my dead brother’s best friend and the closest thing I had to a family. I hadn’t seen him in four years, but we texted all the time. “There’s no one here, so if you’re going to do it, you’d better get it over with.”

I snatched up the phone to make the call, but the knot in the pit of my stomach pulsed. “Stop being afraid, damn it. Chad won’t be angry.” I sighed, then flipped through my contacts until I found his name. “But he will be disappointed in me.”

I’d moved to New York City five years ago to become an actor. When my brother died in the line of duty, I was the beneficiary of his life insurance. It had paid for my acting degree, with enough left over to see me through two years of auditioning for work. But I’d underestimated how pricey living in the city was, and I still hadn’t found an acting gig. So I was cutting my losses and going home.

I heard something in the other room drop to the floor. “Shit.” I muttered. I didn’t want my roommates to know I was moving out yet. Not that they would care, but I preferred keeping my business to myself. “Call him now, before someone comes in here.”

My index finger shook as I placed the call. Normally we didn’t speak on the phone, but this turn of events required more than a few emojis and LOLs. Chad answered on the second ring.

“What’s wrong?” His deep voice rumbled, and I felt a shiver race down my spine. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“Victor, speak to me. What’s going on?”

I sighed and felt my heart racing in my chest. Chad was more than my brother’s best friend. He was my walking, talking, macho-man fantasy come to life. I’d had a crush on him since my brother Federico introduced me to his partner on the police force. Back then I’d been a chubby thirteen-year-old with zits, and an awakening knowledge that I wasn’t like most of the other boys my age. At the time, I didn’t have the words to describe how Chad made me feel. All I knew was I wanted to spend as much time as I could in the presence of my big brother’s buddy.

“Look kid, you never want to talk on the phone, so I know there’s something going on. Now spill it.” Chad ordered.

“I’m moving back to Richmond,” I said, then felt a pressure building up behind my eyes. I had failed and was returning home with my tail between my legs.

“About f*****g time,” Chad muttered, then he grunted. “Sorry, I mean, you know, it’s hard for me to look after you when you’re so far away.”

“I’m twenty-three years old, Chad. You don’t have to look…”

“The hell I don’t. Fede would spin in his grave if anything happened to you.” I heard a can popping open, then he continued. “Do you need a place to stay?”

I imagined him standing in his kitchen, no shirt on, sweat dripping off him while drinking a cold beer. “f**k me,” I whispered.

“What was that?”

“Oh, sorry Chad. Um, no. I already found a place. I just thought you might want to know I was going to be back in town.”

“Where?”

“I found it online, one of those apartment websites. Hold on.” I placed the phone down and grabbed my backpack off the floor next to me. A minute later, my laptop was open to the realtor’s page. “It’s on the Northside, in a neighborhood called Barton Heights.”

“Gimme the street address.” Chad barked.

“You know Chad, I can take care of…”

“Gimme the street address now.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I read it off for him, wondering what his problem was. It wasn’t a great apartment, but it was all I could afford.

“You’re not f*****g living there.”

I know he had my best interests at heart, but who the hell did he think he was bossing me around like that? I’d lived in New York for years on my own, and could take care of myself.

“Chad, c’mon, it’s not an awful place, and it’s only $800 a month. I can’t afford to spend…”

“You can’t afford to get shot. That apartment building is next door to a crackhouse. I’m there at least once a week, and there’s usually an ambulance following behind me.” Chad sighed, then resumed speaking in a calmer tone. “Have you signed anything yet? Paid them a deposit?”

“No,” I muttered, clenching my fist. “You know I’m not a kid anymore.”

“Well, you sure are acting like one. Why the hell didn’t you call… look, as long as you haven’t signed a lease, you are fine.”

I heard a siren in the distance, and couldn’t tell if it was coming from Chad’s line or if it was here in my neighborhood, Bushwick. Then I remembered the other reason I’d moved to New York, besides acting. I used to have nightmares about Fede’s death, and when I realized Chad could be killed too, I couldn’t handle being close to him any longer.

“Everything else in Richmond is expensive. It was the only place I could find that I could afford.” s**t, I had scoured the internet trying to find a good deal on a place but had found nothing.

“You’re staying with me.”

“No, I can’t do that, Chad. It’s…”

“That wasn’t a request,” Chad stated, then neither of us said anything for a moment. “Do you need me to come get you? I can rent a van and drive up there.”

“No, you don’t have to do that. I have nothing except a trunk of clothes and my backpack.” I ran my fingers through my hair and realized I had just agreed to stay with him. “Look, Chad, this is only temporary. As soon as I find a decent job and…”

“You will stay with me until you are ready to move on. Understood?” Chad’s baritone growled into the phone. My heart skipped a beat, and without thinking, I replied.

“Yes, sir.”