Tempted by my brother's roommate

Chapter Two – Moving In

The first night in James’s apartment felt strange. Everything smelled different, like soap and coffee and boys. My room was small, with plain walls and one little window. It wasn’t my old home, but James had carried in my bag and said, “You’ll be safe here.”

Safe. That’s what he always said.

I unpacked my clothes slowly, folding them as neatly as I could, but the room still felt borrowed. Like I was a guest in a place that didn’t belong to me. Every sound in the apartment made me pause, the clink of dishes, the hum of the TV, footsteps that weren’t James’s.

Nathaniel.

I kept thinking about him. I didn’t want to, but my brain wouldn’t listen. His tattoos. His quiet smile. The way he looked at me like I was something new.

When I came out to the kitchen, James was at the table, eating noodles. Nathaniel was standing by the counter, drinking water from a glass. He glanced at me, just once, but that was enough to make my heart beat too fast.

“Sit down, April,” James said, waving at the chair beside him.

I sat, and Nathaniel’s eyes flicked toward me again. He didn’t say anything, but I felt his presence like an invisible blanket, heavy and warm.

“This place isn’t much,” James said between bites, “but it’ll do until your apartment is fixed. Just don’t touch Nathaniel’s stuff. He likes his space.”

I nodded quickly. “Okay.”

Nathaniel’s voice came from the counter. It was calm, deep, not rushed. “She can touch whatever she needs.”

My eyes snapped up. James frowned at him, but Nathaniel just sipped his water, like he hadn’t said something dangerous.

The silence stretched, and I felt caught in the middle. So I stared down at my bowl and tried to eat, though the noodles tasted like cardboard.

Later that night, I couldn’t sleep. The apartment was too loud with all its quiet noises, the hum of the fridge, the creak of the floorboards, even the faint sound of Nathaniel moving in his room.

I lay on my bed and hugged my pillow. I told myself: Don’t think about him. Think about your apartment. Think about work. Think about anything else.

But my mind betrayed me. I imagined his smile again. His arms with all their secrets written on them. I imagined what it would feel like if he stood close, if he whispered my name the way he had said “hi.”

And then I got scared. Not scared of him. Scared of me. Scared of what I was already feeling.

James had always protected me. He trusted me. He trusted Nathaniel too. What would he say if he could read my thoughts right now?

I buried my face in the pillow and whispered into the dark, “Stop it, April. Just stop it.”

But deep down, I already knew… I wasn’t going to stop.

The ceiling had fallen, my home was gone, and I was stuck in this new life. And maybe, just maybe, my heart was about to fall too.