HIS ROOMMATE

HIS HOUSE

CHAPTER 1

KAI'S POV

It's really cold out here and the rain seemed to be increasing by the second. I just need to find a place to stay. That son of a b***h, he threw me out with out a penny. He should really thank his stars that I wasn't really in the mood else he would be in the hospital right now.

I was lost in my thoughts and was trying to cross to the other side of the road, I did not hear the car coming not until I was hit... The last thing I saw was a guy's face hovering over me.

The next time I opened my eyes I was in an unfamiliar room. My head was pounding. Not the sharp, angry kind I get when that bastard starts yelling. This was dull, heavy, like someone filled my skull with wet sand.

I tried to sit up and instantly regretted it. The room tilted. Silk sheets, not the scratchy blanket I’d been sleeping under behind the diner. Chandeliers. Actual chandeliers. Who the hell has those in a bedroom?

The door creaked.

That’s when I remembered the face. Rain in his eyelashes. Panic in his eyes. Hands on my shoulders, yelling something I couldn’t hear over the rain and the ringing in my ears.

He walked in now, holding a mug that smelled like ginger and something sweet. Taller up close. Shoulders that looked like he could carry me again without trying. Same guy.

“You’re awake,” he said, like he’d been waiting. He set the mug down and didn’t come closer. Smart. “I’m Adrian. You took a pretty bad hit out there.”

I opened my mouth. My throat was sandpaper. “Why... am I in your house?”

“Because I wasn’t gonna leave you on the road in that storm.” He shrugged, but his jaw was tight. “And because the hospital would’ve asked questions. You don’t have ID, do you?”

He wasn’t wrong. The son of a b***h took my wallet too.

I stared at the mug, then at him. He looked too clean, too expensive to be tangled up in my mess.

“You should’ve left me,” I said finally. “I’m bad luck, Adrian.”

He frown at me. “Too late. You’re already in my guest room. Might as well drink the tea before I change my mind and kick you out.”

Rain hit the window behind him. I didn’t know which was worse: being out there with nothing, or being in here owing someone I didn’t trust. But where else can I go? If he is willing to help me then I'm not complaining. I will start a part time job soon before classes start, so I will gather enough to find my own place.

“Since you were the one that hit me... I think it only fair you take responsibility,” I said. You may think I’m taking advantage of his kindness but what can I do?

Adrian stopped mid-step. The mug in his hand paused halfway to the nightstand. His whole face went still for half a second before his eyebrows shot up.

“Are you serious right now?”

His voice wasn’t angry. It was that disbelieving, almost-laughing kind of tone. Like I’d just told him the sky was green.

I forced myself to hold his gaze even though my ribs hurt and my head was spinning. “Dead serious. You hit me, Adrian. I woke up in silk sheets I can’t afford. Least you can do is let me stay until I’m steady on my feet.”

He set the mug down harder than he needed to. Ginger tea sloshed over the rim. For a second I thought he’d throw me out right then. Out into the rain, broke and concussed.

Instead he dragged a hand through his wet hair and exhaled like he was counting to ten. “You know I could’ve just left you at the ER. No ID, no questions asked. But no. You want responsibility.”

“Yep,” I said, and tried to look more confident than I felt. Inside I was screaming. Bad idea, Kai. Worst idea.

Adrian stared at me. Really stared. Like he was trying to figure out if I was conning him or just that desperate. The room went quiet except for the rain.

Then he picked the mug back up, shoved it into my hands, and muttered, “Drink your tea, con artist. We’ll talk terms when you stop looking like you’re about to pass out.”

Con artist. Cute.

I wrapped my hands around the warm mug and didn’t say thanks. Not yet. Thanks was for people who had a choice. I stared at the tea for a while before looking at him.

“Drink it first,” I said, giving it back to him.

He gave me a question look. “Why?” he asked.

“Well I need to be sure you’re not trying to kill me. I don’t trust you.”

Adrian let out a disbelief laugh. Short, sharp, like he couldn’t decide if I was brave or stupid. “You’re unbelievable, miss… You think you are worth me wasting my energy on?” he said, making me glare at him.

How arrogant and annoying too.

I snatched the mug back before he could hand it over. “Wow. Chivalry’s dead and you’re standing on its grave. You drag me into your mansion, act all concerned, then insult me when I don’t roll over and drink poison?”

“Poison?” He crossed his arms. The shirt pulled tight across his shoulders. “It’s ginger and honey, Kai. My housekeeper made it. Unless you think Mrs. Chen is part of your assassination plot too.”

Kai. He remembered my name from when I mumbled it at him in the rain. Great.

I took a small sip just to spite him. It burned going down, sweet and sharp. “Still. If you wanted me dead you’d have left me on the road. So congratulations, Adrian. You pass the first test.”

He stared at me for a long beat, then his mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. “First test? How many are there?”

“Depends how annoying you get.” I set the mug down. My hands were shaking, but I hid it in the blanket. “House rules. Lay them out. And don’t pretend you’re doing this for free. Everyone wants something.”

Adrian’s expression shifted. The amusement dropped. For a second he looked older, tired in a way that had nothing to do with lack of sleep.

“House rules are simple,” he said quietly. “Don’t steal from me. Don’t lie to me. And don’t make me regret pulling you off that road.”

Rain slammed against the window like it agreed.

“Deal,” I said, even though I had no intention of keeping all three. “But who gives such rules… By the way what are your parents going to say when they see a girl in their house? I mean I know I’m very attractive but I’m not going to pretend to be your girlfriend mister.”

For a second he just stared at me like I’d grown two extra heads.

“Stop overestimating yourself, and so that you know this is my house and I live alone,” Adrian said flatly.

I blinked. Oh.

The whole “chandeliers and silk sheets” thing made more sense now. No parents, no nosy roommates, no one to explain the concussed girl in the guest room to. Just him and his expensive silence.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Right. Solo billionaire with a guilt complex. Even better.”

“Not a billionaire,” he corrected automatically, then caught himself. His jaw ticked. “And I don’t have a guilt complex. I have common sense.”

“Sure you do, Mr. Common Sense who picks up hitchhikers at midnight in a storm.” I sank back into the pillows. My head was done arguing. “Fine. No parents. No girlfriend act. But you’re still stuck with me until I can stand without the room spinning.”

Adrian picked up the mug I’d rejected earlier, dumped the cold tea in a potted plant by the window, and poured me a fresh one from the thermos he’d brought in. He didn’t ask if I wanted it. He just set it down and stepped back.

“Room spins, you stay in bed,” he said. “Room doesn’t spin, you help Mrs. Chen with groceries tomorrow. She’s 70 and carries more than you do. Fair trade.”

I wrapped my hands around the new mug. Hot. Real. Not poison. Probably.

“Fair,” I muttered. “But I’m not cooking. I burn water.”

His mouth twitched again. That almost-smile. “Noted. Burn water, not the house. I can work with that.”

He turned to leave, then paused at the door. “And Kai? For what it’s worth… you’re not attractive when you’re concussed. You look like a raccoon who lost a fight.”

The door clicked shut before I could throw the pillow at him.

Raccoon? I’d show him raccoon. Once I could sit up without seeing stars.

TBC