After I ordered my food, sushi, we both sat down on the couch. Jason offered to make some coffee for us while we talked, and I took him up on it. But only on the promise of either making or getting him some coffee the next time.

Cross-legged, I sip my coffee. Nothing fancy, just freshly brewed coffee with a splash of milk in it. It’s perfect. I warm my hands around and look at Jason over the border of the cup.

“So,” he starts.

“So,” I say, laughing awkwardly. I wish a hole in the ground would swallow me whole so I could disappear. Of course, that doesn’t happen, and I’m forced to deal with the situation.

“Okay, some facts first,” I begin. “I can’t kick you out, obviously. You have a valid contract, and on the other side, there’s an available room for you.”

Jason releases a breath of relief. “Thank God. I really thought you were going to kick me out.”

“What?” I exclaim. “No! Of course not. I can’t kick you out. And although the situation is sudden and absurd, and I also think it's not entirely legal since the landlord let me know 20 minutes before instead of the required one month, it’s not too bad. We just have to come up with a way to handle this situation.”

“Right.”

“Which we have to think about.”

“Right.”

I look over at him. “Any suggestions?”

I see him thinking, absent-mindedly stirring his coffee. “Hmm. So, the first thing we have to deal with is you and me.”

“I’m sorry… deal with you and me?" I put down my coffee cup on the table. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing, nothing bad, I mean. It’s just, you know, we work together, and now we live together... We might have to avoid certain situations.” He looks at me, trying to convey some secret message to me.

“Like what kind of situations?”

“You have no idea?” Jason looks like the next few words are going to be painful.

I think about it. Then it hits me. “Like what? Dating? Don’t worry about that. I don’t date.”

He blinks. “Right, sure, that too.” A hint of pink flushes his cheeks, but it’s gone before I can look at it well. “I meant as in us being at work, all professional-like, and then in the evening running into each other when we have to use the bathroom.”

Right. That makes way more sense. I don’t even know why I thought about us dating. Like I said, I don’t date. “Ah, like that. Right. That could be awkward for sure.” I grimace. “Hmm… what about a schedule? For example, I like to run in the morning, so I take a shower at 7 a.m.”

“Everyday?”

“Yes?”

He nods. “Oh, okay.”

“Is there a problem with that?” I cross my arms, feeling annoyed.

Jason chuckles. “No. No problem. It’s just that I didn’t know you were that kind of girl.”

“That kinda girl?” I repeat. “The kinda girl who takes care of herself and works out. Why? Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s not a bad thing, of course. Taking care of yourself is important. I’m just saying that I thought you were a more laid-back-.” He stops again, closes his eyes, and sighs. “You know what?” He opens his eyes again and looks at me. “Whatever I say is going to sound wrong, so I won’t say anything. Good for you, working out every day at 7.” He gives me a somewhat awkward thumbs up and seems to sink into the couch some more. I can already feel my annoyance slipping away.

“…Right… Well, you are definitely different when you’re at work.” I say. It seems like all the smoothness and easygoingness stayed at work, and all that is left is a sweet guy who rambles a bit too much. “Anyways,” I continue. “How about the chores? Who is going to do what?”

The next hour we’re discussing chores and schedules and talking about our own schedules and what we usually do and don’t do in the morning, afternoon, or evening. I found out Jason doesn’t really party, but seeing his behavior now, it shouldn’t surprise me as much as it did. I typed away all our rules in a document I put together and sent it to the printer. A few seconds later, I bring the document to the table with a pen.

“So, to finalize everything, please sign underneath.” I tap with the pen where he needs to sign, and although he chuckles, he doesn’t say anything and signs the paper. Then he handed the pen to me, and I also put down my signature.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Jason Hong” and “Melody Winters”.

“It’s official now,” Jason says. “We’re officially living together.” He extends his hand, and I reluctantly shake it.

I smile. “Awesome.”

Then I hear the front door being unlocked. “Hi!” Sam’s voice sounds through the house. It’s only a matter of time before I hear her slow down her movements. After a few seconds, I don’t hear anything. Then she’s running towards the door that leads to the living room. She comes, bursting through the door. “Did you bring someone?” Her eyes fall on Jason. "Oh, my god. You brought someone home!”

I roll my eyes. “Sam, don’t get the wrong idea.” I point to Jason, who’s sitting on the couch, looking between me and Sam. “This is Jason; he’s my coworker and, since today, also our housemate.”

“Housemate?” She shrieks. “And they were roommates!” She cups her own face with her hands, imitating ‘The Scream’, before she throws her jacket onto the ground.

I’ve never seen her this excited. Then I noticed her cheeks, her wide eyes, and her odd behavior. I’ve never seen her drunk; that’s why I didn’t notice it sooner. She even promised me this morning...

Before I can ask if she’s been drinking, she is already shaking Jason’s hand. “Well, welcome housemate! It’s such an honor to have you here. You know, she never brings anyone. Neverr," she annunciates.

I sigh, controlling my anger. “And Jason, this is Sam, my little sister.”

Jason, the good guy that he is, shakes Sam’s hand back and just smiles. “I thought as much.”

“Hi, and this is my sister, Melody.” Sam interrupts. “She’s the boring one. Did I tell you she doesn’t date?”

“So, I’ve heard. It’s too bad, honestly.” He smiles and looks at me for a second before turning away again. I blink a few times, unable to place the look in his eyes. But before I can give it another thought, Sam goes on.

“Right?! She should go out and meet new people. But no, Miss I’m-already-80-years-old doesn’t go to parties or hang out with any guys. I think it’s because she has this ex, Brain, and...

My rising anger was something I could control. However, when she mentions Brian, anxiety takes over. “Okay! I think that’s enough for now.” I walk towards her, trying to stop her.

“Why? I’m having fun with my new friend, Jason. You should have fun too.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”

Heat creeps up, but I blame it on the anger. “That’s enough, Sam.” I interrupt her the second time. “You’re going to bed now. And tomorrow we’ll have a conversation about drinking on a school night.”

Deflated but still annoyed, Sam walks towards the door and says, “Yeah, yeah, mom... Whatever.” She finally leaves the room, leaving Jason and me with a weird vibe.

With my back toward him, I can feel my heart pounding. There’s no way Sam was drinking, and there’s no way she started talking about my ex. Still trying to control my anger, I ball my hands into fists and turn around to face Jason. “Sorry about that,” I say. “She’s super chaotic and drunk, so... Don’t mind her words.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I get it. I have two sisters. They can be like that too sometimes. To each other, I mean.”

“Yeah, it’s difficult sometimes. But we manage. Or we try to, at least.”

Jason chuckles. “It’s okay. You seem to be doing fine.” It’s quiet for a bit when Jason says, “You know, I know things are chaotic now. With me moving in and such, but really, I’m a good housemate. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’m clean; as you know, I also work, and I’m a good cook, if I say so myself. If you’re having second thoughts about me staying here, I can always cook you something and then think about it.”

I laugh. “I know. It’s just very hectic today. First, you are new to work, and then you are living here suddenly. It’s just a lot for me to take in.” I then continue, “But for you too, I think.”

“Yeah, you could say that. First day of work, first day of moving in. I got to meet an awesome mentor who doesn’t order me around for once, but now I’m living together with her and her little sister.” He laughs. “Sounds like a cliché movie.”

“You could say that.” I laugh too; it really sounds cliché, and when I remember that I also must tell the girls at work about this news, anxiety bubbles up. They’re going to have a field trip with this. I can already feel a headache coming up and will go to bed early tonight. Hopefully, to get rid of my coming headache, but also to get away from Jason, just for a bit.

That night, I couldn’t sleep well. In the evening, I said to Jason that although the situation is weird, it’s not that weird either. Just uncommon terrain. The document or contract was a good thing. We both put in our efforts and our thoughts, and now we have some roadmaps for how to get through this uncommon terrain. I sigh and close my eyes. I hope that tomorrow everything goes a bit back to normal again. My running routine, my morning, my work, and then coming home again. I don’t even want to worry about the fact that Sam mentioned my ex, and I can only hope that Jason forgets about it and doesn’t bring it up anymore.

When I wake up, I’m sweating already. Another bad dream. Although I can’t remember anymore what it was about, I can only think of one bad dream that shakes me this much. I climb out of bed and get dressed to run. Today is a bit of a grey day, and I kind of don’t want to leave my room, where I’m safe from yesterday’s events, but one way or another, I must go out anyway. I open my bedroom door, finding the hallway empty. Jason mentioned he was a light sleeper, so I’m extra quiet when I knock on Sam’s door.

“Sam?” I knock again. “Sam, are you up?” I hear some sounds, but there is no real answer. I cautiously open the door. Her head is halfway under the blanket, and her room smells like stale beer. I grimace. I never liked the smell, ever since our mom was a heavy drinker. Sam was too young, but I remember it vividly. I remember the feeling of it too. Fear and the feeling that I’m unable to do anything. I shake the feeling off and walk towards the bed.

“Sam.” I shake her shoulder. “Hey, you have to wake up.”

“Leave me alone... I’m sick…” She gruntles.

I let out a sigh. “I’ll talk to you later then. Just remember, Jason’s also here, so try to keep it together, okay?”

She responds with a sigh of her own. I leave her to it. At this point, it hardly matters anyway. Considering Sam’s behavior yesterday, it’s a miracle Jason’s still here. I quietly close her door behind me and head off to focus on my own tasks. Hopefully, I can distract myself from this mess for a while longer.

Jason leaves earlier than me that morning, affording me some extra time to gather my thoughts. As I prepare breakfast, I hear Sam descending the stairs.

“Good morning.” I say this as I sip my coffee.

“Morning. Do we have any painkillers? I’ve got a major headache.

I arch an eyebrow. “Hmm, wonder why...” I fetch some painkillers from the cabinet and hand them to her, along with a glass of water. “Let’s talk.”

She sinks into a chair, too hungover to protest much. I take a seat across from her, studying her carefully. My anger from yesterday comes roaring its ugly head again, and I try to push it down as much as I can. Not completely succeeding in that, I say, “I don’t get it, Sam. I really, really don’t.” I put my cup on the table. “We talked about it. In the car. You weren’t going to drink.”

“I know. I’m sorry…” She mumbles, her eyes downcast.

I feel like I’m not getting anywhere. I sigh. I rub my temples. The headache is caused by stress, and this is not helping to ease the pain. “Look. I’m not mom, so I won’t tell you that you cannot drink at all, but you were drunk, Sam. I was really worried. What if you didn’t come home? What if something happened? You have to take better care of yourself. Don’t be so drunk that you don’t know what is happening.”

Her head barely comes up, a mere sign of protest, when she says, “I knew what I was doing, and I knew where I was supposed to go.”

“Oh yeah? You knew what you were doing. What about the stuff you told Jason? About Brian. That’s not your story to tell. You know that.”

She doesn’t say anything but just hangs her head with her hands folded in her lap.

“I know… I was drunk. It won’t happen again.”

I let out another sigh, the weight of the situation hanging heavy between us. “Just try to be more considerate. Especially now that Jason’s going to live here. Things are going to change.”

“He’s really staying?” She raises her head, her eyes still looking bloodshot and tired, but I try to ignore that for a second.

I shrug. “I can’t change it. Mr. Grant rented him the room. He says he’ll try to find another solution, but I doubt that’ll happen. And he can’t just kick Jason out without a good reason.”

We fall into silence again. She’s still not initiating any talk, and although I feel like she’s mad at me for talking to her like a mother, I cannot just accept her drinking like that. I’ll figure out how to say sorry later.

“What about you?” I sigh. “Are you going to school?”

“I can’t… I’ve got a pounding headache.”

“Sam…”

“I know, okay? I overdid it. But can I please just stay home?” I look at her face. She looks like she’s feeling guilty for yesterday, and I’m again lost in the roles of mother and sister. In the end, she came home, and she was safe. She wasn’t ashamed to show me she was drunk, so maybe she thought I wasn’t going to judge her for drinking here. I sigh, but tell her she can stay home for today. I glance at the clock on the wall. I’m already later than usual, and I pack my things for this day. I have a meeting to get to.