The bathroom is in surprisingly good shape, so it doesn’t take long to soak it all in cleaner and scrub it down. It’s clear someone cared for this place until recently. What happened to them? Any other day, I might have asked more questions. Today I only had it in me to call the number and fill out a sparse rental form at the small party store on the corner. That’s where I’ll pay my rent, too. The guy there had the keys behind the counter.

I save the bedroom for last. Somehow—and I can’t fathom what kind of effort it took—the owners have wedged a full-size bed and frame into the narrow space. A chair with a wicker seat fits between the bed and the wall, doing double duty as a place to sit and a nightstand. There is a single closet, about a foot wide. You can only open the door by standing as close as possible to the chair.

I can’t complain.

I clean out the dust, load my clothes in, and shut it again.

The sheets are another story. The only way to make the bed is to climb all over it, so I push my already rolled sleeves up another inch and get to it. A comforter will only bunch up on the top, so I top it off with a throw blanket and call it good. There’s another narrow window here and I open it halfway.

That window is the real gem of the apartment. It looks out over the next building, which is a story lower, and beyond that is the downtown park. In the distance, across the park, I can see the corner of Bellissimo.

The pain in my chest catches me so off-guard I raise my hands to my breastbone on some instinct. Maybe I’m holding my heart in.

I guess it’s not dead at all.

I stand perfectly still, letting the pain come. I wanted him so badly. I know I shouldn’t have entertained even the slightest possibility, but I did.

Roman.

It’s cruel and unusual punishment not to be with him, but anybody would say it was only fair.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I fish for it with one hand, swiping blindly at the screen. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jen.”

My sister.

The bed creaks beneath me as I sit down.

“Hi. How’s it going?”

The background noise seems...breezy, and at first it carries her voice away. “—breakdown in communication at the collective, and—out.”

“Sorry, Tia, I didn’t catch that.”

“They kicked me out,” she says, louder this time. “So I have to find a new place to stay. The only problem is—”