“Listen here, sweet girl. Felix plays his cards close to his chest.” Theo pulled me tighter. “He’s been like that since I arrived. To him, just because we’re sharing a house doesn’t mean we need to share a life.”

I nodded, burrowing into his chest harder but saying nothing.

“If you want to have sex with Felix, have sex with Felix. If you want me to be there, I’ll be there with bells on. If you’re upset you’re not getting more from him, let me be the first to tell you that you get more than anyone else. And if you want to have sex with just Felix…well, you’ll find me drowning my sorrows down here in the basement.” Theo offered me a playful smirk. I swatted at his shoulder.

I studied him. “You joke, but there’s some truth in that statement.”

Before he could respond, the steps creaked above us. We both turned our heads to see who was coming down. For the second time today, I was surprised to see Felix in the doorway.

“Am I interrupting something or can we talk?” he asked. Felix looked horribly uncomfortable.

Theo gave me a quick kiss on my forehead and got to his feet. “Should I leave?”

Felix shook his head, and took the rest of the stairs down. “No, stay. What I have to say involves you, too.”

I looked at Theo, concern written all over his face which I was sure was reflected on mine. Felix never came down to the basement, so the first thing we thought was something’s wrong. Horribly, awfully, terribly wrong. And when you were stuck in a house with no escape, anything wrong was the last thing you wanted to hear.

12. Felix

I didn’t like how the basement smelled, and I wanted to turn and run back upstairs. The sickly cloying odor of the alcohol Theo was always brewing turned my stomach, and I had never been one for sweets. Knowing what he was doing down here made it all the worse. But sober Theo was something I never wanted to see again if I could help it. The day he ran out of weed was an awful day for everyone. Theo lay in the washroom for most of the day, stinking up the kitchen with his sickness and filth. He cried and wailed, screaming for people I had never heard him speak of before. Luther would check in on him from time to time, bringing him wet cloths and glasses of water. He would come back into the kitchen shaking his head, feeling sorry for the poison Theo had put into his body himself. I kept my distance. The awful smell reminded me of bad memories, and choices I would rather put to rest.