Worth the Chance (Watertown University #2)

1. Eliza

Chapter 1

Eliza

I t’s finally move-in day. I’m moving from my family's house to my new college campus, well the house I’ll be living in itself is slightly off campus but same thing. The house is one my mom and stepdad bought four years ago for my brothers to live in from their sophomore to senior years. Both Liam and Ryan graduated last spring and my parents had talked about renting it out or selling it but then I dropped the bomb that I was transferring to Watertown University.

After a few heated discussions they wanted me to live in the house. Why would discussions about a house be heated? Well that’s not exactly the heated part, I originally wanted to live in a dorm, I felt like it’d be easier for me to make friends but after my mom pointed out that could possibly come without my own, safe kitchen I knew she was right and if I wanted to transfer living in the house would be the best case scenario for my health.

I was diagnosed with celiac disease nearly three years ago now and while it gets easier to manage with each year that passes, it’s still a challenge. Eating in a cafeteria with limited gluten free options and where the cross contamination of food is probably incredibly high mixed with not having my own fully functioning kitchen in a dorm would have been a recipe for disaster. So, as much as I hate to admit it, my mom was right when it came to this scenario.

Packing twenty years of life into Liam’s Jeep and my RAV4 has been quite the feat. Okay, not twenty years, my family does only live one hour from Watertown so it’s not like I can’t ever come back. I’ve just never been without my things before. My first two years of college were spent at the local college that’s only about fifteen minutes away so I commuted and got to live at home with my perfectly decorated room.

“Is that everything?” Ryan huffs as he ascends the stairs out of breath. I roll my eyes at him, he’s acting like he’s not currently playing in the NHL.

“Sounds like the Tigers need to work you harder.”

“Ouch little sis. I’m used to skating not going up and down the stairs thirty times because you need every little thing you’ve ever owned.” Ryan pulls me into a side hug which I return, wrapping one arm around him. Did I over pack? Yes, definitely. Is it every little thing I’ve ever owned? No, not even close. Plus a lot of the stuff is new, I needed my own kitchen things, a new comforter and sheet set and maybe some new clothes were added to my shopping cart.

“It’s not everything...”

“Close enough.” We both let out a laugh, it is a lot of stuff no matter what way we slice it. “C’mon let’s go, we’ve left Liam and Emi alone for too long, they've probably already started making out.” He shudders.

“They’re so stinkin’ cute.” Liam and his girlfriend Emilia are adorable. They’ve been official for about nine months now and they just recently moved in together into an adorable little apartment in Boston. They are one hundred percent obsessed with each other. I can’t blame my brother, really, Emi has the sweetest soul and I too am obsessed with her. When we get downstairs, Liam and Emi are hidden behind his Jeep lost in a deep kiss.

“Ahem.” Ryan clears his throat, causing them to pull away and a blush to stain Emilia’s pale cheeks.

“Ready to go?” Liam has a slight stain of his own coloring his cheeks.

“Yep, all set.” I had said bye to mom and my stepdad, Dean, earlier this morning before they headed out for the day. I’m pretty sure mom didn’t want to make me feel guilty when the waterworks started so Dean took her out for the day.

“Am I riding with you Eli?” Ryan flew up from Florida two days ago to spend time with the family and help me move but that currently leaves him vehicle-less.

“Yes but you can’t complain about my music or I’m sticking you with the two love birds.” Ryan fakes a motion of zipping his lips closed causing a small laugh to escape me. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

On the drive to my new home I play my ‘moving on to something new’ playlist that I spent all summer perfectly curating. To my surprise Ryan keeps quiet, humming along to some of the songs. There’s something therapeutic about driving with your music on and windows rolled down. Letting the cool summer breeze whip through my hair, I allow myself to dream up a load of different scenarios.

Pulling into the driveway of my new home feels so… weird. It’s going to be mine and mine alone which is both exciting and terrifying. I look up at the light blue house, taking a centering breath before I hop out and around back to meet Ry at the trunk. He effortlessly pulls out three bins filled with stuff as I grab my backpack and a duffle. Liam pulls into the spot next to us, meeting us at the back of the cars.

“Which room are you taking El?” Emilia asks as she grabs a small bin from the trunk.

“I think Liams. I like that it has a window seat. ”

“Good choice.” Liam pipes in, grabbing a few bins from his car. “How about you guys get the door opened and you can start unpacking while Ry and I bring everything in?” He looks between me and Emilia.

“That’s a good plan.” I nod, heading to the front door to unlock it. Emilia and I ascend the stairs, headed to my new room. Thankfully, the house is fully furnished since Liam and Ryan didn’t take anything with them when they moved out earlier this summer.

“I cleaned everything the best I could before they left.” Emilia puts down the small bin of my cleaning supplies she was carrying on the nightstand. “I know you might want to re-clean the kitchen but the other rooms should be okay.” I plop down my backpack and duffle in front of the night stand.

“Thanks, Emi. I appreciate that.” She’s right I will be re-cleaning the kitchen, my anxiety definitely won’t let me eat anything in there until I do. I will also be getting rid of any kitchen things they left behind. It wasn’t cheap but I bought new things just for myself. Some people might be okay with just cleaning the old pots and pans but even thinking about that makes me feel sick.

“El, where do you want this?” Liam comes in the door, shaking me from my cleaning thoughts.

“Anywhere in here is fine. That’s all the bedroom and bathroom stuff in those bins.” Liam nods, placing the bins in front of the window seat.

“It’s weird being in here and it not being my room.” Liam pulls Emi into his side.

“This is where it all started.” Emi reminisces. At the end of their junior year, Emilia barged into this room trying to hide from a creepy guy at a party, assuming no one would be in there. To her surprise Liam was in his room and to his surprise the girl he laid his eyes on earlier in the night and was sulking about came crashing into his life .

“Alright love birds, there’s still stuff in the car to bring in.” Ryan calls from the stairs.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Liam calls back, pressing a swift kiss to Emi’s forehead and then taking off down the stairs.

“You guys are so stinking cute, I can’t deal.” I shake my head with a light laugh as I go to one of the bins to retrieve my sheets to make the bed.

“Thanks El. He’s the best.” She grabs the other size of the sheet to help me make the bed. “Maybe you’ll meet someone here.” Emilia knows I’m a hopeless romantic despite the one relationship I’ve been in ending in a burning disaster.

“A girl can dream but I’m mostly excited to be doing something new. Hopefully I can at least make one friend here.” I don’t have many friends. My relationship with my ex best-friend also ended when high school finished.

“You will, anyone who gets to know you would be stupid to not want you in their life.” With the sheets now on the bed and my pillows in their cases, we work on getting the duvet in its new cover. My sheets are simple, plain pale pink and the new duvet cover is white with a pink floral print decorating its surface. I am a girly girl through and through.

“Thanks, Em.” We finally manage to wrangle the duvet insert into the cover. “Are you excited to start your graduate program?” Emilia is getting her masters degree in school psychology, her dream is to work in a high school setting to be able to connect with students and help them get through any trouble they might be facing in their lives.

“I am. It’s definitely going to be a lot of work but it’ll be great.”

“Eli! Come down here. Where do you want all this crap?” Ryan yells from downstairs, interrupting our conversation.

“It’s not crap!” I yell back. “Let’s get down there before he messes up my system.” I organized everything according to what it is and where it goes. The last thing I need is one of my brothers opening something and just putting things where they think it should go. Especially the kitchen things, I can’t have them putting away my dishes in a possibly contaminated space.

When we get downstairs we see Ryan and Liam have made themselves comfortable on the couch. Emi and I join them, her plopping herself into Liams side and me on the other side of Ryan.

“Do you want any help putting the things away?” Liam asks, gesturing to my boxes and bins that are scattered around.

“No, it’s alright, I can handle that. It was just the duvet I knew I’d struggle with but we got that all set.”

“How do you feel living alone?” Emi asks, snuggled into Liam.

“It’ll be weird, for sure. A little scary but I think it’ll be good for me.” I smile but I notice a weird look on Ryan's face, one I can’t read. “What’s that look for?”

“Um,” he stalls, looking around the room. Liam and Em have confused looks on their faces too. What the heck is going on? “You might not be completely alone.” He winces as the words leave his mouth.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Well, Garrett, my old teammate, let me know he needed a place to stay this semester. He was going to renew his lease but his roommate had to move and he was worried about finding somewhere to live so I offered him a room here.” I met Garrett once, last semester at Liam's first baseball game of the season. I specifically remember telling Emilia how hot I thought he was. Which he is. I chance a look at Emilia whose eyes have gone wide.

“Ryan.” Liam scolds.

“I know, I know but he was really worried and at the time you were still thinking about living in the dorms.”

“And you decided to tell me now that I’m going to have a roommate? Ryan, the whole point of living here was to have a safe kitchen.”

“El. I know, I’m sorry but I told him you had an allergy and he understands.”

“It’s not an allergy, Ry.” I don’t have an allergy, I have an autoimmune disease. I understand it’s easier to describe it as an allergy to people and don’t get me wrong, allergies can be super serious but the reactions can be pretty different.

“I know, El. I was just trying to make it make sense to him.”

“Does Garrett know that Eli’s living here too?” Emilia pipes up.

“Um, he knows he has a roommate, not that the roommate is you.”

“Ryan!” I jump up, putting my hands on my hips. “You cannot be serious.”

“Well, he wouldn’t have taken a room here then and he’d be screwed. His other option was to go back to a dorm but you know how much that costs and he can’t afford it.”

“So what? Do you expect him to just show up and be okay with having me as a roommate?”

“Not exactly. That's where Em comes into play.” He throws a glance in Emilia’s direction who’s mouth drops open. Liam’s beside her throwing daggers at Ryan. “Emi, you guys are friends and I think you can convince him to stay here.”

“Ryan…” Liam warns.

“No he’s right, I probably can and it would be a better situation for him then living in a dorm and adding on more debt but I’ll only help if Eliza’s okay with this.” Three sets of eyes turn towards me.

“Ugh! Fine. He can stay here. When will he get here anyway?” Of course, the moment I say that I can see a car pull in the driveway and Ryan's phone dings.

“Uh, now.”