Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,23

I’m just hoping they don’t hire somebody else before I get everything in order.”

“Well, here’s hoping,” Zephani said. “But if you get it, I will miss you on this side of that door.”

Greg smiled softly. “Yeah, well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Because Taylor was moving in at the start of spring semester, she’d had to take what she could get in terms of dorm assignments. The Phillips Residence Hall on the far west side of campus was less than ideal. It would be at least a mile hike to get to any of her classes. Worse, it was hardly going to be convenient to make the trek during her off-class time. She hated riding the busses so, one thing was for sure, she was going to get her exercise doing this.

When she got into the hall, which was a seven-story building, she found the elevator on her side strung with yellow tape and a big Out of Order sign on it.

“Great.” With her arms, laden with a laundry basket full of supplies, she ambled down the hallway past people going the other direction. The stairs were at the end of the hallway. Floor Five. Yes, this was going to be quite the undertaking.

At the top of the stairs, she went back down the hallway, past the elevator, and found her room clearly already occupied. Going in the open door, she found a young woman sitting cross-legged on one bed, and a disaster area in the rest of it.

It was impossible not to judge the situation as she kicked two random shirts over to the other side. She set her things on the bed, which was the only empty spot in the whole room. There were even Styrofoam fountain drink cups littering what had to be her desk. Turning, she surveyed the situation, and hope scattered.

“Hi,” she said to the young woman. She put out her hand and stepped carefully over the small piles of laundry lying everywhere. “I’m Taylor.”

The young woman lifted her eyes from her phone in a not-at-all-disguised expression of disgust. She cleared her throat and only put her hand out after an interminable pause. “Hannah. Hannah Whitmere.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Hannah.”

But Hannah had already returned to her phone.

“Right,” Taylor said under her breath. She turned back for the room and fought not to cry. Someone in the hallway yelled a greeting to someone else, and Taylor winced. This was her life now.

It was after eight when Greg made it back home from work. The next 24 hours were going to be a real struggle, and the week after that not much better. So it wasn’t a huge surprise to find Nelson coming down the hallway, laundry in hand to kick things off with a bang.

“Hey,” Greg said, knowing he was on his own for supper. Without Ryan, he was back to chicken noodle soup from a can if he was lucky.

“Hey,” Nelson said. “You mind if I use the washer?”

The question was odd. They’d never asked before.

“Nope. All yours.”

“K.”

Greg debated about going to the kitchen as the washer-dryer set up was at the far end of it on the opposite side as the little walk-in pantry. But he was starving, and if he didn’t eat now, he would surely not get a better opportunity. With his luck, Paige and Lauren would show up later. Gee, that was an appetizing thought.

He went to the refrigerator and found the leftover meatloaf from the night before. It was better than nothing.

“Have you heard anything?” Nelson asked when the washer started, and he came out and shut the little door.

“’Bout?”

Leaning on the cabinet, Nelson crossed his arms and ankles. “The trial?” he asked, over-emphasizing the word.

“Uh. No.” Greg beeped the buttons on the microwave and dug for a fork. “Haven’t heard.” Which really did his nerves no good.

Nelson put his hand on the back of his head. “This is starting to get on my last nerve.”

When the microwave dinged, Greg took his supper out but didn’t bother to sit at the table. “How’s Paige?”

That dragged a sigh from Nelson. “Okay. For now. But I ain’t guaranteeing that will last.”

For one wild second, Greg thought Nelson might ask about Taylor, and he rummaged around in his brain to figure out what he would say.

“They’re moved back in,” Nelson said.

“Oh.”

“Just wish things weren’t so crazy. What a first year for her.”

Hasn’t been easy on any of us.

“You got work tomorrow?” Nelson asked, going to the refrigerator. “Somebody’s got to think about