Chapter Text
Tyrone Johnson was having a crappy day. It had started with his girlfriend subtly hinting that she felt he worked too much by sending a passive aggressive smiley face emoji when he had to cancel their date for Thursday. Then his assistant had spilled her scalding hot coffee down his white button up, leaving him in an old Howard t-shirt during the most important meeting of his career and with two degree burns peppering the skin of his chest. To top it all off, his boss moved up the deadline for his proposal two weeks. So you can’t blame him when all he wanted to do at the end of such a horrible day was to kick up his feet on his lumpy sofa and eat lemon/lime takis until he slipped into a dreamless food coma. No such luck.
He shrugged off his suit jacket, careful to not strain the bad shoulder he’d acquired after spending too many of his developmental years in the basketball team’s gym after hours. Tossed his keys in the ugly bowl his grandmother had gifted him when he’d moved into the city and wandered into the kitchen, fingers itching for a chilled IPA, only to find a short-statured white girl eating a bowl of his captain crunch.
“You must be Tyrone.”
She justs her head in casual greeting as if she was the one who owned the place, her bare feet resting on the marble countertop wasn’t proof to the contrary. She’s got wild blonde hair that’s shorter on the left side than the right and her smile belongs to a psychopath instead of a murder. He doesn’t call the police.
“Who the hell are you?”
She sighs, licks the spoon in her hand front and back, hops off the counter, strides over so close that they’re sharing the same breath, and extends her hand.
“I’m guessing Liam didn’t tell you. Typical. I’m Tandy Bowen. Your new roommate.”
When Tyrone had first moved to New York he was basically getting his charged his first unborn child in rent and couldn’t cover his bills. Like the modern-day millennial he put an ad on Craigslist for a roommate and interviewed a bunch of weirdos at his favorite coffee shop on the upper west side. Liam Foster had walked in after Ty had finished up with an elderly lady who had skulls tattooed onto both of her cheeks, by that point Ty was ready to accept anyone who seemed mildly sane so when Liam slammed first and last month's rent in cash on the table, that was that. But, here’s the thing Liam was a drug dealer a fact Tyrone was unaware of until he found a mid-twenties hotel maid snorting coke off his coffee table. He about ready to kick Liam out when he’d figured that Liam was as good as it was going to get, dope dealer or not. Liam paid the rent in full every month and never sold in their apartment again after the one incident. He wasn’t perfect but...
“Where the hell is Liam?”
“He had to split town. Cops caught a whiff of one of his bigger sells to the CEO of Roxxon and put out a warrant for his arrest. He’s currently hightailing it to Arkansas if he’s smart.”
Tyrone let his head fall into his hands. He should have known that Liam would have got caught eventually. His blind faith in the guy had lead to him feeling too secure in their arrangement, now because he had slept in the room down from Liam he was in the middle of some drug deal gone; consequences around every corner.
“And how does that leave you as my roommate?”
Tyrone addresses Consequence #1
“Look, Liam and I have worked for the same distributor for years. He and I don’t have much family so in a fucked up way we fill that role for each other. To answer your question, Liam and I look out for each other and in this business, you always have to have a backup plan for family if you get caught. You are mine.”
“Like hell I am! This is my apartment, you’re a complete and utter stranger, one who’s just admitted to being involved in the drug business. I’m sorry Tandy but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
She nods her head once in understanding. He watches as she turns on her heels towards the door of the apartment but isn’t entirely surprised when she stops dead in her tracks.
“Tyrone, Liam didn’t tell me a lot about you but the thing he was very admit about was the fact that you are wholeheartedly kind. He told me that you care about others more than you care about yourself, that you are a bleeding heart who sees the best in everyone. I am asking you to see the best in me. I am asking you to take a chance on me. I know it’s unfair of me to ask and that I’m totally throwing your life off track, but I have no one else.”
Tyrone looks into her river green eyes and lets out a sigh. The girl was right, he was a total pushover when it came to people in need. Goddamn hero complex.
“Fine you can stay, but we need some ground rules.”
Tandy’s expression glows with pure relief. Tyrone grips the countertop a little too tightly when an image of pouring rain and a similar look floods his memory.
“First rule: No drugs. Not in the apartment and not in your system when you’re in the apartment.
Rule 2: No strangers in the house; including casual hookups
Rule 3: You find a real job and start saving for your own apartment
Rule 4: You break my trust, try stealing or breaking these rules, you’re out
Rule 5: Don’t eat my Captain Crunch
Deal?”
Tandy pretends to contemplate the rules but he could see her smile creeping upon her lips. Girls like her were desperate to survive no matter the circumstances; she would say yes to anything he asked. He didn’t like having that power, but this was the situation they were in.
“Sounds good to me. Don’t worry Ty, I’m a going to be a great roommate.”