I got home and went upstairs, pulling out my keys to unlock my apartment door. When I got upstairs, the door was already open, and a pile of boxes sat in the living room.
I walked in, sighing. I'd forgotten that this was the day my roommate was moving out.
He walked out of his room carrying a couple of cardboard boxes. He gave me a nod. “Sup.”
“Hey, Eddie.” I set my keys on the table by the door. “Need a hand?”
“Sure,” he said. “Claire's coming by in a bit to help out, but she won't be able to help me with the big stuff.”
I helped Eddie unload some of his boxes, then we started carrying the heavier furniture out of his room. It felt weird to be helping my roommate move out after we'd been living together for the last few years. But he had a new stage of his life starting, and I was happy for him.
“So how's Claire doing, anyway?” I asked him after we set his dresser down on the back of the rental truck.
“She complains about nausea a lot,” Eddie said. “Nothing too bad, though. Biggest change so far is her tits are huge.” He held his hands out in front of his chest. “At least a full cup size.”
“Well damn,” I said, smirking. “One of the perks of a pregnant girlfriend, eh?”
He chuckled. Though I could still see the worry in his eyes. He hadn't planned for things to work out this way. But he was doing the right thing, moving in with his girl so they could raise their kids together.
“How about you?” Eddie asked. “You haven't even talked about any girls in a while. You ever gonna get out there? Or are you just looking for a quick hookup?”
I leaned against the dresser, looking away. I didn't know how to explain it to Eddie. I'd never been the sort of person to have a casual hookup. In fact, I'd only ever been with one girl.
My thoughts drifted to Ami. I still couldn't believe I'd run into her again, after so long.
“What's up, man?” Eddie asked, jabbing me with his elbow. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I'm cool.” I stood up, straightening my shirt. I wasn't going to unload my love problems on Eddie. He had enough on his plate right now. “Let's get your mattress next. Gotta fit it in here before we run out of room.”
We continued unloaded Eddie's stuff for the next few hours. His girlfriend came by later that afternoon. She didn't really look pregnant yet, though I could tell that Eddie was right about her tits getting bigger. Not that I stared. It was just hard not to notice.
I was a bit worn out by the time everything was loaded up. I gave Eddie a quick hug and a pat on the back. Claire gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks for your help,” she said.
“You need to come by our new place real soon,” Eddie said. “Have a little housewarming. Bring some beer and the PS4. I'm still mad about leaving that behind.”
I chuckled. “Well, I am the one who bought it when we moved in.”
“You gonna be all right by yourself?” Claire asked, looking up at the apartment. She patted my arm, giving me a concerned smile. “You ever need anyone, you know we're here for you.”
“I'll be all right,” I said. “I could use some peace and quiet.” I smirked at Eddie. He'd always been a good roommate, though we had occasionally argued about him having the TV turned up too loud late at night. Still, I was going to miss him.
Eddie and Claire drove off, ready to start their new lives together. I headed back inside, looking around the apartment. It looked a lot emptier, without Eddie's stuff. Aside from the stuff in the bedroom, he'd taken some of his furniture from the rest of the apartment: the old, battered coffee table he'd found on the curb, the leather armchair he'd patched up with duct tape, the short bookshelf where he'd stored all of his DVDs. With his stuff gone, it made the apartment look only half-lived-in. I'd never been the sentimental sort, but I could still feel the emptiness all around me.
I flopped down on the couch with a sigh, turning on the TV but not really paying attention to what was on. All I could think about was the void in my life. I wondered if Eddie was right, that I needed to find a girl. I'd dated a few girls here and there, but never found anyone I had really connected with. I'd never found the chemistry with any of them that I'd felt with Ami. I'd never dated anyone long enough to consider it a real relationship, and I'd never slept with anyone else.