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Chapter 2

House of Roommates

"I considered doing the same thing you know," I spun at the familiar voice and saw the gentle face of Fabian Rutter. "I guess stalling going inside and seeing me didn't work out all that well, did it."

"I… I didn't know what I was going to say," I confessed as the boy stepped closer. When the sun caught him right my heart fluttered. I'd noticed it at the wedding, but it was even more profound now- Fabian must have been working out because he was ripped.

"Me either," he admitted with a cheerless smile. "That's why I too planned on stalling outside."

"Weird that the place is called Anubis house, huh," I told him moving towards the door. Maybe if I could distract him long enough I'd be able to hide in my room and prolong the inevitable awkward.

"Nina," he told me grabbing my arm. "Let's not do this again." I couldn't agree more; our previous reunion was awkward enough I really didn't want to have to live through it again.

"You're right," I told him with a fake smile. "Why don't we just put it behind us and act like normal roommates."

Fabian's face fell. "Oh… if that's what you want…" he began before a look of determination grew on his face."You know what, no." Wait, what? "I'm not going to let you get away like that. You see this?" At his words, Fabian revealed the knot of Isis ring I'd given him as a sort of promise ring months ago last time we were in Egypt. "You gave this to me and told me you wanted to have a life with me. Then you left again and it hurt so much more the second time. Even if you'd just put things off until now, I was hurt. Then Mara came back and wanted to pick up right where we left off so I did."

Fabian's face grew blurry as I attempted to hold in the tears, but my cracking voice as I spoke gave me away, "I'm so sorry Fabian. I didn't mean to hurt you again. You were right to move on."

To my surprise, Fabian pulled me into a tight hug before speaking right in my ear. "That's not what I meant. Don't ever think that that was what I meant."

"But you said," I blubbered before he shushed me by wiping away the mounting tears from my cheeks.

"I was hurt when you left and I dated Mara, but when I saw you at Patricia and Eddie's wedding… I knew that was the biggest mistake of my life. I broke up with her at the reception, but before I could tell you how incredibly sorry I was you'd left. I tried calling, but you'd changed your number and no one would give me the new one… I'm so, so sorry Nina. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Forgive you?" How on earth could Fabian think he needed forgiveness? I was never angry at him! I was angry at myself for leaving Anubis house, again, and letting him get away, again. "Fabian there is nothing to forgive. It was my fault. I left."

"So you don't hate me?" Why did Fabian sound so honestly surprised? How on earth could anyone, me especially, hate him? He's the most gentle, kind, loving, and beautiful man on the face of the planet. Never in all these years had he done something worthy of hatred.

I was so busy choking down tears that I couldn't speak so I brought my lips to his as a response. Of course I didn't hate him. Of course I missed him. Of course I needed him. So he'd moved on and done what any sane man did, I loved Fabian. I would always love Fabian.

"How can you not hate me? I practically cheated on you!" Fabian mused.

"Fabian. You chose me and I chose you a long time ago. We weren't together when you dated Mara. It's okay, I never hated you. All I wanted was to go back in time so we could be together again."

"Really?" Fabian asked with a cracked smile.

"Yes. Now will you be my stupid boyfriend again?" I teased gently. In response Fabian just pulled me in tight for a kiss.

"Gods now I understand how everyone feels around us." No. I knew that voice… but it can't be.

"Eddie?" Fabian questioned poking the guy to make sure he was real. "Patricia? What are you doing here?"

"Well, we're not as smart as you," Patricia began with a bright smile. "And our college back in the UK expects a certain percentage to drop out after first semester. Until then they don't have room for us so Eddie and I had to take our first semester abroad. When we saw the University of Alexandria as an option we couldn't resist coming and meeting some old friends."

"I would have told you," Eddie assured. "But you my friend kept the phone line busy with your frets about how Nina would respond to you and someone else changed her number." Fabian smiled at Eddie's teasing, but the words directed at me stung a bit.

"Wait, so when everyone said they couldn't give me your new number…" Fabian recalled and I blushed red.

"Maybe we should go inside before our new roommates think we're freaks," Patricia suggested pointing to red head looking out the window. "And then you Nina Martin are going to explain why you left my wedding early and then changed your number."

Glad that I had a bit more of time to come up with some lack luster excuse for changing my number I led the charge inside to meet my new roommates.

"So I take it from the kissing that you guys know each other…" the red-head asked with a thick Welsh accent before we'd even really gotten in the door. "Or are you just a naturally social person?"

"Um… Nina here is my girlfriend," Fabian awkwardly decided. (I will admit I smiled at the word girlfriend.) "I'm Fabian."

"I'm Patricia and this is my husband Eddie," Patricia introduced proudly stating the word husband despite the odd look she got. "We all went to the same high school and as English speakers we all got stuck together here."

"Wow, husband… that's different. Not judging thought," From the look on the girl's face she was definitely judging but whatever. "I'm Elizabeth."

"Nice to meet you," I greeted brightly. "Are any of the others here yet?"

"Elena and Justin aren't, but Nile went straight to his room. He seems like a fun one." The sarcasm in Elizabeth's voice was so heavy I wondered what the kid had said to upset her so much so quickly. "But I guess it could be worse than 8 of us in this house. They figured since we're all Egyptology majors throw us in the house called Anubis."

"Actually Eddie and I are still undecided," Patricia explained. "We're only here for a semester then we go back to London for Uni there. But it's weird though because the four of us went to a boarding school for high school and lived in a house called Anubis House."

"Oh, you guys went to Frobisher Academy," Elizabeth said with a nod. "I applied but the obnoxious headmaster said I couldn't go because I'd been expelled from my last school." As we all giggled and Patricia snorted in laughter Elizabeth looked abashed, "What? What did I say?"

"That obnoxious headmaster is Eddie's dad," I told her with a grin. "and my great uncle."

"Oh sorry," Elizabeth said blushing at the same time Eddie waved a 'don't worry' hand and spoke.

"Don't apologize. He is obnoxious some times. Why did you get expelled from your school?"

If Elizabeth had been blushing before it was nothing compared to now, "It's a long story… I'm not violent or anything. Just a disagreement that led to a petition of parents for me to leave."

The girl's lack of real response spiked my interest, but before anyone could press her more a door swung open with a petite, but obviously furious, blonde standing with a bag in each hand. Without so much as an introduction she stormed past us and into the room where our mysterious loner roommate Nile had holed up. From the sounds of arguing, that quickly appeared my friends and I weren't the only roommates who knew each other.

"What is this the house of friends?" Elizabeth remarked clearly feeling left out. "I wonder if Justin knows everyone too."

"I don't," A brunette American assured us from beneath a seemingly heavy trunk. "I'm Justin and you are…" After repeating our names for our last roommates sake we all set off to unpack. Before I could even get a single sock out of my bag Elena and Nile showed up at my door, grabbed me, and pulled me from the room forcefully.