Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted

It is that hard.

But it's okay, because I learn things along the way.

Like the fact that drilling is a lot harder than it looks.

That wood isn't always straight.

That, speaking of straight, it isn't as easy as you'd think to cut a straight line with a circular saw. Or, well, yes, it will be straight, but it might be a diagonal kind of straight instead of a straight-straight.

Oh, and that Ben from the hardware store has a really nice smile, and he's kind of cute, but there isn't the tiniest flutter of excitement inside of me anywhere as he helps me get everything together and even has his brother drive everything home for me at Mrs. Elkins' behest, so I'm pretty sure His Majesty Lucas Westwood, alphahole of the Westwood Pack, has ruined me for romance. But that's something I'd rather not think about, so I don't.

Franklin—their parents named them Benjamin and Franklin, and yes, I do think that's funny—screws the last anchor into the wall and steps back to examine our handiwork.

It's mostly his, though.

He's spent three hours helping me while Selene watches his every move, and I'm surprised to feel almost comfortable in his presence. He's nice<

/em>, like his brother, and I'm starting to learn that nice people are really just nice<

/em> sometimes.

We haven't gotten a lot done, both because it takes a lot longer than you'd think and because I can't afford it. Even so, I started with the corner I'd thought of turning into a reading nook and added basic white shelves over industrial pipe-looking brackets. Simple, cheap, and went well with the brick accents inside the apartment.

The addition of a few battery-powered fairy lights and an armchair Mrs. Elkins had donated from downstairs had instantly changed it into my new favorite place in the apartment. I even switched out the room-darkening curtains with these new gauzy ones that were on clearance and meant for a kid's room.