Their third roommate, Michelle, was spending a semester overseas. She’d paid her portion of the rent to hold onto her room in Holly’s house, and was expected to return after winter break. For the moment, though, her door at the end of the upstairs hallway was shut and locked. Michelle had one key, Holly the other. If Jake were honest, he’d have to admit he didn’t even notice Michelle was gone. She went to school full-time, working toward a nursing degree, and held down two internships—one at an immediate care facility just off-campus and one in the ER of a local hospital. Though she had a grueling schedule lined up in her semester abroad, she’d remarked it still seemed like a vacation because she wouldn’t be working any late shifts in triage.
Jake’s room was at the top of the stairs. That
