MidReal Story
Unexpected Hearts
Scenario: I just moved into a house with my best friend. Grant is a tall, muscular man, with blond. I'm a 5,2 girl with a small waist and wider hips. My long red hair falls over my back.
Create my version of this story
Liam
a guy Emily met at the bar who seems interested in her, potential love interest for Emily.
Grant Anderson
a tall and muscular man with blond hair, Emily's best friend and roommate, protective and supportive.
Emily Carter
Em, a young woman moving in with her best friend, Grant's best friend and roommate, petite with long red hair and a small waist, determined and adaptable.
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I moved in with my best friend, Grant Anderson.
I’d known him for years, but we’d never lived together.
He was always the guy I called when I needed a friend, or a ride, or someone to talk to.
He was the guy who showed up at my door with a pint of ice cream and two spoons when my boyfriend broke up with me.
He was the guy who told me I was beautiful when I felt ugly, and that I was smart when I felt stupid.
He was the guy who made me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry.
And he was the guy who picked me up and carried me to bed after I fell asleep on his couch.
I’d always thought of him as my best friend, but now that we were living together, it felt like something more.
It wasn’t just that he was tall and muscular, with blond hair and blue eyes that made my heart race every time he looked at me.
It was the way he made me feel so… safe.
It was the way he wrapped his arms around me, and told me that everything would be all right.
It was the way he took care of me, even when I didn’t want him to.
I’d always felt like I could trust him with anything, and now that we were living together, that feeling was only getting stronger.
I couldn’t have done it without him.
Packing up my stuff after my last breakup had been a lot harder than I’d thought it would be.
At first, I’d been excited to get my own place again—away from the memories and the pain of my old apartment—but as I’d started to pack up my things, the reality of what I was doing had hit me hard.
I was saying goodbye to four years of my life, and it hurt more than I’d wanted to admit.
I’d thought about hiring someone to help me move, but Grant had been there for me every step of the way, and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.
He was the one who’d talked me into leaving my old apartment in the first place.
It would have been so easy for me to stay where I was, in a place that felt safe and familiar, with a man who told me he loved me.
But after everything my ex had put me through, I knew I couldn’t stay there any longer.
Grant was the one who’d convinced me that moving in with him was a good idea.
“I’m sick of living alone,” he’d told me.
“And you need a change of scenery.”
He was right about both things, but I think the real reason we were doing this was so we could be there for each other.
He’d gone through a tough breakup of his own not long before mine, and I could tell that seeing me in pain made him hurt too.
There were times when it felt like we were the only two people in the world who understood what the other was going through.
If I hadn’t had him by my side, I didn’t know what I would have done.
We’d packed up most of my things over the course of a few days, but now we were finally getting around to moving them into our new house.
I still couldn’t believe it belonged to us—“us,” as in Grant and I—but as we pulled up in front of the white two-story home with black shutters and a wraparound porch, I couldn’t help feeling proud.
It wasn’t a huge house by any means—only two bedrooms and two baths—but it was perfect for us.
I glanced at Grant as we climbed out of the car and popped open the trunk of his SUV.
He looked as good as always, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that showed off his muscular arms, and I couldn’t help admiring him for a moment before I turned my attention back to the task at hand.
We spent the next hour or so unloading all of my things from his car and moving them into our new home.
My new home.
After we got my stuff inside, Grant went out to get some food. I sat on my bed, unpacking my books and clothing. I hear him walk through the door.
After only a few minutes, he came back inside carrying a couple of bags.
I watched as he set them down on the counter, and then turned to face me.
“Ready for the next load?”
I bit my lip.
“It’s just… there’s more stuff than I thought there would be.”
He laughed and shook his head.
“Come on, Em.You know we’ve got movers coming to take care of the furniture.”
I looked at him in confusion.
I thought you said they couldn’t come until next week?”
“They couldn’t,” he said.
“But then I called and had them rearrange their schedules so they could be here today.”
“But what about all of the boxes?”
“Don’t worry, I took care of it.”
I stared at him, not sure what to say.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
“Let’s get the rest of your stuff loaded up, shall we?”
It took us less than half an hour to gather up the rest of my belongings and load them into the back of my car.
I followed Grant out to my car, but as we started unloading the boxes, I found myself thinking about everything I was leaving behind.
My old apartment had been more than just a place—it had been my home for the last four years, and it was full of memories of my ex-boyfriend.
I’d told myself I could make new memories there, but now that I’d moved on, it felt like I was leaving my old life behind for good.
I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I tried not to let them fall.
I didn’t want to cry over something that should have been over long ago.
Grant must have noticed that I was upset, because he reached out and squeezed my shoulder.
“You okay?”
I nodded, but didn’t speak.
“It’s gonna be okay.” He gave me a reassuring smile. “This is going to be the start of something new.”
I forced myself to smile back at him, and then turned my attention back to the task at hand.
It didn’t take us long to finish unloading the rest of my boxes, and by the time we were done, the movers had arrived.
They’d been to Grant’s old apartment a few hours earlier to pick up his furniture, and now they were here to take mine.
It only took them a few minutes to do what would have taken me hours, and I watched as they loaded up my bed, couch, and coffee table, along with all of the other boxes that Grant had somehow managed to get them to take as well.
Soon, my apartment was empty except for a few odds and ends that I’d elected to leave behind.
I glanced around at the bare walls and felt a twinge of sadness, but at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling relieved that I was finally leaving all of those bad memories behind.
After one last sweep of the apartment, I grabbed a few bags that contained some clothes and toiletries, and headed out to my car.
I followed Grant to our new house, but as I drove, my mind was spinning with a million different thoughts and emotions.
I turned to Grant and rolled my eyes.
“They’re not even done yet?”
Grant asked with a chuckle.
I had to admit—he had a point.
I’d expected it to take all day for them to get our stuff out of our old apartments and into our new house, but so far they were moving at lightening speed.
“I’m going to have to tip them extra for being so quick.” I grinned at him.
“Definitely.” He laughed.
Once everything was inside, Grant and I started unpacking right away.
I had been dreading this part of moving all week long—unpacking was definitely not my favorite thing to do—but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
I’d expected it to take days for me to get everything put away, but once we got started, it only took a few hours for me to get everything unpacked and put away in the living room and bedroom.
It was almost like I had more space in this house than I did in my apartment—there was plenty of room for all of my furniture and belongings without it feeling cluttered or cramped—and it wasn’t long before it felt like home.
I set up my couch in front of the TV in the living room, and arranged my coffee table in front of it.
It was a small space, but it was cozy and comfortable, and it felt like home.
I made my bed in my new bedroom, not bothering to put a bedspread on it yet.
It was just me here tonight—Grant was planning on staying at his parents’ house until tomorrow—so there wasn’t really any point.
I did put a few throw pillows on my bed though just so it didn’t look so boring.
After that, all we had left to do was bring in all of my clothes from my car.
We were almost done putting everything away when Grant asked if I needed help setting up my dresser.
I shook my head.
“It’s just a few more boxes of clothes,” I told him.
“I can handle it.”
“You sure?”
He asked again.
It’s not a big deal,” he added quickly.
“I’m happy to help.”
I smiled at him.
“It’s not.” I paused for a moment.
“Thanks though.” The truth was I liked having him around while I got settled in.
Grant was always a good time to be around, and even if we were doing something boring like unpacking, he still managed to make it fun.
It was one of the many things I loved about him.
Grant grinned at me and motioned to the boxes in my arms.
“Want me to take a few for you?”
he asked as he reached for one.
“Thanks,” I said.
He grabbed a few boxes off the top of the pile, and I followed him into my bedroom.
We set the boxes down on the floor, and I quickly opened them up and started putting my clothes away.
Grant hung out in my room while I unpacked, and every now and then he’d help me find a place for something or offer suggestions on how to organize my stuff.
“You could put your dresser over there,” he suggested, pointing to the far wall.
“And then you could hang some pictures on this wall.”
He walked over to the wall and pointed at an empty space.
“I could help you pick some out tomorrow if you want,” he added.
I rolled my eyes, but agreed anyway. Grant chuckled and moved behind me. I feel his breath on my neck.
“Or,” he said softly.
“You could just let me pick out whatever I want.”
I gave him a playful shove and went back to putting my clothes away.
An hour later, I was all settled in and ready to take a bath.
After such a long day, all I wanted to do was relax and unwind before bed.
“I’m going to take a bath,” I called down the hall to Grant and walked into the bathroom.
“Okay,” he said.
“I’m going to install our surveillance system.”
When we’d first moved in, Grant had insisted on buying a security system for the house, even though we lived in a safe neighborhood.
We’d been renting apartments for years, so we’d never really had the option of installing our own security systems before, but now that we owned our house, Grant took full advantage of it.
He’d done his research online and spent almost a week deciding what kind to get, but he finally decided on one that came with several cameras that we could place around the house.
I was all for it too—I was a little paranoid about living alone, especially after my last breakup—so I didn’t argue with him at all when he said he wanted to set it up himself.
I turned on the water in the tub, poured myself some bubbles, and grabbed a book from my nightstand before I got undressed and climbed in.
The water was hot, but not too hot, and it felt amazing against my skin.
I pulled my knees to my chest, took a deep breath, and opened up my book.
There was nothing like a good book to escape reality for a few hours, especially after such a long day.
I could feel myself starting to relax right away, and by the time I was halfway through my book, I was starting to feel better already.
A few hours later, I was still soaking in the tub when I heard Grant’s voice drifting down the hallway.
“Hey,” I called out as I sat up a little straighter.
“I’m almost done.” He chuckled.
“Okay,” I said as I leaned back against the tub again.
“Take your time.” A few minutes later, I heard him come into the bathroom and walk over to the tub.
“I’m done,” he said as he sat down on the toilet lid next to me.
“How was your bath?”
“It was good,” I said as I reached over and turned off the water.
“Very relaxing.” I climbed out of the tub and wrapped myself up in a towel before grabbing another one to dry off my hair.
“I need to take one later when you’re done,” he said as he watched me.
“Sounds good,” I said as I turned back to him.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m going to make some food,” he said as he stood up from the toilet and walked out of the bathroom.
“Do you want anything?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
A few hours later, I was sitting in bed with my Kindle when I heard Grant’s voice coming from the top of the stairs.“Em?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you need anything?”
“I’ll be okay.”I put my book down on the nightstand before climbing into bed and rolling over on my side to go to sleep.
It didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep, but I was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night by a loud clap of thunder that shook the whole house.
I sat up in bed and looked around the room with wide eyes as I tried to catch my breath.
As soon as I was able to take a deep breath again, I got up out of bed, wrapped myself up in a big blanket, and walked out into the hallway.
I knew it was an irrational fear, but there was something about thunderstorms that scared me when I was a kid, and I’d never really gotten over it.
I stood at the top of the stairs for a minute as I tried to work up enough courage to go downstairs, but I just couldn’t do it, so I walked down the hallway instead.
I was almost to Grant’s door when I saw him walk out of his room with his hair sticking up in all directions.
“Em?”
“What are you doing?”
“Oh,” I said as I pulled the blanket tighter around me and looked at him sheepishly.
“I was just wondering if you wanted to sleep with me tonight.”He looked at me for a minute before he walked over to his room and opened up his door.
“Yeah,” he said as he stepped back into his room.
“Do you want me to close that?”
“No,” he said, “but you should probably come in now before you catch pneumonia.” He gestured toward his room again, so I quickly ran inside before he had a chance to change his mind.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he said as he sat down on the edge of his bed and pulled back the covers for me.
I walked over to him slowly before sitting down on the bed next to him.
“Thank you,” I said as I scooted under the covers with him.
He pulled me close to him so that I was lying against his chest before he wrapped his arms around me.
“You’re going to be okay,” he said as he kissed the top of my head.
“Are you going back to sleep?”
“Okay,” I said as I closed my eyes.
