‘Your name’s Salty?’
He gave her a disinterested shrug. ‘I’m always in a crap mood.’
Meg raised her eyebrows. ‘Why are you sleeping on my sofa, Salty?’
‘I work at the restaurant with Jay.’
Jay was the gamer. It didn’t really answer the question, but she could piece it together. Bloody hell. It was only Wednesday. She was getting too old for this.
‘Well, Salty, now I’m in a crap mood too, cos I’m trying to work and you’re here, interrupting me. You need to go.’
He coughed again.
‘Sounds like you need to see a doctor, too,’ she added.
‘Nah.’ He rubbed his face. ‘It’s just from smoking cones.’
Meg shook her head and looked back to the screen as Salty pulled on his trainers.
She reread her first sentence and typed on.The threesome has been inseparable since—
‘See ya,’ Salty said to her. As he disappeared into the hall, Gav entered, her long-term flatmate who was permanently dressed in lycra cycling gear that made him look like he was training for the Tour de France, rather than commuting to the CBD.
‘You’re at it early,’ he said.
Meg nodded and resumed typing. —since their first date eighteen months ago—
‘What are you writing?’ he asked, pouring milk onto his cereal.
Meg looked up again, trying to conceal her irritation. She’d chosen Gav three years ago because he had a full-time job in IT that required him to work from the office—she figured he could afford the rent and would hardly be there—but somehow they’d become friends and he was always up for a chat. ‘Ah, it’s a story exploring unconventional relationships in the age of dating apps.’
‘Yeah, interesting.’ He swallowed a mouthful. ‘You still on the apps?’
She shook her head. ‘I lasted a week. I only went on one date, with a guy who asked me back to his place. Turned out he still lived with his parents. He made me hide behind his bedroom door for half an hour when his mum came home unexpectedly.’ She shook her head, trying to shake off the awkward memory, and looked back to the screen, hoping Gav would get the message.
‘Jeez, when was that?’
Meg sighed. ‘I don’t know, maybe a month ago.’
‘I’ve got a mate who—’
‘Gav, sorry, I’m on a deadline.’
He shrugged. ‘Yeah, no worries, that’s cool.’ He dumped his cereal bowl in the sink and clip-clopped down the hallway in his cycling shoes.
‘Oh, Gav?’ she called after him. ‘Rent’s due today.’
‘Yep!’ he said. The front door slammed.
The lease was in her name, which meant she spent her life chasing rent payments. Gav was pretty reliable, but Jay was hopeless. She opened online banking to see if he’d transferred his rent yet. No. She checked the list of recent transactions, looking for Jay’s name. It was over a month since he’d paid her. She opened the to-do list on her phone and added,Chase Jay’s outstanding rent.
A wave of tiredness washed over her. She yawned. She’d tossed and turned last night, Jenny’s confused comments playing on her mind. More coffee, that’s what she needed.
She dropped a pod into the machine and opened the fridge, but her space in the door was empty. Where was her milk? She’d just put it back, right there. Did Gav …?
She looked in the bin. There it was. Her empty milk carton. Bloody hell. He hadn’t even put it in the recycling! She moved it into the plastics section, then picked up the mug from the coffee machine.
She sat back down and took a sip, recoiling at the bitter taste. How did anyone drink it like this? It was like battery acid. She thought of her mum, who’d always had her coffee black. It was yet another thing about her that Meg found baffling.
