Rupert picked up the bowl of brown gloop Sophie had left and gave it a dubious stir. “Not up for Sophie’s infamous chilli, eh? Don’t blame you.”
“Sophie can’t cook?” It wasn’t a question by the time Jodi finished the sentence. A click in his brain revealed years and years of dodgy roast dinners and soggy sandwiches, surreptitiously chucked in the bin the moment her back was turned. “She can’t cook.”
Rupert smiled. “No, bless her heart, she stayed up half the night making that swill. She does make a mean pot of builder’s tea, though. She’s left one in the kitchen. Fancy a cuppa and something less terrifying for your dinner?”
I own a goddamned teapot? What the fuck happened to me?Jodi couldn’t think of a sensible answer to Rupert’s questions or his own. He nodded and settled back on the sofa while Rupert disappeared into the kitchen, wrapping himself in the soft grey blanket Sophie had insisted on covering him with when they’d come home. The blanket smelled nice, like coffee and pine needles, and it was all he could do not to bury his face in it and go back to sleep.Idiot. You’ve tried that already.
“Nutella on toast.” Rupert returned and held out a plate with a single slice of chocolate-covered toast.
Jodi had to admit it looked far more appetising than Sophie’s efforts. “Do I like that?”
“I’d say so. You used to eat it enough, especially on a hangover. I slice a banana on top of mine. Drives you mad— Um, anyway. Take these and eat up.” Rupert brandished a handful of pills far bigger and scarier than the tiny codeine Sophie had slipped past Jodi’s lips.
“What the fuck are they?”
“The same ones you’ve been taking in the hospital. You don’t remember?”
Jodi thought hard and made himself dizzy.Hospital, pills, doctors ... no, nurses.Yup. He remembered the nurse—Caz—who’d appeared three times a day, clutching a tiny paper cup of mysterious medication. “I remember taking them, but I don’t know what they are. No one told me.”
“Do you want me to tell you?”
“I think so?”
Rupert set the plate of toast down and spread the pills over his palm. “Okay, but you should know most of these are preventative, so don’t let them freak you out too much.”
Easy for him to say.“Start with the big one and work your way down.”
“The big one is your antiseizure medication. Do you remember having seizures while you were in hospital?”
“Maybe.” Jodi recalled a vague memory of a similar conversation. “Actually, no. I remember Sophie telling me about them. When did I have them?”
“They started a few months ago, but you haven’t had one for a while. That’s why they let you come home. That and ...”
“And what?”
Rupert shook his head. “Nothing. You just made some big improvements quite quickly. You couldn’t hold a conversation like this a few weeks ago, and before that you didn’t talk at all.”
That rang a bell. Sophie had told him about the weeks and weeks he’d spent bumbling around the hospital, mute and useless. “How long was I like that for?”
“Three months.”
“Did you visit me?”
“Every day.”
“Why?”
The colour drained from Rupert’s already pale complexion and left him ashen. Jodi frowned. What the fuck was his problem? It was a fair question, wasn’t it? A question, it seemed, Rupert didn’t want to answer, since he got up and turned his back on Jodi so fast Jodi’s mind spun with him.
“I’ll get you some water.”
Weirdo.Jodi watched him go, recalling the few instances he did remember of Rupert visiting him in hospital. The way he’d hovered and stared, like he was waiting for Jodi to spontaneously combust, only to disappear abruptly behind the curtain.Great. I picked a creepy flatmate.
Rupert came back with a glass of water. “Ready for your pills?”
“Hmm?”
“Your medication.” Rupert proffered a palmful of pills. “Do you want me to go through the rest with you?”
