I fold my arms. “I’m not a maid.”
Carol looks horrified. “Not what I meant at all! Only that… I’ve had roomies that did nothing, and that was hell.”
“Oh.” I glance away, feeling my cheeks heat. “Alex always called me a bit of a neat-freak.” Which is ironic, because he’s tidier than I am.
“Stay as long as you like,” Carol says with a sincerity that makes my heart flip.
“Thank you.” I match her genuineness with my own. “I’ll pay half your rent.”If Alex isn’t too quick to ask for his seed money back. “What do I owe you for the groceries?”
She waves a hand like it doesn’t matter. “Just chip in from time to time.”
“More than fair.” I give her a playful smile. “Anyrules I need to know about?”
“Several.” Carol nods in mock-seriousness. “One. Penguin pajamas arede rigueurat all times.”
“I only have this pair…”
“Two. The word ‘Alex’ is forbidden.”
“Can we substitute ‘bastard’?”
Her lips twitch. “I find substituting Ben and Jerry’s works best.”
I shrug that off. “I’m not going to cry over him. Yes, I miss him, but… it’s only been a day. And this is the right thing.” I start unpacking the groceries to keep my hands busy. “I’ll be fine. Give me a week or two.”
Or a year.
“Let me do that,” Carol says, taking over on the groceries. “You get the wine and a couple of glasses, and let’s kick back and talk shit.”
I huff a laugh and turn for the fridge, but my phone goes off, and I head for that instead. Then freeze as I pick it up, seeing the name on the screen. I don’t even think; I reject the call. There’s no way I can talk to him right now.
But he’ll call back. I know he will. He’s nothing if not persistent.
I block his number, if only to buy myself some time. I can unblock it later.
Or not.
Carol senses my change in mood and glances at me. I’m aware of her gaze, even though I’m still staring at my phone.
“I’m guessing that wasn’ta work call?”
“No,” I say flatly. “Ben and Jerry’s.” He must’ve found the ring. Took him long enough. But then that can’t be right either; he’s never home this early.
Back. Not home. Home isn’t there anymore; it’s here.
For a dissociative moment, I think he was calling to tell me to take a bath. But that’s just a mind-fuck. I give myself a shake, switch my phone to silent, and set it back on the table, face down.
Carol’s still watching me. “Ice cream’s in the freezer. Spoon in the drawer. Do you like horror films?”
I blink at the unexpected question. “What? No.”
“Thank fuck for that. I hate them. Star Trek Next Gen? I’ve got the box set.”
It’s clear what she’s trying to do, and surprisingly easy to go with it and let her. “All seven series? From the beginning?”
She grins. “I knew you were a nerd.”
Four
