‘I’m fine, honest.’
‘Here’s your tray,’ he announces. ‘I checked with Miranda that you eat meat. It’s a beef casserole with dumplings. All homemade.’ With a smile, he picks up his tray. ‘See you in the living room. Race you to the chair.’
My eyes must have glowed red or something because his smile disappears and is replaced by a look of concern. He emits a nervous chuckle. ‘Only joking.’
We both devour his casserole. He’s on the sofa and I am in my chair. I know he’s made a mess of my kitchen, but his casserole tastes divine, and his dumplings are perfect.
After we sit for a while avoiding eye contact, I break the awkward silence. ‘This meal was nice, Oliver. Thank you. How was the move?’
‘Good. I only had a few boxes to carry up three flights of stairs. I’m sorry again for Lenny’s escape. It won’t happen again.’
‘He’s fine, so it’s okay.’
Lenny makes an appearance and, to my dismay, heads straight for Oliver.
‘I’m off out for a beer with Jamie tonight,’ Oliver says. ‘How’s your head?’
‘I’ve got a slight headache, but I will be okay.’
He smiles and scratches Lenny’s chin. ‘I’ll tidy the kitchen before I go out, don’t worry.’
After he washes up and tidies the countertops, he shouts goodbye and leaves the flat.
Exhaustion washes over me. ‘Lenny, we’re going to have an early night,’ I say, lifting him off my lap. ‘It’s been an eventful day.’
He follows me into the hallway, and I glance down at him. ‘I know you’re not going to like this, but I am going to put your dirt tray in with me tonight as I don’t want you escaping when Oliver comes home.’
After sorting out Lenny plus his dirt tray, I place a chair in front of my locked bedroom door. Lenny is glaring at me.
‘Mummy is busy protecting us. Oliver could be the flatmate from hell and could come in here with wandering hands.’
I lie in bed and think about how I saw no vision when Oliver and I banged heads. Weird. It must have been quite a whack to my head. Lenny meows by the door but gets bored and soon comes to snuggle in with me. We both fall asleep.
CRASH. I wake up with a frightened gasp. What the hell was that noise? It’s midnight. A hushed voice and a drunken giggle follow it.
With a thumping heart, I move the chair and look over at my cat. ‘You stay here,’ I whisper, before opening the door.
The sight in the hallway robs me of breath. Oliver is being helped into the flat by a man with short blond hair. The man looks up and smiles. ‘You must be Nelly. I’m Jamie. Nice to meet you.’
I stare in horror as he struggles into the hallway with Oliver, who spots me and grins. ‘NELLY,’ he shouts, with outstretched arms. ‘GIVE ME A HUG.’
I back away, and my horrified face makes Jamie smile. ‘No need to panic. Ollie has only had two and a half pints,’ he says, chuckling, ‘One sniff of the barmaid’s apron and he’s sozzled. Oliver has never been able to handle his drink. I’ll get him into his room, and then I’ll go.’
‘I… hate… Rory,’ slurs Oliver, falling against the wall.
‘Ollie, come on, mate,’ groans Jamie, helping him up and hurrying him along. Jamie looks over at me. ‘He’ll be fine.’
I watch them struggle along the hallway, and then they disappear into Oliver’s room. An hour later, I hear Jamie leave the flat. As I pull up my duvet, I cuddle Lenny.
This won’t be a regular occurrence, I tell myself. This was a one-off. Oliver probably got carried away with catching up with his friend.
There’s no need to panic, Nelly.
14
There is no noise coming from Oliver’s room when I wake, which is a relief. I plan to forget about the celebratory drink. He must have had fun. Normal people do that when they are not living under a curse.
My head feels a lot better, and to my surprise, there’s only a tiny purple bruise on my forehead. After getting dressed, feeding Lenny and making myself some breakfast, I grab my bag and leave the flat. I call Aunt Polly, who sounds surprisingly upbeat.
