As I walk down the hallway, I smell the familiar scents of bleach and furniture polish. He’s been tidying up. The living room appears spotless. He has vacuumed the floor and polished all the surfaces to a shine.
The kitchen is relatively tidy for Oliver. I can see he’s trying. His French chicken casserole is divine and makes all my frustration with him slip away.
I join Oliver in the living room. He waits for me to pull my chair over and sit opposite him.
‘You didn’t need to sort the kitchen,’ I say. ‘I was going to do that.’
‘It’s okay, I like cleaning.’
He reaches behind the sofa and brings out Mum’s vase. It’s been glued back together, and he’s done a fantastic job. The sight of it makes my eyes water. He stands it on the coffee table. For a few seconds, the white vase goes blurry. After wiping my eyes, I inspect it. ‘Oliver, you’ve mended it.’
‘I’m glad you’re happy with it.’ He smiles at me, and I find myself wondering whether he’s a decent guy who’s just going through a tough time. ‘I’ve seen a few flats today, and none are as lovely as this. They’re either miles outside of town or are in a bit of a state.’
‘Oh.’
We both go silent until he says, ‘Gary came again today with a builder.’
‘Did they start work on fixing my ceiling?’
Oliver shakes his head. ‘They need to sort out the roof. It’s a loose tile which has caused this. Once the roof is done, they need to put in a new ceiling board and plaster and paint it.’
‘That’s going to take longer than a few days.’
Oliver nods. ‘We’re talking ten days minimum. More like two weeks and Gary kept saying there was no rush.’
My heart sinks.
Oliver points to the half of the sofa he’s not sat on. I can see a mound under the material.
‘A spring has come loose. It happened last night and gave me the fright of my life.’
There’s no way Oliver can continue sleeping in here. He’s too big for the sofa, and now this loose spring will make sleeping difficult. I am very angry with Gary for not resolving the issue in the first place.
‘I need more time to find somewhere to live, but we need another sleeping arrangement.’
‘Yes, we do.’
He clears his throat. ‘Look, this is going to sound crazy, and I will respect it if it is… but my bed is big enough for two if we share…’
My eyebrows have risen so far up my forehead they are now in my hairline.
I hope he’s not expecting us to share a bed.
I have standards, and they are sky-high.
‘Hear me out, Nelly. I’ll be fully clothed, in full pyjamas, and I’ll build you the biggest wall made of pillows. It’ll be an impressive barricade.’
I think about his proposal. On two occasions, I haven’t seen anything when we have touched due to my glitchy curse. At some point, my curse will show me something about Oliver, and I am not sure I want to risk seeing something upsetting in bed, which has always been one of my safe places.
I think of his nocturnal habits. ‘Oliver, you are out late every night,’ I exclaim. ‘You typically arrive home in the early hours. What you do in your spare time is your business, but I have a full-time job, an aunt who is undergoing chemo, and I need my sleep.’ I let out a heavy sigh. If I am honest with myself, the threat of my curse is my biggest issue with his idea, but I am not about to tell him that. ‘Sharing a bed will be a nightmare as you will continually wake me up.’
My eyes roam over his messy bed hair, his fitted white T-shirt, which is hiding a defined physique, and his arms, which are a beautiful golden-brown colour. I lift my gaze to his dark, captivating eyes as my treacherous body silently screams,SAY YES!
To my surprise, he nods. ‘You make a fair point.’ He rises from the sofa and walks over to the large sash window. I watch him lean against it and look down at the busy street below.
‘I’m not partying. I want to make that clear.’
‘Oh.’ If he’s not partying – what is he doing?
