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The space was so small she could see straight through to the balcony beyond. The plants were dead, with a full ashtray and litter scattered all over the breakfast table. The lounge was even worse, with crumpled cushions, dirty crockery and buckets of half-eaten popcorn on the coffee table.
Hannah dared to move forward and peek at the kitchen area but was immediately disappointed. Empty bottles of wine littered the counter, the bottle-o bags scrunched up next to greasy takeout boxes that had started to smell. They really didn’t care. Becky had jokingly referred to her as the flat mum once. No wonder they’d called her ‘Mum’. They’d treated her like one, and worst of all, she’d let them!
‘Take a seat. It won’t take me long to pack,’ she said, ushering Caleb in and shielding him from the worst of the kitchen, before hurrying to brush away some of the popcorn from the sofa cushions. Caleb moved into the lounge area but didn’t sit; she couldn’t blame him.
As Hannah turned back towards her room, she noticed the washing machine was on. Her striped duvet set swirling around the drum; an empty box of laundry tabs and a bottle of bleach sat ominously on the counter above.
Becky and Lindsey rarely bought cleaning products, so she suspected they’d run out of laundry tabs and Becky had used the only thing left.
‘I’m not going to miss them,’ she said, more to herself than to Caleb, but he made a sympathetic grunt of agreement.
She opened the door to her sad, windowless little room, only seeing the full glory of it when she turned on the light.
Her suitcase was still in the centre of the room. Last night she’d pushed it inside before seeing Noah’s naked bum on her duvet.
On top of her case was a note scrawled on the back of a bottle-o receipt.
Soz about last night. Stuck ur sheets in wash – as promised. Just seemed silly not to use the double when ur not here.
Luv BeXs
Hannah’s left eye began to twitch, and she scrunched up the receipt and threw it in her wastepaper bin, which she noticed also had a used condom in it.
The violation and audacity of her flatmate was shocking, but the sheer lack of concern or accountability was utterly infuriating.
Well, she’d show them!
Imagine how sick with jealousy they’d be if she posted lots of photos of her on film sets, possibly even rubbing shoulders with famous actors? They’d regret treating her like shit.
Maybe Patrick would see it too? Wouldn’t that be grand? He’d always moaned about her constantly taking photos, but he’d used half of them in his own ‘Pat Down Under’ socials – and yes, she should have known he was a twat from that red flag alone.
They met shortly after she arrived in Sydney, and he’d taken her under his wing. He’d arrived in Australia six months earlier and knew his way around the city and social circles. Originally from Essex, he’d come for a gap year after uni and had ended up extending his visa. He’d seemed more experienced, she supposed, someone to rely on – what a joke!
‘For fuck’s sake!’ she muttered, yanking out her second suitcase from beneath the bed and dumping it on the bare mattress. She picked out her clothes for the day from the built-in wardrobe and put them aside to change into later.
She then pulled out the rest of her clothes, hangers and all, and shoved them in the empty case. The case was full to bursting, but she knew there was still some space inside her still-packed case for her toiletries and other bits and pieces.
She picked up the kangaroo teddy Ellie had given her as a going-away present. Usually, Kanga lay on the top of her bed in pride of place, but he’d been chucked onto the bedside chest without a care.
‘What horrors you must have seen,’ she said, stroking Kanga’s soft head before stuffing him into the front pocket of her squeaky case and wheeling it out into the hallway.
Caleb must have been equally busy while she was packing, because the counters were clear of takeout boxes and had been wiped down.
‘You didn’t have to do that,’ she said. ‘It was their mess.’
He shrugged. ‘It was something to do.’
‘Thank you. I think this is the first time anyone other than me has cleaned up.’ An unwelcome ball of emotion stuck in her throat, and she quickly dismissed the feeling as pure silliness. Why be upset about people she didn’t even like? Especially when they didn’t care about hurting her feelings.
‘How’s the packing going?’ He gestured with his chin towards the open doorway of her room.
Depressingly easy, she almost replied, but managed to control herself. ‘It’s empty in there. I’ll pack my crockery and kitchen stuff after I’ve had a quick shower and changed.’
Caleb poked a head into her room. ‘So, only the bed, dressing table and chest? I’ll have to do two trips, but I reckon it’s manageable. We’ll take the smaller stuff first and then I’ll come back for the bed. I’ll need to stop somewhere and buy straps to secure the mattress on the roof.’
He’d really planned it all out in that short moment, she realised, impressed by his practicality and know-how. There was something insanely sexy about a competent man; it made her want to break something just to see him fix it.
Had he always been like this? She remembered him being good in woodwork and always repairing or tweaking his bikes. But she’d never appreciated those skills back then; she’d only ever placed value on exams. But knowing the definition of a verb and actually being able to do something were two very different skills, and she’d always struggled with the doing part.
