I managed to get my sleeping pattern back into place, eating food I had been skipping out on and weighing myself I realised over the last month i had lost 5 stone due to not exercising and eating barely any meals, for the nights I had got home early from work I had gone out drinking immediately afterwards. It was nice to just stay at home and not talk to anyone for four days, I wouldn’t say I was carefree as the thought of Jane showing up was always in the back of my mind. But I did manage to rest up and relax a bit.
Monday had come so quickly yet the day had gone by so fast. I'd been working overtime for an hour now, so much work I had to get finished and too little time to finish it in. But mostly, because I didn't want to go home. Maybe Jane had finally got there...Maybe she was waiting for me, the one I've wanted to see for so long has come back and, well...I’m scared to see her. It's terrifying.
Unable to go back home for fear of Jane being there I persuaded the Manager to give me Jakes number and called him the moment I was in my office and the door was closed.
“Hello?”
“Hi Jake…its...Lizzy"
“Lizzy? Um, wow okay this is a shock. What's wrong?”
“Can I come round your house, right now?”
“Uh...Sure, I'll send you the postcode...Do you have a car?”
“Yeah I do. Thanks”
“See you soon then….”
“Bye”
It didn’t take me long to get to his house, although it wasn’t within walking distance it was certainly easy to drive to and thankfully he had an extra space on his driveway for me to park my car.
“Hey, let me take your coat”
“Uh, can I stay round tonight?”
It caught him off guard but he nodded and I smiled slightly walking in and giving him my coat, I took my shoes off as well and walked further in.
“I’m sorry for saying that so suddenly and if you want to kick me out at any time please do, i have no right to ask to stay here”
“It’s fine! it’s fine! I don't really get company anyway so it’ll be nice to talk to someone throughout the night”
“...Thanks for having me”
“So...how did you get my number?”
He walked in and I followed him into his dining room slash kitchen and sat myself down at the table while he made two cups of tea. Jake already knew how I liked my tea from the amount of times he’d made it for me at work and out of everyone in the office he’s the only one that makes good tea.
“I lied to the boss about helping you with a project and persuaded him to give me your number”
“Heh!! Sneaky!!”
“I have my moments!”
I smiled slightly although my head felt dizzy from working too hard and not taking enough breaks, he brought the drinks over and set mine in front of me. The hot steam made my head fuzzy and I swear I could’ve passed out right there if he hadn’t spoke.
“You look exhausted”
“Ah!! Uh...yeah..”
“It’s really been hard to talk to you recently, I mean you always look so tired and you had that really weird moment last week. You probably didn’t even notice but I filled up your tea every time I looked in and it was empty. Hell when everyone one else started eating you were still working, I even put a sandwich in front of you and you ate it automatically still working whilst you did. I tried to put a variety of things in front of you and you ate and drank basically whatever i put there it was quite amazing to watch!! I even recorded it so I could show you!!”
I’d only heard bits and pieces of what he said, my eyes closing and my body slowly becoming heavier as sleep grabbed hold of me.
“...Elizabeth?”
That caught my attention. I stared at him with my eyes wide and awake, no one had called me that name in years.
“Sorry, you just looked so tired, listen, Lizzy. I don’t mind you staying here or lying to the Manager to get my mobile number but...will you tell me why you’d rather stay here?”
I sighed heavily, dropped my head into my hands and using those to keep up my heavy head and tired mind. The words that fell from my mouth were more of a mumble that I was surprised he’d even managed to hear.
“...You know Jake...despite being an annoying bastard, you’re actually the only person who knows that i’m lesbian”
“Okay that was mean...are you serious though? Don’t you have any friends that know?”
“...She was my only friend...then she left...and now she’s back”
I couldn’t help but sink my aching tired mind to the table's surface, placing my hands on the back of my head. I’m sure Jake was probably shocked and confused but I didn’t see his face so I couldn’t tell.
“She’s back? You mean Jane? The one you pretended I was and yelled at? She came back?”
“That’s a really specific way of remembering that”
“Well it’s true, I even started growing stubble since I figured I must look too feminine but this kind of look doesn’t really suit me”
“Jake just stop”
“hm...So? You said she came back?”
“She knows where I live...What if she’s there right now? I’m so scared, I want to see her so bad it hurts but...i’m so, so scared”
“What’s there to be scared about?”
“...What if she says she hates me? What if she calls me disgusting? What if she never wants to be friends again!!?”
“...What if she says she loves you? What if she forgives you and tells you, you’re the only person in the world that means anything to her?”
My eyes widened and I instantly yanked my head from the table staring at him in shock, as if Jane would ever say that!!
“She’s straight!!!”
“And?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you!!?”
“You mean to ask, why am I so optimistic?”
I glared at him and he just smiled back drinking his tea innocently as if he hadn’t just suggested something ridiculous.
“I’m optimistic Lizzy, because you clearly care about her alot. She’d be an idiot to leave you after putting you through all this”
“But…”
“But what?”
“She left me for two years, she disappeared and she hasn’t contacted me in two years but then...out of nowhere she sent me an email saying she was coming back, saying she had an answer”
“...Well did you try to contact her at all?”
“...I tried to call her a few times but...I gave up in the first year because she never answered...she never even answered my voicemails”
“In that case your worries are valid! Listen Lizzy stop freaking out over it so much, you’re getting thinner everyday and you’re sleeping pattern is all over the place! Did you at least manage to get some rest during your days off?”
“Yeah I did...I didn’t leave the house at all but, I fixed my sleeping and I ate tons.”
“Good, geez, you worried everyone in the office”
“I’m sorry”
Sleep was beginning to take me again and I heard Jake sigh as my eyes closed. I remember him putting one of my arms over his shoulder and I remember his strong hand on my waist as he dragged me up his stairs into a room. Patches of memory about being placed into a bed and the light being turned off was all I could gather from the previous night. Yet I woke up in the morning to Jake shaking me and I yawned tiredly at him.
“Why’re you in my house?”
“Firstly, you’re in my house, secondly, you’re in my bed and thirdly you’re in my room! So get up! Have a shower! Get changed and drive me to work!”
“What!!? W-wait a sec...pajama’s? U-urh...wait are these yours!!?”
“Yeah they are so what?”
“You dressed me whilst I was asleep last night!!!? You pervert!!!”
“Oh shut up, i’m gay too idiot”
“...eh?”
“What?”
“You’re what!?”
“Fuck sake! I’m homosexual!! I like men!! Okay!? Men!!”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!!!? You fucking knew about me!!”
“Well I wouldn’t of been able to blackmail you so long if i’d told you”
“You sick fuck!!”
“I admit, it was pretty fun running you round like a maid!!”
He grinned so widely and mischievously at me I thought he was a child but it made sense, my head finally clicked and I realised why this annoying guy was looking out for me, it was probably why he kept bothering me for so long and some part of that made me happy.
Having a shower I came out to see my clothes from yesterday freshly washed and dried, they smelled wonderful and it felt so strange to have my clothes ready for me to wear. Putting them on they were still warm and I realised how he’d ironed my blazer and blouse with precision, it was an amazingly warm feeling to wear on my skin. Going downstairs breakfast was already on the table, with the choice of a hot breakfast or milk and cereal or even both and I enjoyed a lovely breakfast with Jake.
The Ginger was strangely funny although i’d never realised it before, maybe it was his youth that brought my spirits up but he kept showing me funny videos on his phone over the table and we joked about a lot of things that morning.
To repay him for the free bed, shower and breakfast I was tasked with driving him to work and driving him home today, but I didn’t mind it too much as his chattiness distracted me from any overwhelming thoughts in the back of my head.
For rest of the week I spent almost every night chatting with Jake, he’d become my drinking buddy and suddenly I didn’t feel so alone in the world. I ranted to him about all the crap I went through in the last two years and he complained about not being able to find a boyfriend. We both simply complained for days about all the annoying stuff around us but somehow we were able to laugh about it all, yet every morning Jake still felt the need to annoy me to the brink of anger. It had become somewhat of a routine, he would get in before me and wait in my office and when I walked in he’d say or do something stupid and would simply annoy me for the first fifteen minutes of the day then buggered off to do his own thing.
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