Chapter 11
PETE
As much as I wanted to start Charlie’s book last night, I was knackered. Fell asleep after the first page. I didn’t tell him that, though, obviously. And thankfully, he doesn’t ask over breakfast, even though I can tell he’s dying to.
“That was great, thank you.”
“No problem.” He stands when I do, and we take our plates over to the sink. “Are you around tonight?”
“Yeah, should be, why?”
“I wondered if you’d like to eat together?” His eyes meet mine, and I don’t think I’m imagining the invitation in them.
“I’d like that. But you know you don’t have to, right?” I feel like I need to add that in case he feels like he owes me. I don’t think that’s what this is, but I need to be sure.
“I know.”
He doesn’t say anything else.
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yeah, I’ll go shopping later—shit. I don’t have my car.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Totally forgot about that.”
“Yeah, me too.” I glance at my phone. It’ll make me a bit late, but whatever. Sadie can deal with things until I get there. “Want me to drop you off now?” I offer.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, come on.”
It takes him five minutes to get ready, and then we’re on our way to the pub.
“So . . . um . . .” he starts, and I know what’s coming. “Did you start my book last night?”
I laugh, can’t help it. “How long have you been holding that in?”
He blows out a breath, but he’s smiling. “Hours.”
“Thought so.”
When I don’t say anything else, he shifts in his seat to see me better. “Really? You’re not gonna say anything else. If you hated it, you can say so. I won’t mind.”
I raise an eyebrow and he huffs out a laugh. “I’ll be disappointed, obviously, but I promise not to hold it against you.”
I grimace because I know he’s going to take this the wrong way. “I only read the first page before I fell asleep.”
“Oh. That good, eh?” he mumbles as I pull into the pub car park alongside his car.
“In my defence, I was up at five o’clock yesterday morning. It was an epically long day, and I was knackered. It’s not a reflection on your book in any way. Please don’t think it is.” I turn the engine off and face him. “It was a great opening page.”
That makes him laugh. “Fuck, sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t hassle you about it, and yet here I am . . .”
“I get it. I’d be exactly the same, I think.”
My phone starts ringing, Sadie’s name on the screen. I send her to voicemail. “I have to go. She’s going to give me an earful if I’m any later.”
“Thanks for the lift. Tell your sister it’s my fault you’re late.”
I grin at him. “Oh, I’m going to, don’t worry.”
He’s smiling as he gets out of the car, book worries all but forgotten. “See you later.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Something’s changed between us. I’m not sure what exactly but I feel it deep in my gut, and even though it’s barely eight o’clock, I cannot wait for this day to be over.
“You have got to be kidding me.” I stare at Sadie as she looks at me with pleading eyes through my phone screen. I’m sat in my car, so close to heading home. So fucking close.
“You know I wouldn’t ask, but Tim’s not back until tomorrow, and you know I can’t use power tools.”
“You mean Tim banned you from using his.”
She huffs. “He hid them from me.”
Not surprising, considering the last time she tried to do DIY, she hit a water pipe and they had to get the emergency plumber out. “I had plans, Sadie.”
“I know, and I’m really sorry, but we’re supposed to have strong winds again tonight, and that fence panel is going to come down if I don’t secure it.” There’s a touch of desperation in her tone and I immediately feel guilty.
The storm we had yesterday seems to have caused damage all around.
“It’s fine. I’ll be there in a bit. I’m just leaving.”
“Thank you.”
I end the call and text Charlie.
Pete: I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go fix Sadie’s fence. The storm last night broke two of the panels. Not sure when I’ll get back. Can we do dinner tomorrow?
It’s not like Sadie lives all that far from me, but experience has taught me that things like this take longer than expected, and I don’t want Charlie to end up waiting hours for me to be done.
Charlie: Yeah, of course. You going to be ok to fix it in the dark?
I glance outside at the rapidly darkening sky and the wind that’s starting to pick up and groan.
Pete: I’m going to make her hold the torch
Charlie: Lol. Well I hope it doesn’t rain again
Pete: You realise you’ve just jinxed me, right?
Charlie: Sorry!
No sooner have I read his message than the first drops of rain hit my windscreen. Fucking great. Looks like I’ll be getting wet.
Turns out I was right to cancel dinner with Charlie.
When I get to Sadie’s house, I notice the back garden gate at the side of her house is hanging on by will alone.
Now I’ve seen it, I can’t leave without trying to fix that too.
Between the wind and the rain, it takes us almost three hours to get everything secured.
I’m soaked, Sadie’s soaked, and neither of us are in the best of moods. Definitely not fit for company. It takes a large hot chocolate and some of Tim’s dry clothes before I’m feeling anywhere close to my old self.
Sadie comes to lean against the counter next to me and nudges my shoulder. “I’m really sorry I ruined your plans. But thank you for coming round and fixing it all.”
“What are brothers for?” I wrap my arm around her and tuck her against my side. “You made me miss dinner, though, so you have to feed me now.”
She laughs. “Of course I’m going to feed you. Duh.” She ducks out from under my arm and opens the fridge, frowning at what’s inside. “Hmm. Pizza okay?”
“Perfect.”
Sadie’s kitchen is a lovely open-plan room with an island in the middle. I sit on one of the stools and watch as she pulls two pizzas out and puts them in the oven when it’s warmed up enough.
When she turns to face me, there’s a twinkle in her eye that I’m not sure I like.
“So . . .” she says, taking the stool opposite me. “You were going to have dinner with Charlie?”
“Yep.”
She huffs when I don’t elaborate. “Come on. You’ve got to give me more than that. Have you changed your mind about getting involved with him?”
My knee-jerk reaction is to say no. But I think back to this morning and hesitate.
Sadie’s eyes widen. “Is that a yes?”
I grimace. “It’s an I don’t know anymore.
” I take a sip of my drink, letting the warm chocolatey goodness thaw the last remnants of cold clinging to me.
“I think he’s changing his mind about the whole staying-friends thing.
I’m not certain, though, but maybe that’s what tonight was going to be about. He said he wanted to talk to me.”
“And have you changed your mind?”
“Yeah. I think I have.” I let out a deep sigh, allowing that thought to sink in. It feels like the truth. “It’ll still be shit when he leaves next weekend, but I really like him. And I haven’t felt like that in a long while. Seems stupid not to do anything about it while I have the chance.”
The timer goes off and she pats me on the arm as she gets up. “Good.”
We eat our pizza, the topic of conversation moving on to other things like Christmas plans and work. When we decamp into the lounge with our coffees later, I immediately stop in the doorway.
“Tree looks good.”
She snorts. “It’d better, considering what we do for a living.”
It’s a big bushy Nordmann Fir, decorated with red, gold, and green baubles and tinsel. The soft white fairy lights wound around the tree fade slowly in and out. It’s beautiful.
“You still not got one up?”
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
“You got any decorations up?”
I think about Charlie’s reaction to my bare house and wince. “No. I’ve got them down from the loft, but that’s as far as I’ve got.”
She tsks. “Wait till I tell Mum.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“I’ve already sent her a pic of mine. It’s only a matter of time before she starts asking about your tree. You know what she’s like.”
I do. My mum loves Christmas. She and her sister have had their tree up for two weeks already. It’s an artificial one—which is a travesty, I know—but at least they have a couple of small real ones outside the front door.
“You’ve got Monday off. Why not do it then?”
I wonder what Charlie’s doing on Monday. I think about Vic & Sean’s suggestion about taking him to my tree farm to choose a tree. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. “Hmm. Maybe I will.”
It’s getting late, so I finish my drink and head home.
There are no lights on in my house when I pull onto the drive. It looks dark, miserable, and not welcoming at all. In contrast, when I walk around the corner to the back door, there’s warm light spilling from behind the curtains in the annexe.
Is Charlie still up?
I take a step towards his door, then abruptly stop. It feels too much like taking advantage of the fact he’s next door. I told him he could see me as little or as often as he wanted. He didn’t ask me to come round after I got home, so I’m not going to just assume he’d welcome a visit.
With a sigh, I turn and head to my own house.
I’ll see him tomorrow.
I don’t bother turning on the downstairs lights, heading straight up to bed instead. It’s a little earlier than I’d usually go to bed, but I want to read for a bit. When I see Charlie again, I want to be able to tell him I’ve read more than the first page.
Two hours later, I’m wholeheartedly regretting that decision.
Not that his book is bad—far from it.
It’s so good that I’ve read way more than I planned to.
It’s also scarier than I expected.
Rain splatters against my window with a sudden gust of wind, and I about jump out of my skin. “Fuck’s sake.” My heart pounds, and I let out a huff of shaky laughter. Get it together, Pete. It’s just a bit of water.
I set the offending book on my bedside table, then hesitate before turning off the lamp. “Stop being ridiculous,” I scoff and flick the switch. I’m plunged into pitch blackness and hold my breath for the time it takes my eyes to adjust.