35. Ollie
Chapter 35
Ollie
I left Megan and her friends to enjoy their time together, changed into work clothes, and slipped outside to do some stuff in the van.
Two hours later, I’m still pissed about our evening being cut short. It’s not like we had much planned beyond hanging out on the sofa, but Fridays have become my favourite night of the week. Something to look forward to when the other days are full of hard graft.
I know I’m Megan’s last resort, but I also don’t like them turning up and expecting her to be available just because they had a free evening for once. That’s not what good friendship looks like to me. Megan talks about Hattie and Kara like they’re closer than sisters, always doing everything together. As far as I'm aware, this is only the second time they’ve visited since I moved in three months ago.
The interruption was probably for the best. I was enjoying having her close to me far too much, and the urge to pull her into my lap only gets stronger every time we do this. I know I’m a passerby in the grand scheme of her life. Trying anything with her will only lead to problems later.
Still, the closer I get to finishing the van and leaving, the more concerned I am. She’s a perfectly capable woman, but I worry how lonely she’s going to feel when it’s just her living here. She needs her mates, people she can depend on to be there for her. I know for sure she’ll never ask anyone to put her first.
This woman has got me so in my head. This was supposed to be a short-term deal. A free room while I whipped the van into shape, so I could finally get out of here and do something with my life. Instead, I’m wasting time fucking pampering like I’m six-years-old and my sisters are making me run a spa again. She should be doing that shit with her friends, not me. Even if my skin feels so fucking soft right now.
Progress on the van has pretty much ground to a halt since I’ve been spending a chunk of my evenings with her and it’s full of half-finished jobs. I channel my frustration into cutting more of the wooden frame for the countertops and hope I don’t fuck up the measurements somehow.
When the battery for the jigsaw runs flat, I know it would be smarter to continue when I’m in a better mood. I pack up just in time to spot Hattie and Kara leaving our building. Brushing the sawdust off my hands, I jog over and catch up with them at Kara’s car.
“Hey. Can I have a word with you both?”
Kara pauses with her keys in her hand. “Of course, is everything OK?”
“You need to do a better job of being Megan's friends,” I blurt out.
“Excuse me?” Hattie snaps, and I take a step back, palms facing outward.
“I'm sorry. Kara, you're pregnant, so that means you get to do whatever you want, and Hattie, honestly, you scare me, but I have to say something. You need to step up for Megan. I’m not gonna be around forever, and nobody is looking out for her right now.”
Kara looks worried. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”
“Listen,” I glance up at Megan's bedroom window, where the light is still off. “It’s not my place to say, but I think she’s feeling pretty lonely. You forgot about her when you told everyone your baby news, and I'm sure she said it was fine, but it wasn't. She cried for hours. I found her trying to register with a sperm bank because she thinks you're all supposed to have babies at the same time.”
“What the fuck?” Hattie laughs. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Not to Megan. I know you're both settled down, and she's happy for you, but she feels left behind. She misses you, and she deserves more than the scraps of time you have left for her when your partners are busy.”
Hattie squares up to me, her back ramrod straight. “How dare you talk to us like that! We’re her best friends, you don’t even know—”
“Hattie, stop,” Kara interrupts, pulling her back by the shoulder. “Ollie’s right. We wouldn’t have come over tonight if the guys hadn’t gone out. That is pretty shitty of us.”
“We’ve all been busy,” Hattie says defensively, and Kara turns back to me.
“I apologised after the pregnancy fuck up, but I know that would have really hurt her. We just wanted to surprise her tonight, because we really miss her, too. We didn’t know you had plans.”
“We didn’t have plans. It’s fine.”
“I know,” she says, patting my arm, “But it wasn’t nice to assume she’d be free. We'll do better, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not me who needs an apology, but also, please don't tell her I said anything.” I add that last part because I know Megan would hate me talking about her behind her back, even if I’m only doing this with her best interests at heart.
I’m about to leave when Hattie folds her arms across her chest and narrows her eyes at me. “What's going on between you two?”
“Nothing's going on.” It’s the truth, but it feels like a lie.
“That’s what she said, but you two were looking awfully snuggly when we arrived. What’s that about?” I get the feeling this woman could get me to confess to anything she damn well wanted.
“I don’t know what else to tell you,” I shrug, backing away to close up the van. “Get home safe, and I hope we see you soon.”