The Neighbour ✔️

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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A R T H U R

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I woke up before Callie. Call me creepy and fucking weird, but when I awoke, I rolled over, desperate to make sure Callie was still laid next to me. And there she was. Her hair remains curly from last night and it perfectly frames her face. Her lips all slightly apart as she heavily breathes. The corner of her mouth twitches into a smile for a brief second suggesting that she's having a good dream. How can she be so gorgeous even when sleeping?

I anxiously lay next to her. I know when she wakes up she's going to have so many questions. I get up, leaving her to snooze and enter the kitchen. I want to have something ready for her when she wakes up. Something warm and comforting. I grab my phone and my keys and then pen and paper. I leave a little note on my kitchen side in case she wakes up and leave my flat.

It isn't long before I'm back at my flat block with warm croissants and two strong coffees. I'm sure she'll be happy with that. Part of me hopes that her boss doesn't hand her keys back anytime soon. She can keep them for all I care so she moves in with me forever. I'd have her here in a heartbeat. I feel quite sad because I know once she has them back, she's going to go straight home. I want her to lay in my bed forever.

When I get upstairs, I can hear the noise of someone puking. It makes me cringe to hear but I know it's Callie so I immediately want to help. I abandon the drinks and pastries on the side and head through to my bathroom, seeing Callie throwing up down my toilet.

Her hair falls forward so I softly hold it back for her, and rub her back whilst she heaves. "Ugh," she moans, flushing the toilet, "I never wanna drink again."

"Hungover?"

"Yeah." She nods. "But I think it's mainly acid reflux from the citrus in my cocktails." She sits back and leans back against my bathroom wall. "How did I end up here?" She asks weakly.

I sit down on my bath side and look down at her. "Joy has your keys so I let you stay here."

She smiles softly. "Thank you."

"If you're feeling up for it, I've got some croissants and coffee in the kitchen." I say, which brightens her smile.

She holds out her and hand I take and pull her up to her feet. "I need to freshen up." She says, and lets her head fall. She leans forward so the top of her head is against my toned chest.

Almost instinctively, I place my head down and place a kiss on the back of her head. "Do you remember anything from last night?" I sheepishly ask, praying she does so she talks about it.

"I can remember speaking with you, but I haven't a clue what about." She mumbles. "Hopefully nothing embarrassing."

I smile. I'm glad that I didn't kiss her last night. She wouldn't have remembered it. "Nothing too bad." I say, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'll leave you to freshen up, come through to the kitchen when you're ready."

She nods and turns to the bathroom mirror. I watch her for a moment whilst she softly runs her fingers over her face and gaze my eyes down her legs. Before I let myself get away, I leave the bathroom. She's only wearing a shirt of mine that just about falls over her bum and I know whilst she's freshening up, she'll wash her face which means undoubtedly, I'll see her underwear again.