I Have Been Chosen

Oliver 5

Saturday 10th January

There was a knock on the door.

Oliver called out that it was okay to come in, and Kara used her key to the apartment and entered.

"You okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," said Oliver flatly.

Kara's eyes narrowed as if studying Oliver for a moment before she looked around the place. "Well? Where do you want to begin?"

Oliver shrugged. "Honestly, I don't think he has much stuff here. I could have done this myself-"

Kara put up her hands, stopping him. "You helped me get rid of all of Peggie's stuff, and I'm going to help you with Arden's." She clapped her hands together. "Now, is there anything he left here that belongs to him? Or anything that he gifted you?"

"Uh, yeah..." Oliver rose from the sofa and went to the cupboard, retrieving a set of glasses, one with his own name and the other with Arden's. He set Arden's aside on the counter and then found two mugs of a similar set, and then a bowl and a plate and-

"Wow, okay..." Kara tried to contain her laughter. "I assume this was Arden's work, yes?"

Oliver nodded. "He really liked us having matching everything, like twins, but dating and fucking each other..." He paused. "Whenever he was over, he always had to eat or drink with this set, either that or this..." Oliver rummaged around and found a mug with a soppy-looking picture of a bulldog.

"You want to keep that one or..." Kara trailed off.

"Hmmm..." Oliver's nose wrinkled. "I think I only used it once before dating him." After staring at the mug, Oliver put it aside with the cups and dishes with Arden's name.

They then moved on to the rest of the cupboards, finding a box of tea that was Arden's favourite brand. Oliver would never drink the stuff, not when he had the option of peppermint tea. Kara offered to take it off his hands. The alcohol corner of Oliver's kitchen counter only had a few bottles, either a common spirit or something mint based; the standout was a bottle of spiced rum, an expensive brand of Arden. Again, Kara offered to take it off Oliver's hands as he does not drink spiced rum; however, Oliver contemplated contacting Arden and seeing if he would want any of his belongings back. Oliver was blocked on his social media last time he checked, but he had not attempted to send a text or call. And even if he could not get through, he was still connected to some of Arden's friends online.

Next was the bathroom, where Oliver and Kara collected up all of Arden's toiletries that he kept in the apartment for stays over.

And finally, was the bedroom. Oliver sifted through his clothes, picking out anything that Arden either bought him or suggested he buy. After sorting them out, Oliver realised how much Arden had influenced his fashion style. Of course, it was only a subtle difference, but Arden had introduced a pop of colour into Oliver's wardrobe. And now all that was hanging were greys, whites, blacks, and beiges, with the occasional browns. Oliver stared at the assortment of colourful garments laid on his bed.

"Do you want to keep any of these?" asked Kara softly, noticing how long Oliver was staring at them all.

Oliver chewed on his bottom lip, glancing at the clothes in front of him and then at what remained in the wardrobe.

There was a moment of silence.

"Sorry," Kara squeaked. "Is this too much for you? Do you need a moment?"

Oliver let out a low and long sigh of breath, his brow furrowing before he looked up at her. "They're just clothes," he finally said.

Kara paused. "And they might hold meaning or bring back feelings, bad memories... of Arden?" she said, her voice pitching at the end into a question as if she could not understand why Oliver was not understanding.

Arden was the first partner Oliver ever had that had left stuff at his place, by far the longest relationship he had been in. Oliver never had to go through this process of throwing things away or awkwardly returning them. And he thought that if that day arrived, he would feel something, but they were just items to him. It made sense to get rid of all of the glasses and dishes with Arden's name on it, any pictures, or his toothbrush, shampoo, his box of tea bags, but everything else...

Oliver stared at a warm burnt orange jumper that Arden had bought him, which was Oliver's go-to jumper for going on, a part of the sleeves slightly frayed, a hem almost threading apart. He caressed the soft cotton, remembering how it felt to wear it like he was being constantly given a warm hug, a never-ending embrace of safety and comfort. Then he remembered when Arden's hand would caress the soft material, starting from his stomach and sliding upwards to his neck, their bodies pressed together and...

"They're just clothes," said Oliver, his voice in his usual monotonous tone as he found a hanger and put the orange jumper back. "I'll find out if he wants any of the gifts back, but they're just clothes." He shrugged. "My clothes, to be exact."

Kara smiled slightly, nodding as she helped return the clothes to the wardrobe and dresser.

Soon, they packed Arden's belongings in a box and set it aside near the door. Then, whilst Kara chose a movie to watch and scavenged for snacks and drinks, Oliver found one of Arden's friends, Rory, on his phone and messaged him asking if Arden wanted any of his stuff back.

"Still think it would have been better to set it all on fire," grumbled Kara. "Like a karmic ritual, sending out all the bad vibes and blessing your next relationship."

Oliver smirked. "And I don't think you would want me to repeat my lecture on fire safety."

Kara rolled her eyes, making a face of horror.

When Oliver had helped Kara sort out all of Peggie's belongings from her place, Kara had wanted to set it all on fire in her flat, no less. Fortunately, Oliver was around to stop her, especially as Peggie had left behind numerous unfinished bottles of perfume and spirits. So instead, she sold any of the valuables, and the rest Kara destroyed in a safe and controlled manner, insisted by Oliver.

Eventually, Oliver received a reply from Arden's friend, Rory, saying that he would come over and pick up the box for him. Oliver didn't know why, but there was this disappointment that Arden wasn't coming over himself, though it was perhaps a good thing as Kara had explained multiple times what she would say and do to Arden if she ever saw him. For Arden's safety, it was probably best he did not come over right now when Kara was here.

Halfway through the movie, Oliver opened the door to see Rory. They had met on occasion, as he had been Arden's roommate when he and Oliver had started dating.

Oliver picked up the box and handed it over without a word.

Rory stared down at the box and then at Oliver. He cleared his throat. "How... how are you holding up?"

Oliver blinked, then replied flatly, "splendid. How are you?"

"Yeah, uh, good," Rory said quietly, then swallowed. "You know, you were the nicer ones that Arden dated." He paused. "I don't think he knew then what he had... who he had."

Oliver remained silent.

"He says he doesn't want any of the clothes or other gifts back," continued Rory rather quickly, seeming to regret saying what he did before. "It's up to you whether you want to keep them, sell them, or throw them out."

"I see." Oliver nodded. "Thank you for coming."

"No problem." Rory gave an awkward nod goodbye and left with the box.

Oliver shut the door and returned to the sofa to finish the movie with Kara.

Once it was over, Kara remained a while longer, talking, before she left to head back home.

Oliver got ready for bed, the taste of the mint toothpaste lingering in his mouth, calming him as he lay on his bed. His eyes were drawn to the burnt orange jumper in the wardrobe. He got up, took it off its hangar and felt the soft cotton on his skin.

They're just clothes...

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Ex-Girlfriend by No Doubt

Kara mimes along to the lyrics. Strands of her hair come loose as she bangs her head to the beat, sticking to her sweat-covered forehead.