Ineffable ꕥ Joost Klein ꕥ

11.

Elke was midway through her washing when there was a knock at her door.

Her apartment wasn't in its usual dimmed lighting that her evenings brought. Her day at work had been long and she grumbled when she got home and saw the washing basket on her sofa. Her productive mindset from the morning had faded, leaving post-work Elke to be lumbered with the chore.

Taking off her cardigan and without much thought, Elke forced herself to get stuck in. She put her main light on to prevent her from dozing into her lethargy. The window in her living room sat open, the cold breeze lowering her apartment's temperature considerably. This drove her to fold quicker but with the surprise guest at her door, completing the task was going to be prolonged, regardless.

The door was barely open when Roan barged through the gap. Elke jumped back against the hallway wall and blinked with wide eyes.

'Hey, El! How are you? I was coming back from work and thought I would stay the night!'

The man was in the apartment and heaving his overnight bag onto the kitchen counter before Elke could react. His factory uniform was creased and his brow was layered in sweat.

Elke was aware that when Roan did work, he worked long hours and it was physically challenging. It wasn't unusual to see him in this state, but Elke closed the door slowly in confusion and hestiancy.

'Stay the night?' she repeated, walking to meet him in the broader space of the apartment. 'What for?'

Roan whipped around and grinned at Elke. His eyes accompanied his smile, matching it's creepy wideness that made Elke's skin crawl. If Roan was a stranger in the street, Elke would hug her waist and hope that he wouldn't perceive her. In the middle of her apartment, Elke had nowhere to go and tried to not show her unease in her face.

'No reason. I just thought it would be nice. When was the last time you and I slept in the same bed? I miss doing that,' Roan said and held her elbows. He bent his neck to lower his face down to hers and his smile changed to a less creepy one. The change smoothened her grimace that had made its way out and exposed itself to Roan.

'I have work tomorrow,' Elke tried.

'That's okay! I can lock up after you go in the morning or I can even drop you there! It's only a ten-minute drive, right?'

Elke said nothing and Roan took it as acceptance. He stepped away from the girl to grab his black overnight bag from behind him. Heaving it down to be by his side, Roan walked around Elke to head for her bedroom. She stood still, her throat closing up and her chest thundering with her raging heart.

'We can watch that Keira Knightley movie you've been wanting to watch,' Roan rambled, his back retreating as Elke turned around. 'The Russian one?'

'Roan.'

'Were you doing your laundry?' he looked at the unfinished pile on her sofa. 'I can help you with that.'

'Roan.'

'Is your ceiling fan fixed? I could probably work out the wires and hang it-'

'I want to break up, Roan.'

He paused before he made it to Elke's bedroom. As if to try and catch her words, Elke pressed the pads of her fingers to her lips. All the preparation that she had done when Roan turned up at her apartment with Nathan was useless. Weeks later, Elke hadn't expected Roan's visit, but maybe that helped her finally say it. Without the anxiety and 'what if's, Elke was able to force out the statement with a solid voice.

Elke watched as Roan slowly turned to face her. His tongue that had been rambling had fallen flat as did his smile. His overnight bag hung limply in his hand and the sweat had dried on his brow. In seconds, Roan looked thinner, sicker and afraid.