A Month To Live

A Month To Live (9)

Time to clean out this mouldy apartment. I was standing in the doorway with a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves on. I had a bucket and a mop in hand and a broom within close reach. I moved towards the kitchen and began filling the bucket with bleach and hot water.

The landlord was okay with lending me things like mops and brooms but I had to go out and buy certain things. I definitely wasn’t up for using the rubber gloves which he'd offered to me. They had suspicious brown stains and he wasn't amused at my suggestion of sending them off to a lab for testing.

I began by sweeping all the floors while I let the hot mop water cool down. I started from the bedroom and shoved the pile of dust into hall, adding to it as I cleaned out the bathroom and living room too. I ended up with one huge pile of dust, fluff and other undescribable things I didn't want to look at closely.

‘And how am I meant to get rid of this?’ I muttered to myself. The landlord guy didn’t provide a dustpan. This would be a hell of a lot easier with a vacuum cleaner. I sneezed violently and went to go blow my nose.

I sighed and sniffed once more before  sweeping the filthy pile towards the door. I guess I’d just have to make my apartment look like a homeless den from the outside. I managed to get the pile to the bottom of the stairs, and glanced around to make sure  no-one was looking, before sweeping it all in the general direction of my neighbour’s apartment. I’m sure he or she wouldn't mind a bit of dirt near their stairs. I would have guessed no one lived there if it weren't for the car parked out front occasionally.

I leant the broom against the wall at the top of the stairs and sneezed once more before steeling myself and returning inside to tackle the rest of the mess.

*   *   *

A few hours later and I was puffed out, but my job was completed. The apartment was clean as a whistle and smelled like peonies thanks to the candle I had burning.

I returned the cleaning supplies back to the little shed my landlord had given me access too and dusted my hands as I strolled back over the lawn. It was a gorgeous sunny day, I couldn't believe I'd wasted it cleaning.

At the top of the stairs I blinked and turned back slowly. The pile of dust had moved so it was now right at the bottom my steps. I scowled and grabbed the broom to sweep it away again. Luckily, I had the foresight to not return it.

I tossed the broom against the railing and stormed back inside once I was done, glancing at my watch. Time to get ready.

I had a shower, scrubbing hard under my nails to get rid of any trace of grime. I used a particularly fragrant soap to get rid of the lingering bleach smell I had around me before hopping out and spraying some perfume on myself just for good measure.

I put on some clothes and hastily threw together an overnight bag before jumping on the sofa with a sigh to watch the news. Admittedly, I ended up flicking on some cartoons as I needed something mindless to watch. I'd spent far too much time by myself today, I needed to get out out my own head.

Around seven, I jumped out of my snooze when a loud continuous beeping sound came from outside.

‘Jeez, why can’t he knock like a normal person?’ I huffed grabbing my bag and heading towards the door. ‘Stupid boy has to interrupt my nap after a hard day’s labour,’ I muttered to myself.

‘Take your time,’ Bradley said as I clambered in his car. I sent him a scowl and tossed my bag by my feet.

‘You interrupted my sleep,’ I grumbled.

‘Who goes to bed this early?’ he asked with a raised eyebrow.

‘Someone who has spent the whole day cleaning out their apartment,’ I replied, stifling a yawn.