Well. By the looks of this door, it looks like I'm in for a whole heap of fun.
I've been sitting in my room, dreading the moment that I have to make my way over to this place. I have no idea who could be in there. For all I know, it could be some socio-path, with some kind of fetish for hair bobbles. But I've got no problems there, it would seem. It's not like I put up this scruffy mess of hair up with a bobble. I don't even brush it...
From the looks of it though, I don't seem to be in any fear of being unable to handle it. I've just gotten here and, sweet Jesus. This door is a state! The green paint is peeling off. There's a dent at the bottom. I'm pretty sure I can even see 'I love penis' engraved into it. Juveniles. Brilliant.
I would imagine that my 'buddy' will be some recluse like myself. And that it will be a girl. I mean, come on. They wouldn't be so stupid as to put me in with a man. They know what would happen. On a good day, I would walk away and never come back. On a bad day...
Ah well. Best get this over and done with then.
I ring the doorbell. It falters a little, the battery clearly dying. Ah Jesus...
I hear the thudding as someone runs down the stairs. Enthusiastic. Not really what I envisioned when I imagined the person behind the door. Big smile, Alex. Big smile.
Pftt. Right.
The door opens. The person behind it is tall. Lanky, rather. Skinny. Really fucking skinny. Dark haired and dark eyed. A cast over his nose that...Wait...What did I just say?
He's male.
No. No, no, no. They can't...They can't do this to me. Calm down, calm down, calm down...
I want to be sick. I want to run far away, into a deep dark hole, separated from everything that could possibly cause me harm. If I'm alone, I can't get hurt. I can't get hurt...
A shit eating grin covers the lanky bastard's face in front of me when he sets his eyes on me.
“You must be The Buddy,” he chimes. Irish... “Wait there.”
He turns away from me, one foot back on the stairs as he bellows up into the flat.
“Hey! Doc! She's here!”
Dr Hallet is here? She never told me she would be here. But then again, if she's gone and put me with a man, then I suppose she's going to have to be there to explain herself.
He turns back to me and I can feel the colour drain from my face. I can't breathe. I seriously can't breathe...
“You alright, love? You look like you're going to be sick...”
I feel my fists clench, his voice like daggers in my ears. Breathe, Alex. Breathe. Do not attack him. No matter how much you want to. You can't afford to get into more trouble.
But it's so difficult...
More footsteps run down the stairs. Or is that the sound of my heart in my head? I can't tell the difference. All I know is the rapid thumping is making my head sore. I'm on the verge of passing out. I can feel it...
“Alex, remember what I told you? You need to breathe.”
“It's a man...”
“What's going on, Doc?”
“Go upstairs. Don't ask questions. Just go.”
Light headed, I bend my body forward to catch my breath. Why is this happening?! Why have they paired me up with a man?! What are they thinking?!
In, two, three. Out, two...Out...Out...
“He's gone, Alex. He's gone.”
I close my eyes, swallowing back the fear through shaky breaths. He may be gone, but he's still here. I know he is. I've still got to go upstairs, into his territory. I've got to put myself into danger, just to fulfil the requirements of some stupid system intended to fix my problems. Well, guess what? I'm not playing.
I glare up at her, all fear in my heart switching quite violently into rage.
“What the fuck...”
“I know what you're thinking, Alex. But it's not what you think. He isn't who you're matched up with.”
I can feel my heartbeat calm almost instantly. It's a misunderstanding. All a big misunderstanding. He just happens to live here. I sigh out, relief oozing out of me.
“But your buddy is a male.”
Before I can react, she pulls me up the stairs into the living room. If you can call it that. It's just a little room with a sofa and a television. Scruffy Irish fuckers...
I spin around to her, doing my damnedest not to rip her tongue out. She set me up, the stupid bitch. She knows just how to wind me up. This is payback for getting fired, I bet you anything.
“Alex, now listen to me,” I hear her say firmly. I can only just hear her over the pounding in my ears. “I know that this isn't the most ideal situation...”
“Damn fucking right it's not!”
“But you have to understand that I needed to get you on this system as quickly as I could. With such high demand, if I didn't sign you up immediately, you wouldn't have gotten on. And I didn't expect you to be accepted straight away. I guess because of your history with us, they put you into the 'high priority' category...”
“I'm not doing it!"
“You have to. Once you're signed up, you have to follow through. And this is the only person that was left un-matched.”
“You can call those pricks and tell them that I've changed my mind! I'm not going through with it! Fuck this!”
“It isn't that bad though. Trust me. It's only temporary.”
“What d'you mean temporary?”
“As soon as we get another female patient joined up, we'll take you out of here. It should only be a couple of weeks. If you can just hold on for a couple of weeks, then we should have you out.”
Should. That's not a very optimistic word. It gives me the sense that I will, in fact, be here a lot longer than a couple of weeks. And I don't know if I can deal with that.
I hum angrily, knowing that there really isn't much of an option for me. Like she said. I have to follow this through. If I don't at least try to get better, then there's a good chance that everyone will give up on me. Dr Hallet is all I have. I can't afford to have her give up on me too.
I hear the door open. My 'buddy' must be home. I can feel the bile work it's way up my throat as reality sets in. I actually have to do this. I have to live with a man...
“Oi, Danny! Is The Buddy here yet?! Answer me, you lanky fucker!”
Danny? Why does that name seem so familiar...
“Fuck off, Mark. Get your arse into the sitting room.”
And then it all becomes far too clear. Irish, broken nose, Danny, Mark...These are the guys at the petrol station.
Shit.
My eyes dart over to the door as it opens. These are the guys that got me fired. These are the guys that ruined my little bubble that I worked so hard in building. These are the guys...
Dark eyes bore into mine. And as he realises who I am, his face twists into a snarl. The guy from yesterday.
You've got to be fucking kidding me!
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A/N - Right, sorry this wasn't uploaded last night. I was struggling with it. One of those filler chapters, setting the scene and whatnot. So I'm aware it's not up to scratch. But I just needed to get rid of it. So yeah. What's going to happen guys? Let me know what you're thinking. Vote, comment, do your thing. Much love x
