[ SAMPLE ONLY - FIRST 3 CHAPTERS]
"He was reckless. He was exciting. He was Theo.
And he was a breath of fresh air in my otherwise extremely dull life"
What if the missing person is your missing piece?
Rose has always played by the rules - now it's...
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T H R E E
It was only after we had made our agreement and Theo mentioned he was tired that I realised just how awkward the whole set-up was going to be.
He followed me up the stairs, and we padded to my bedroom. I immediately went over to the curtains and yanked them shut, blocking out the twinkling stars in the night sky, then turned to the fairy lights that hung around my room. I flicked them all on so that they illuminated the room with their glow.
"I can sleep on the floor," Theo said. His voice was soft, but it still made me jump.
I suddenly noticed how little space there was in the room. My double bed took up most of it, and the wardrobe and desk took up what was left, meaning the only area left big enough for Theo to squeeze into was right beside my bed.
There was no other room in the house he could have slept in. My brother Brent's room had been turned into an office by my parents when he left, and we had no guest rooms.
When my parents had both started making more money they had considered moving to a bigger house, but at the time I'd rejected their offer, liking the cosiness of our little house and the comfort it provided when I was home alone. Right now I regretted that decision.
"All right," I replied, turning around to face him. He lin- gered in the doorway, seeming unwilling to enter without my permission. "You can come in and make yourself comfortable. I'll just go to Brent's old room and see if I can get you a sleeping bag and some pyjamas."
Theo had now entered the room and was scanning my extremely full bookshelf with curiosity. As I spoke, he turned to me and said, "Just the pyjamas please. I've still got my sleeping bag from the allotments." And, as if to prove his point, he reached into his giant duffel bag and pulled it out proudly.
"Right." I forced a smile at him, and then moved towards the door. "Be back in a sec."
My brother had taken most of his clothes with him to university, so there wasn't much to choose from as I riffled through the only remaining chest left in the room after the refurbishment, but I did manage to grab a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a shirt that would fit Theo. I grabbed myself another shirt to wear (I'd decided I didn't want Theo to see me in my normal pyjamas, which were a bit on the skimpy side), and then headed straight back to my own room.
Theo was making himself comfortable when I got back, his sleeping bag already out and unrolled, ready for him to climb into. He looked up as I entered, a smile forming on his face.
I tossed him the clothes and, after muttering his thanks, he examined them with a frown. "Oh, I don't need these." He handed me the tracksuit bottoms. "I only wear boxers to bed."
I shook my head at him, and shoved the tracksuit bottoms back into his open arms. "Not in my house, you don't."
For a moment he just stared at me, as if he was trying to work out whether I was joking or not. But then he just shrugged and stripped down to his boxers, changing his shirt and shoving on the bottoms a second later. I tore my eyes away from his bare chest a second too late, glimpsing his lean muscles ripple when he reached up to pull the shirt over his head. He changed so quickly that I didn't even have the chance to blush at the fact he'd literally just stripped in front of me.
