Palas

5. "You're dirty like Christina back in the day."

I enter my empty room, followed by Nothing who wags his tail from one side to the other. He’s clearly happy to be here and I hope Rosie will be as well. It’s a good thing that we have a bath and I decide to wash him there and see if Harry was right about the fleas.

He splashes the dirty water over my face multiple times when he shakes his body to dry up. I haven’t seen one flea, but am suddenly itchy everywhere when I think about them. After using my shampoo two times, I’m glad with the result. His hairs are lighter when I dry him with my towel. Which reminds me to ask Rosie about our laundry. It’s strange that hasn’t been on my priority list becomes I find clean laundry important, most of the time.

Nothing jumps out of the bath when he’s done with me washing him and I let him run around the room, making sure he doesn’t jump on Rosie’s bed. I’m not sure if she’ll be happy with that.

It is still early and I sit on the couch feeling alone. I realise how my father occupies me at home and that if he isn’t there James or Sage would be there. I can’t be alone, but I will be if I don’t go to the bars. It is just that I like to be at home and don’t like sweaty clubs and bars. After staring to Nothing finding some comfort in my pile of dirty laundry, I take my phone to call Sage.

“Hello?” She answers after the third ring.

“Sagie.”

“Lexie!” she exclaims, happy to hear from me. “How are you?”

“Good. Just feeling a little homesick,” I admit to her and I know when I say it, that’s exactly what I am. Homesick. I thought that was something for little children, not adults.

“Oh, how come, are the people not nice?” she asks already some anger in her voice.

She knows me well, we have been friends since before we can remember. She’s not much younger than me, only a few months. Her father is my dad’s brother and my uncle. They’re both very alike in their appearance as well as their behaviour. They were happy that they both got children around the same time, dumping us to play together so that they could dart and drink beers. That’s why Sage knows that I’m not good at being by myself. She assumes that I’m alone because no one is nice to me because that is my life back home. Which isn’t the case here.

“That’s not it. It’s just that all they seem to care about is going to bars.”

“Sounds like fun,” she confesses. I know she grew to like clubbing more than me. Especially the guys that would be at the club. I only like clubs when I am single and usually I am not single anymore after I leave the club.

“I don’t know, but I just want to stay in for a night.” As I say it I’m not even sure why. It’s still early and I could go home early. Maybe I’ll like clubs here better because I’m without James after all.

“You’ll be fine,” she says and I agree. We talk some more and I tell her about my day with Harry and how I got to save him. Even my brief descriptions about Harry are enough to make her sigh.

“I wish I could be there with you,” she tells me before we hang up, both afraid for our phone bills.

Since it will be expensive anyway, I call my father as well. He seems okay although it is hard to tell over the phone. I hope he is. I would feel guilty if something would happen to him now that I am not around. I ask him if James came around today, but he tells me he hasn’t seen him. I don’t ask any further because I know that my father isn’t very fond of James. He agreed that James would visit, but only because I threatened him that I wouldn’t go otherwise.