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Chapter Twenty-Nine

As Noah and I pulled up outside my flat early the next morning, I didn't want the bubble of our weekend together to be over.

"That was a nice couple of days," I smiled, turning to face him as he turned off the ignition.

"Yeah, it was good," he smiled back. "I probably won't see you much this week, though."

"Oh," I replied, instantly disheartened.

"I've got a busy week at uni," he continued, "Plus we've got a gig this weekend so we need to practice, and I've got a couple of things going on for work."

"Solo stuff?" I asked, remembering the wallet of cash hidden in his bathroom.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Umm, okay," I started. "Well I'm back at uni next week finally so... will I see you before then?"

"Let's see," he smiled, leaning over to kiss me softly on the lips.

Pulling the car door handle, I turned back to face him once again.

"You haven't even taken my number yet," I said quietly.

"I like it that way," he smirked, "It's old school."

Smiling to hide my disappointment, I stepped out onto the street and closed the door behind me. I turned to give him a wave, but Noah was already looking out into the oncoming traffic to pull away.

Opening the door of my flat, I wasn't sure what to expect. After what had happened on Friday, I doubted Charlotte would want to go back to classes anytime soon. However, as I crept in and quietly called her name, I was surprised to find she wasn't there. Her bed was neatly made and her handbag and coat were gone from the rack by the door.

A note scrawled across the chalkboard caught my eye.

Back by 4pm, be home please – Kris is coming for dinner x

After finishing off a coffee and two slices of toast, I headed for a shower. Annoyingly, as I removed my tampon, I noticed my flow had almost completely stopped.

Cheers then, body, great timing.

Knowing I had a whole day to kill with absolutely nothing to do, I took my time enjoying the feeling of the hot water beating down on my skin. My shower was nothing like Noah's fancy power shower, but it contained all my stuff.

Wrapping my hair on top of my head after coating it with a leave-in conditioner, I started the lengthy process of de-fuzzing my entire body. Having a mum that owns a hair and beauty salon meant I'd grown up as a definite 'groomer'. Any more than a couple of days' stubble and I started to get edgy. So, having spent two nights away from my flat, I was relieved to drag the pink razor across my skin once again.

An hour or so later I was dressed, had dried my hair, and I was well and truly bored. Picking up the phone to call my mum, I hoped she would be able to answer. The salon was closed every Monday so, if I was in luck, she would be at home doing some admin.

The sound of her singsong voice was a welcome distraction from the quiet loneliness of the flat. I wanted to tell her all about the events of the past couple of days – about the funeral, Charlotte, even about Noah – but I chickened out.

After all, Charlotte's business wasn't mine to tell, and my mum would only worry herself sick. Plus, what could I possibly tell her about Noah? It wasn't like he was my boyfriend or anything, he'd made that clear enough.

When I'd officially run out of things to ask her about instead of discussing my own life, I realised I should let her get back to whatever she had been busy doing when I called. After telling her I loved her and promising to call her more often, I hung up. I was quickly thrust back in the silence of the four walls of our flat.