27. Ben

Ben had returned home to little fanfare. He supposed that none of his housemates had thought it particularly strange he hadn’t come home last night. He’d said on the WhatsApp group that he was going on a last-minute date, and when he’d left the house, he’d rather hoped that he wouldn’t be returning at all that evening. His three housemates were out now, though the debris of a cooked breakfast littered the kitchen: a frying pan slick with bacon grease; a pot encrusted with dried baked beans in the sink; a stack of dry toast on a plate in the middle of the table. He picked up a slice and turned on his heel, chewing on the cold bread as he climbed two flights of stairs to the second floor, to his own attic bedroom. He sat on the end of his bed, still wearing his jacket and shoes.

The events of the past sixteen hours presented themselves in random vignettes. Alexa, with a Negroni in hand, across the table at Penny’s. Jack peering at him kindly. Ellen scrutinizing him, without any kindness. Alexa’s bedroom, grappling with each other’s clothes, a little self-consciously. Ellen accusing him of dumping Alexa. Three firemen breaking down the door of the attic. Hollering out of the attic window. The door handle coming clean off in his hand.

Another image presented itself: saying goodbye to Alexa in the hallway of 49 Rokeby Close, the busted front door open and swinging gently in the breeze.

‘Well, that was quite a date,’ Alexa had said, lightly. Now that they were no longer sitting on the floor of an attic but stood opposite one another in the hallway, he noticed again how small she was. Her eyes were searching, hopeful.

‘Yeah – have to say, I didn’t expect any of this when I messaged you last night,’ Ben had replied, with a shy grin. ‘Still, all’s well that ends well, eh?’ He hadn’t been quite sure what he meant by that.

‘Yes,’ Alexa had said carefully. ‘Well, I hope so.’

Ben had shifted his weight on the hallway carpet, his foot making a squelching sound.

‘Look,’ she’d added, squirming, ‘I’m sorry about the thing … about what Ellen said. I think things got a bit … confused.’ She had shaken her head and switched tone. ‘Anyway. I had fun. Except for the bit where you locked us in an attic and Jack had to sacrifice us all to the internet in order to set us free.’

Ben had laughed heartily at this. He liked how quick she was.

‘Yeah. Thank God for Jack’s instinct for social media, eh?’

‘He definitely got lucky.’

A pause, and then Ben had gone for a kiss. It had been short and chaste, but it had happened. Afterwards, they’d had an only slightly awkward hug.

‘I’ll text you,’ Ben had said, as he pulled away.

‘Right,’ Alexa had replied, brightly.