Page 9 of Endurance
“I’m the older brother here, not you.”
He scoffs, “You’re older by four minutes. I was heavier so that makes me more equipped to do the heavy lifting.”
“You were heavier because you hogged all the food. You were a fat arse then and you’re a fat arse now.”
“Oink, oink, bro. I got this.”
I nod. “Thanks for your help,” I say simply, knowing anything more will make it awkward.
“What are brothers for?”
“To make it glaringly obvious that I’m the best looking Harris Brother.”
“Oh, Tanner, your delusions never cease to amaze me. You better watch your tongue or I’ll tell Vi on you.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I gasp with a genuine smile lightening my mood.
“I’ll save it for when I’m there to witness the beating she’ll give you.”
We hang up and I’m grateful he didn’t try to get deep with me about why I screwed up this time. I’m not ready to talk it out. Right now, I’m ready to pass out for as long as real life will permit.
I walk out of the loo and look around to see that I’m all alone. Belle’s flat is an expansive two-level loft inside a former factory. One whole wall is completely covered with industrial windows from the first level to the second. It’s got a cool, modern feel, but the dark wooden floors give it a rustic vibe. The colour scheme is completely white washed aside from the plastic chairs around her glass-top table. They are each a different solid colour and look like they belong in a nursery school, not at a grownup’s dining table. She has an enormous grey sectional that takes up the entire living space with a red, barnwood coffee table centred in the middle. Her kitchen is walled off with a door and a large cutout that overlooks the connected living and dining areas. The only décor to speak of are multicoloured canvases anchored prominently on various walls.
“I see Indie found you some clothes.”
I turn to see Belle standing at the base of the large wooden staircase with a blanket and pillow in her hands.
“Better than nothing,” I reply with a shrug.
Belle’s eyes move down my chest and linger on the trousers for a moment. This is the second time she’s looked at me with such brazenness. Completely unapologetic. And I really wish I didn’t like it.
When she’s finished her perusal, her eyes snap back up to my face and narrow. “Blanket, pillow, sofa.” She points to the sectional. “It’s all I’ve got since Indie squats in the guestroom now.”
“It’s fine.” She drops the stuff off on the coffee table and turns to head back upstairs. Before she’s gone, I add, “Thanks again for helping me tonight.”
She stops halfway and turns, gripping the railing tightly with her black tipped nails. “You owe me one, Harris. A big one.” Her voice is back to the same punishing tone she’s been using on me for weeks.
My brows lift. “Just say the word and I’m yours.”
Her glower morphs into confusion and my nerves shoot up my back over how that must have sounded.
“I didn’t mean…I just meant…” I stammer.
She moves to jog up the rest of the stairs without another look back.
“NIGHT,”ICALL OUT TOIndie as I pass her door at the top of the staircase and turn left to hurry off to my room.
“Wait!” Indie replies, leaping off her bed and bounding toward the door in all her cuteness. Her curly red hair’s in a standard topknot and she’s sporting some fiercely wild zebra-print specs. “I didn’t have a chance to say thanks.”
I frown. “Whatever for?”
She bites down on the sweet in her mouth and then answers, “For getting Tanner. I could have done it. You didn’t have to.”
“It was nothing.”Even though Tanner Harris still has my blood boiling. “It was actually somewhat amusing…at times.”
She smiles. “Well, I really appreciate it. You’re kind of an epic roommate, you know. Had I known, I would have stopped resisting ages ago.”
I laugh at that comment. The only reason Indie finally broke down and moved in with me is because her gig with Bethnal Green doesn’t pay very much and she refuses to accept any money from her disgustingly wealthy boyfriend. Camden’s contract with Arsenal was monstrous. The papers reported it at one hundred fifty thousand pounds per week. But I’m not about to complain about her morals. Indie is a genius and doesn’t need to be kept by any man. I pay for my flat with my trust fund so it’s really no bother.
