Age Recommendation: 18+
When Ivan's closest friend asked a favour, he knew he had absolutely no choice in the matter. It being a roommate, was awkward, but he had to make it happen.
"You want this girl to stay with me?" Ivan said into his phone.
"You have that whole place to yourself." Harry replied, his voice scratching with static from the poor signal, "You can't make room for just one friend?"
He gave a sigh, "It's a Lonsdale street apartment. I can shit into the toilet from my shower."
"Doubt she wants to share the bathroom."
An apartment in Melbourne CBD is never very comfortable. They exist for the convenience of working, for those that never really want to go home. Fitting anything larger than a double bed wasn't possible. Nor was it cheap.
Having anyone come and crash at his place wasn't really something Ivan had ever done, because it was a single bedroom hole in the wall. Not something to celebrate and spin into a neighbourhood party.
"Look, I promise you she isn't a kid. She can take care of herself." Harry tried to encourage him, "Besides, who doesn't want a gal around the place? You gotta get a bit lonely."
"I work. That's enough for me."
Harry gave a heavy sigh, "That's really the point of it all, is it? ... Look, just... Help her out, would you? I know she's a stranger, but I owe her."
Ivan winced instantly. When it came to owing someone, he owed Harry more than he could ever reasonably repay. After their graduation, it was Harry who had kept him alive, after the car accident. Man's hands on his chest, had been all that kept him around.
Not that Harry would ever bring it up.
Ivan fingered the scar on his chest, through his shirt, and gave a heavy sigh, "Well, if she's happy living with a total stranger, and a guy at that, I'll try and make it work."
"I promise you, Grace is an angel."
© Copyright 2024, James Milne