Page 3 of Whispered Promises

He wants to see me again? I inhale sharply as my mouth pops open in surprise, and as his palm drops, taking away his comfort, I find myself missing it already.

“Oh, that would…yeah, that would be nice. Thank you. You can give me your number. If you're okay with that, of course,” I breathlessly respond, a shy smile shining through as a blush sweeps across my skin.

Reaching in, I pull out my phone and hand it over to him. The screen lights up his features, highlighting the straight slope of his nose and the slight curve of the cupid’s bow in his upper lip.

He looks up, catching my gaze, and I quickly look away, taking back my phone. My lips twitch slightly as I add in a nickname for him, then save the contact and shove the phone back into my pocket.

“Enjoy the rest of your day, Rosy.” He smirks before he turns, walks down the corridor, and enters his flat.

After I close my door behind me, I lean back against it, exhaling loudly as my eyes drop closed and my head thuds back into the wood. Trying to fight the tears threatening to fall, I open my eyes and glance around the space. Resounding relief washes through me; my flatmate isn’t here.

I feel so overwhelmed today. The restless sleep and the unexpected encounter with Nate weigh heavily on my mind. Thankfully, I have time to shower before I have to head out to work again—this time as a delivery driver. The physical exhaustion helps but sadly doesn’t mentally exhaust me enough to get a decent night's sleep.

I rush through a quick shower, keeping my hair up in a messy bun to avoid it getting wet. Then throw on my favourite oversized jumper with a pair of under-the-sea themed leggings and slide my feet into a pair of multicoloured sliders adorned with fruit-shaped charms.

Grabbing my headphones and bag, I head out the door and downstairs to the underground car park. Getting into the driver’s seat, I open up the delivery app and check for any open job requests. It’s Friday, and I’m hoping for a busy evening delivering everyone’s takeout orders. Already, there are a few waiting, so I accept a couple for a nearby Indian restaurant and head over for the collection.

Checking the clock after the last delivery, I note that it’s just after 9 p.m. Most of the local restaurants end their food service around 9:30 and 10:00 p.m., so I decide to end my shift and head back home. I’ll find something to eat before logging on and doing a bit more work for the rescue, my main passion. It’s unpaid, but it doesn’t make it any less important.

Stephanie’s sitting on the couch surrounded by her books, mid study session. Her short blonde hair is half-pulled up into a high ponytail; the hair that isn’t long enough sticks out wispily around her face and down the back of her neck.

Without looking up, she says, “There’s a plate of food for you, sweets. How was your shift tonight? I can feel your exhaustion from over here.”

Feeling utterly grateful for her taking care of me, I silently promise to be a better friend and help her with something in return.

“It was good. It’s payday weekend, so everyone was ordering out tonight, but I didn’t want to stop and pick up food. Thank you for thinking of me. Honestly, I was prepared to make myself a sad sandwich and find whatever chocolate snack we have.”

I open the oven and grab the slightly warm plate of vegetable lasagna. My stomach rumbles as the smell of melted cheese wafts around me. I slide onto one of the kitchen stools and eat as quickly as I can, without burning the roof of my mouth off.

“I’ve got some work to do, so I’m going to head to my room and get some done before crashing. Thanks so much for dinner, Steph.”

She glances up and gives me a warm smile that crinkles her hazel eyes at the corners, then she blows a kiss in my direction. “It’s no bother. I was cooking anyway. Hope you have a good night’s sleep. Try not to work too late. I’m heading to bed soon, too.”

It may have only been six months since I moved in, but Steph’s managed to make this space safe and comforting. She’s never made me uneasy. Instead, she’s gone out of her way to take care of me by making food, checking in to see how I’m doing, and trying to get to know me.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve lost the few friends I did have in my life. Having to care for my nan meant that most of my focus was spent on her, and to be honest, I don’t regret that at all. She was all I had, and she made sure I had such a happy life, full of love and affection. But now it’s just me, and it’s been harder than I thought to brave the world alone, but I’m doing it. Sort of.

Sighing heavily, I pull out my laptop and start working through the few tasks I wanted to do for the rescue, compiling a list of content to capture tomorrow based on the suggestions on our social media pages. Once the work’s done, I shut down the machine, place it in my bag, then get under the covers and try to clear my mind so sleep will take me.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t work. Thoughts of Nate tidal wave past the attempt to empty my head. We had a conversation, and he still wants to see me again…unless he’s being nice and plans to ghost me later.

Shit, what if he gave me a fake number?

Should I message and see?

Nope, I’m not ready to deal with either outcome yet. That's tomorrow's problem.

My phone pings with a notification, startling me. Twisting over, I reach for it in the dark, squinting as the screen scorches my retinas.

Unknown

Goodnight, Pet. I’ll be thinking of you.

TWO

NATE

My body still fucking hums from the encounter with Rosy earlier. I can’t stop playing it on repeat in my mind.