EPISODE 6
958 Words
(Alexandria’s POV)
Click.
For a moment, I thought I imagined it the tiny metallic scrape of the front door lock twisting. But then Liam heard it too; I felt him tense beside me.
The candlelight trembled across his face, and all traces of calm vanished.
“Stay here,” he said quietly.
“Like hell I will.”
“Alex.” His tone shifted low, commanding. “Please.”
Something in his voice made my pulse skip. The kind of voice that came with knowing how to handle danger.
I swallowed. “You’re scaring me.”
“Good,” he said, already on his feet.
Before I could argue, he moved fast, silent, heading for the hallway. I followed anyway because apparently I’m allergic to instructions.
The front door was cracked open. Rain bled through the gap, along with the faint shuffle of footsteps.
“Liam,” I whispered.
He turned slightly, one finger pressed to his lips.
Then he pulled the door open wider.
A man stood there hood up, dripping wet, face shadowed. For one wild second, I thought it was some random burglar who’d picked the wrong flat.
But the stranger spoke first.
“Bloody hell, Liam. You changed the locks.”
"You have got to be kidding me ,you scared the piss out of me ,you knobhead" Liam cursed giving the stranger a dark dangerous stare.
The guy grinned, teeth flashing under the hood. “Long time, brother.”
Brother.
Aspetta! brother?!
I blinked. “You have a brother?”
The stranger’s gaze flicked to me, curious and maybe a little too amused. “Who’s this?”
“Nobody,” Liam said. Too fast.
“Excuse me?” I said.
Ethan chuckled, stepping inside like he owned the place. “Oh, she’s definitely not nobody.”
He tossed his soaked jacket onto the armchair. “What’s this, mate? Finally got yourself a girlfriend?”
I choked. Liam groaned.
“She’s my roommate or flatmate, piss-off.” something about that word made me pissed ,I mean we just kissed , could mean nothing to him, I guess that was too fast and now I feel cheap since I still barely knew him.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. Sure she is.”
I crossed my arms. “And you are the home invasion department?”
He grinned wider. “Oh, I like her.”
Liam pinched the bridge of his nose. “What are you doing here, Ethan?”
“Power’s out all over London, genius. My place is freezing, yours is close. Thought I’d crash.”
“You thought wrong,” Liam said sharply.
The tone between them changed , like static before a storm. Ethan’s smirk didn’t quite reach his eyes anymore.
“Still the same, huh?” he said. “Always control, always rules.”
“Still the same i***t who breaks them,” Liam shot back.
I blinked between them. “Sooo… you two are close?”
“Depends,” Ethan said. “Do you call almost punching someone at Christmas ‘close’?”
“Ethan,” Liam warned.
“Relax. I’m kidding. Mostly.”
He flopped onto the couch, grabbed my mug, and took a sip. “Nice place. Smells like coffee and tension, did I interrupt something?.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re delightful.”
“Thank you, love.”
Liam looked like he was considering homicide. “Ethan. Spare room. Now.”
Ethan grinned. “Fine, fine. Keep your tie unknotted, will you?”
As he disappeared down the hall, I turned to Liam. “You failed to mention you had a sibling.”
“Because he’s not exactly… relevant.”
“You mean tolerable.”
“That too.”
I tilted my head. “He’s… different from you.”
“That’s one word for it.”
He started cleaning up the candle stubs, his movements sharp, controlled. Too controlled.
“Hey,” I said softly. “You okay?”
He hesitated. “He's just a big bully. That’s all.”
I smirked. “So am I.”
He gave a small laugh, shaking his head. “Yeah. You do.”
The tension eased slightly. The candles burned lower.
And from down the hall, Ethan called, “Oi, Liam! Nice roommate. If you’re not interested, I might be!”
Liam froze mid-motion.
My heart kicked into a sprint.
His jaw tightened. “Ignore him.”
“Hard to,” I said, lips twitching. “He’s loud.”
“So are you.”
“Yeah, but you don’t look ready to commit murder when I talk.”
He turned to me, eyes unreadable in the dim light. “Don’t test that theory.”
“Was that a threat or a promise?”
He exhaled , half frustrated half something else. “Goodnight, Alex.”
He strutted toward his room, but I couldn’t resist one last jab.
“Sweet dreams, neat freak.”
“Try not to set the kitchen on fire.”
“Try not to touch my coffees.”
He stopped at the doorway, glancing back just long enough to say, “You’re exhausting.”
“And yet,” I said, smiling faintly, “you haven’t moved out.”
He didn’t answer. Just walked away, shoulders tense.
And for some reason, watching him go made something twist in my chest again something warm, sharp, confusing.
Maybe Sophie was right.
Maybe this wasn’t just banter anymore.
I don't want to hurt my self by putting myself in a situation that may not work .
Roommates, one more month and I'll start checking for apartments again, since there are no more apartments close to my work place on sale.
Before that time ,this built up feeling should be dead.
- Writer
