A fractured fairytale

65

༻ Rose's POV ༺

I'd spent all day worrying about Matt being in my home. It felt far too intimate, left me far too vulnerable. When he was here, I couldn't hide. I couldn't pretend everything was okay, that my life was no different to his, when the evidence was all around.

When he'd stepped inside, I waited with baited breath for comments about how small it was, how lifeless and bare the apartment was. I expected him to grumble when he saw the empty fridge, save for an out-of-date tub of butter. I expected him to be mad about the broken windows and lack of heating which left the whole place ice cold.

But instead, he stepped through the door with two pizza boxes, a bag of groceries and another with two thick, fluffy blankets he'd brought from home. He unpacked the groceries into my fridge, telling me he'd bought the ingredients for us to make pancakes in the morning. We then ate the pizza's he'd brought and snuggled up beneath the blankets on my bed. He'd also brought his laptop with some movies downloaded onto it so we didn't have to watch my grainy television in the living room.

One of the benefits of being here rather than at Matt's was my bed. I'd always wanted a bigger bed, but right now, with his huge body wrapped around mine and every inch of me pressed against him, I was starting to realise the benefits of a small single bed. His arms were around me, hands resting on my stomach and chin propped on my head as he watched the movie.

I sighed contentedly. "I'm so glad you're here," I told him. I never expected to feel that way, but I did. I liked having him in my space and now he was here, I was dreading him leaving.

His hold on me tightened slightly although he was careful not to cause any further pain with my ribs. "I'm glad I'm here too. I missed you today."

That made me smile. Of course, I'd missed him too. But that felt crazy. I didn't want to become one of those people that are so needy they can't be away from their boyfriend for more than a few hours, but here I was. I was relieved that he at least felt the same way.

He went quiet for a moment and I refocused on the movie. It was an action movie and the music had turned a little tense, putting me on edge. That usually meant something was coming. I sunk a little further into Matt's arms. "I like your room," he said.

I glanced around. It was nothing special. It was a small, square room that hadn't been redecorated since I was a kid. The walls were the same baby pink that they were when it was my nursery, except now the paint was peeling off the walls, showing the plaster beneath in places. The floor was the same hardwood as the rest of the apartment but I'd managed to get a rug from my neighbour a few years back. It was a small, shaggy white one that had seen better days but it was better than nothing.

The bed was tucked beneath the window and beside it was my desk, buried under stacks and stacks of books. Beside that was my wardrobe which had an array of pictures tacked onto it of me and my mom. It was the only personalisation in the whole apartment.

"I'm sorry it's so cold," I muttered. The blankets had certainly helped; however, my ears and nose were freezing from the arctic breeze blowing through the room.

His lips pressed against the side of my head. "That's okay," he said, "it gives us an excuse to cuddle."

I laughed. He managed to make light of everything. It was one of my favourite things about him, he could make any occasion a good one. Every moment with him was a happy one.

I yelped when blood suddenly splattered across his laptop screen and a scream rang out through the room. Behind me, Matt chuckled while I waited for my heart to restart. The main character, whose name I couldn't remember for the life of me, started to run. A shadow was following her through the dark woods and my stomach twisted. I hated the suspense.