Page 31 of One Last Wish

Chapter Ten

Iwas alone and inmy bedroom when my alarm woke me up in the morning. When did I set my alarm? How did I even get to bed last night? The last thing I remembered was watching a film with Darce.

Lifting the duvet quickly, I could see that I was still in yesterday's clothes. Hmm... Disappointingly, Darce hadn’t undressed me last night. He must have put me to bed, though.

Getting up, I looked around the apartment, hoping he might have crashed on the sofa, but he was nowhere to be found.

All the dishes from our meal last night had been put away. He’d moved all our painted dragon eggs to one side of the room now that they had dried, too. That was...thoughtfulof him.

Had Darce set my alarm so I wasn’t late for work? I’d have to ask him about that later.

At least I didn't have any weird dreams last night. Maybe my head wasn’t as fucked up as I thought.

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THEO AND DARCE WEREbothwaiting outside Bookends when I got there.

“Hey, Alora,” Theo called, overly excited. “How was your day off?”

“Eventful,” I replied, giving Darce a look. How did he look so fresh this morning? His thick funnel neck coat was undone, showing his black work polo. I was starting to realise the only colour this guy wore was black, not that I was complaining. The colour suited him. While trying to study his tattoos, I had also observed that he rarely showed his arms. Darce always preferred long-sleeved tops.

“Oh, how come?” Theo asked, moving to try and block my view of Darce as I unlocked the door. Darce had a few inches on Theo, though, so it didn’t work in the slightest.

“I had this rude visitor that wouldn’t leave.” When I eyed Darce, he chuckled at me.

“Y...Y...You two spent Thanksgivingtogether?” The disappointment on Theo’s face was easy to see. “You said you were just going to check up on her?” he complained to Darce.

“Come on,boys. No need to fight over me,” I teased, emphasising the wordboys. I knew it would rile Darce.

As I took my coat off down in the basement, Darce stood by the doorway, watching me.

“I think Theo has a broken heart. He can’t believe you letmeinto your place.”

“I do wonder the same thing.” I replied, putting my bag away. “Shit. I forgot my lunch.”

“We can grab something later. Don’t worry.”We?Okay then. “I’ll go and check to make sure all the lights are on.” Nodding, I straightened my uniform. “I think we have a few boxes of new books to unpack, too.”

Malcolm appeared, looking a little stressed. “Mary has quit.” The woman hadn’t been to work for over amonth. That wasn’t a shock. “The head office won’t let me recruit anyone else. which is ridiculous in the run up toChristmas. Basically, let everyone know there is unlimited overtime until January. I know you’re good for anything, Alora. I’ve doubled up most of your shifts throughout December already.” So much for living!

“No problem, Malcolm.” With that, he walked off. Darce was watching me intently. “I’ll start living in January, I promise.”

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