Page 22 of Matched

Me:

Couldn’t sleep. The birthday was ok

Looks like you had a good night

Charlie:

Yeah it was fun. Have you been to Sanctuary before?

Me:

No, can’t say it’s been on my radar. Bit out of my student budget

Charlie:

Haha me too but JJ sorted us out with tickets. Hey remember when we went to The George together? We should do that again

I stared down at my screen.

We should do that again.

My fingers shook when I typed out a reply.

Me:

Yeah we should

Charlie:

I knew you wanted a third date

Me:

You’re the one who suggested it

The stairs creaked again, and a few moments later, I heard the soft click of the door opening, a faint light spilling into the kitchen from the lamp my dad had left on in the lounge. I dropped my phone to the floor, tugging the bedcovers up over my shoulders.

“Nate? Are you awake?” My sister’s soft whisper cut through the silence.

“Just about.” I blinked, shifting onto my side and propping myself up on my elbow. “Good night?”

“Yeah. Sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to get some water.”

“S’okay. Heard from Charlie tonight?”

The second the question spilled from my mouth, I wanted to take it back. Fuck. Why had I asked that?

It was too dark to make out the expression on Sophie’s face, but I could see her nod. She turned away from me, reaching into the kitchen cupboard for a glass before padding across to the water dispenser on the fridge door. “He sent me a message earlier saying he hoped I had a good night and to let him know that I got home safely. I replied when I got back, but he hasn’t replied again. He’s probably asleep now.”

I glanced down at my phone, the screen showing an unread message icon. My heart pounded.

“Yeah, probably,” I said hoarsely, collapsing onto my back and throwing my hand over my eyes.

Part of me was on top of the world, and the other part was in the fucking depths of despair. I was the world’s worst fucking brother.

As soon as she’d left, closing the door behind her, I swiped my phone from the floor and returned to my message thread with the guy my sister was into.

Charlie:

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