Page 45 of A Lot to Unpack
He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face.
‘Okay. Fine. Where did you see it last?’ he asks, clearly not into the idea of helping, but not feeling like he has much choice.
‘Somewhere,’ I say vaguely, already stepping past him, into his room. ‘Honestly, I can’t look at it again. I’m so frightened. I’ll just wait in here, while you look for it.’
‘No, Liberty, wait,’ he replies. ‘You’ll have to help me. Spot me – in case it sneaks up on me.’
‘Sneaks up on you?’ I repeat back to him.
‘Yeah,’ he replies. ‘While my back is turned…’
‘You’ll be fine, just squash it, or chuck it back outside if you’re that way inclined,’ I tell him.
‘Liberty, I, er… I’m scared of spiders,’ he confesses.
‘You’re what?’ I reply.
‘I’m scared of spiders,’ he says again. Then he laughs. ‘Why are you looking at me with that judgemental face? You’re scared of spiders too.’
‘Well, because I’m just a girl,’ I joke.
‘What an old-fashioned way of thinking – you should talk to someone about that casual sexism,’ he replies, and it gets my back up. Imagine being called a sexist by a man. He’s probably joking too but it still annoys me.
He’s smirking as he stands there, all smug and shirtless. He’s getting under my skin in a way that makes me want to slap him and kiss him at the same time.
‘I’ll help you,’ he tells me. ‘But you have to keep an eye out too, okay?’
‘Yeah, okay,’ I reply, trying to think of my next play.
We both tiptoe around the room for a few minutes, trying to track down the non-existent spider. Eventually, I get bored of pretending. This is never going to work.
‘There!’ I say, pointing vaguely at the balcony. ‘It ran outside. I saw it.’
‘Really?’ he asks, looking deeply sceptical. I suppose it’s hard to believe the problem could be solved so easily – especially when it’s hard to believe the problem was real in the first place.
‘Yes! It’s gone. You did it. You must have scared it off or something. Quick, close the door,’ I say.
He walks over, scanning the carpet – just in case – as he goes, and closes the door.
‘Well, there you go,’ he says.
‘Thank you,’ I say, trying not to sound breathless. ‘You’re very brave.’
He laughs.
‘Goodnight, Liberty,’ he says as he heads back to his room. ‘I’d keep the door closed if I were you. It’s freezing out there.’
‘Thanks – goodnight,’ I call after him as he closes the door behind him.
I hear it lock – of course I do. He probably thinks I’m crazy.
Brilliant. So not only did that not work, but I’ve made myself look insane, I’ve embarrassed myself and I’ve seemingly outed myself as a female sexist. Oh, and as a fun little bonus, my room is now positively Baltic, thanks to the door being open for so long.
I climb into bed, wrapping my blankets around myself, trying to warm up. I don’t suppose this could get me into Jordan’s room, could it? Saying mine is too cold? No, definitely not, that sounds like a come-on. Like an uninspired porno storyline. I’m sure that would only make things worse.
I guess I’ll have to think of something else – something other than how good he looked in just his pants.
18
