Uh, odd.
“What’s all this?” She asks, eyes wide.
Robert shrugs. “I thought you might need something sweet.”
“Jesus, Rob,” Sara scoffs. “You need to stop being so perfect all the time.”
He laughs, caught off guard. “I don’t know about perfect—”
“Oh, shut up and eat your muffin. Better yet, grab a plate. Love Island is running a marathon and I’m in the mood to shut off my thinking brain. We can order in later."
He does as he’s told and follows Sara to the living room. The young man eats his muffin quietly as Sara goes on and on about each contestant and every tiny detail of previous drama. Of course, this is Sara, so she makes him laugh and gossip along with her. Crumbs get into the cushions, but he finds he doesn’t care all that much. Sara glances at him and smiles. Robert is hit with a wave of fondness.
I’m in love with you, he desperately wants to say. I think I’ve been in love with you for a very long time. I’m so sorry, Sara.
Chapter 2
Sara
It’s been a weird month for Sara.
She definitely did not have “my roommate turns into a werewolf” on her bingo card. Although, all things considered, Robert’s condition hasn’t hindered much of their routine. She goes to her classes. He goes to work. She arrives early, tightens up the place. He gets home about an hour later, takes a shower. She suggests something for dinner. He cooks it. Sara has to remind him about his strong grip when dealing with pots and pans, but otherwise, everything has been infuriatingly normal. Besides that night at the cabin, not much else has happened.
Not that she wishes for something to happen.
If something were indeed to happen, it should’ve happened years ago, before his third or fourth girlfriend. Before she met Tom. Before she dropped out and put her life on hold.
If indeed Robert felt anything more than friendship for Sara, he would’ve spoken up by now.
God, this is pathetic, she thinks, wallowing in self-pity.
A girl hears her best friend coming apart to the sound of her name and she thinks she has a shot.
It was the full moon, she tells herself. It’s the whole werewolf thing… Hormones. Adrenaline. And I was the only woman nearby! Of course he’d be screaming my name. It’s some messed up werewolf biology. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sara didn’t say anything the next morning because she knew Robert felt embarrassed enough. He must’ve been so scared, too. Maybe she should’ve told him she never had any intention of staying far. But Sara knows Robert. She’s known that man since primary school. Her friend would’ve felt guilty. Worse, he would’ve convinced her to stay back in London and leave him to his own devices. However, Sara is a very stubborn woman. She needed to stay there in case there was an emergency.
But what could you do? She scolds herself. What could you possibly have done to make things better, uh? It’s good he doesn’t know you stayed behind. That you heard him howling out your name. What kind of friend are you, Sara? Who gets turned on by that? How sick are you?
At the crescendo of her intrusive thoughts, she throws the remote across the room. Fortunately, Robert grabs it mid-air, just as he crosses the threshold into the living room. Sara feels her cheeks heat up.
“Uh, sorry!” She exclaims.
“What happened?” He asks, amused. “Did one of your favourite contestants get voted off or…?”
“Oh, no. Nothing major. Just frustrated about life, I guess.”
“So you take it out on the innocent remote?” He jokes, patting the decade old device. Sara laughs as he sits next to her.
“Is everything going well with your thesis?” He asks, because Robert is considerate. Robert is kind. Robert is too damn perfect.
“Ah, yeah. Yeah. I think I’m progressing well.” She sighs. “All things considered.”
“Sometimes people take a break from Uni,” he says, in a soft tone. “It doesn’t mean they can’t finish what they started.”
She scoffs. “Tell that to my mum.”
“Your mum is… I don’t want to say anything unkind, but she’s not really supportive, is she?”