He Called My Brain Injury a Hunger Strike, So I Forgot Him novel · Chapter 4 of 24

Chapter 4: Level

The landlord on Alder Street remembered me.

"You paid in cash and never came," he said on the phone. "I kept it empty for a month, then I rented it. The new tenant left in August. Same rent, if you want it."

I wanted it.

I signed the new lease that afternoon with my own pen, on my own name, and I paid the first month from the envelope.

It was a one-bedroom on the third floor, with a window over a maple tree.

The floors were bare, and the whole place smelled of paint.

Erik carried my three boxes up the stairs, then went down and came back with a mattress on his shoulder.

"Where did you get that?"

"It was in the shop. A customer ordered a boat and a bed and then changed his mind about both."

He set it down in the bedroom, stood back, and looked at the window.

"You'll want a curtain rod."

"I'll want a lot of things."

"Start with the rod."

He had brought one, with brackets, and a drill.

I held the bracket against the wall while he marked the screw holes with a pencil.

He worked fast and said little, and I liked it.

For six months I had lived with a man who talked all night about things that weren't me.

Erik asked once, "Level?" and I said, "Level," and that was the whole conversation.

When the rod was up, I picked the heavy curtain off the floor.

← Chapter 3 · All chapters · Chapter 5 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend