What Remains by Garrett Leigh

Author:Garrett Leigh [Leigh, Garrett]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Published: 2016-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

One Sunday morning, ten weeks after Jodi came home from hospital, Rupert emerged from a quiet night shift into the first spring sun of the year, the kind of sunshine that teased London at the close of winter, promising an end to the dreary grey frost, only to disappear again like it had never been there at all.

Knowing this far too well, Rupert stood in the eerie calm of early morning Brixton and tilted his face to the sky, absorbing the gentle heat, letting it seep into his bones. As ever, his thoughts turned to Jodi, who was no doubt tucked up in bed with Sophie watching over him, and the warmth stalled, blocked by the cool grip of sadness around his heart. There’d been a few fleeting days when he’d almost believed they were getting somewhere, but over the past week or so, Jodi had become more silent than ever, retreating to the bedroom the moment Rupert came home, only coming out to pick at the food Rupert fudged for him, or to take a shower, an occupation he seemed to have a renewed interest in.

Rupert sighed and opened his eyes. Jodi’s physical recovery was progressing as well as anyone could hope for, but caring for someone who wouldn’t even look at you was more soul-destroying than he could ever have imagined. Still, the situation didn’t seem like it was going to change anytime soon and the sun’s appearance had given him a faint charge of energy he couldn’t ignore. He caught the Tube to Finsbury Park and jogged the rest of the way home. With his bag slung on his back, the four-mile run was hard work—he hadn’t been to the gym in months—but the strain on his lungs and the lactic acid in his legs felt good, cleansing, and he was almost sorry when the flat appeared on the horizon. He slowed to a walk, catching his breath. The light in the bedroom was on, but that didn’t necessarily mean anyone was awake. Jodi didn’t care for the dark, and there was no reason for Sophie to be up this early on a Sunday.

He let himself in and dumped his bag in the corner with the rest of the clutter. His makeshift bed on the couch called his name, but he needed to eat first or he’d never find rest. Empty cupboards and an empty fridge spoiled the party. A closer inspection revealed there was nothing edible in the flat save half a packet of pasta Rupert couldn’t be arsed to cook and a fun-size KitKat.

Rupert took the KitKat and a mug with the last teabag into the living room, mentally writing a shopping list to take to the supermarket later that day, and cursing himself for letting the cupboards get so bare. Grocery shopping was one of many things he’d yet to get used to, even after all these months.

“Morning.”

“Jesus!” Rupert jumped, sloshing hot tea over his hand. “What the fuck are you doing sitting in the dark?”

“Trying to figure out the HTML code for a website I can’t remember building.

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