Long Division by Taylor Leigh

Author:Taylor Leigh [Leigh, Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor Leigh
Published: 2015-07-16T22:00:00+00:00

On the way, I reluctantly sent a text to Ashley, explaining something had come up and I would not be able to meet her. I was less than happy to do so, but admittedly, at the same time, a tiny bit relieved. It was that tiny bit relieved feeling that I didn’t want to pay much attention to at the moment.

I hadn’t managed to convince myself that moving James in—if only, hopefully very temporarily—was a good idea.

Anyhow, too late now. He was already here, already settled. I couldn’t go back.

Once he was comfortable, he kept to the area he’d established for himself, which was the sofa, and kept quiet—after a brief, tense disagreement about him not allowed to smoke. To be honest, even as small as my flat was, it was almost as if he wasn’t there. He didn’t want to eat what I’d ordered in; he was careful about his space; he was nothing more than an odd, silent ghost. Without his walls of numbers, without his computers, without his stable life he seemed to be nothing. All he had was his thumb drive, which he still hand tightly clenched in one hand. Which he still, aggravatingly, hadn’t shown me.

And I still didn’t have the heart to ask him what was on it.

We spent our evening routines completely separate, which was fine with me; I wasn’t left with worrying with what to do with him.

It was as he washed up, I turned on the television, struggling not to think on the fact I could have been out with Ashely, instead of hidden in here, where the dishes rattled with the passing of trains.

I turned to news and put the kettle on.

‘A new string of alarming attacks and vandalism have been on the rise across the city—and around the world. Worries of a new “super bug”, possibly transmitted by birds, have our scientists talking. We’ll have more of this report at—’

On the table next to the sofa—where James had taken up residence—his mobile buzzed and continued on so, making me cringe with each vibration. The bathroom door swung open and James, wrapped in a dressing robe, stuck his head out, toothbrush in hand.

‘Mind getting that, would you?’

I turned off the television and gave him a look. ‘You sure?’

He was already gone, back to washing. I could hear him cleaning his teeth.

I abandoned my cup of tea and walked cross the few feet of space that separated my small kitchen from the sofa. I swept up James’s mobile.

‘It wants a code!’ I raised my voice, frustrated. Nothing with him was easy.

I heard water running and then he shouted out a string of numbers I could barely catch as I hurriedly typed them in. Luckily, I managed. Then came the struggle to figure out how to operate his device before finally pulling up the flashing icon that indicated a message—or so I assumed. A document popped up.

‘Oh, it’s from Fox. More notes from a meeting.’

James let out a bored huff.

I read through it anyway.

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