An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire

stopped and was replaced by Nate hollering my name, so I pulled my bones together and went to let him in.
    He stomped in, knocking the front door with one shoulder and me with the other, and then slammed his phone onto the table. ‘What kind of a fucking message was that?’
    â€˜I’m sorry. I got pissed.’
    â€˜Yeah, no shit.’
    â€˜I’m sorry.’
    He glanced at me, then up over my head, then back at my face. ‘Did you sleep at all?’
    â€˜Not much.’
    He sat down, mumbled something I was glad not to understand. I sat across from him and we were silent like that for a while.
    â€˜Listen, I had a big talk with Renee and she –’
    â€˜Spare me.’
    â€˜Please, babe, listen.’ He had my hands again. ‘Listen, she understands. She knows I need to be here with you for now. She’s so cut up about what happened. She wants me to be here for you.’
    â€˜Saint, isn’t she?’
    â€˜But listen, she’s not comfortable about me staying here. And I think she’s right, you know. It’s too easy for us – for you and me – to slide back into living like husband and wife. We’re both real vulnerable at the moment. It’d be easy to fall into old ways.’
    â€˜Are those her words or yours?’
    He was cringing inside, I knew, but his face stayed calm. ‘Hers, yeah, but I agree.’
    â€˜Right.’
    â€˜Chris, I love her. You know? And she trusts me. I don’t wanna fuck it up.’
    â€˜You’re a saint too, now.’ I pulled away and went to the sink, rinsed his heat from my hands, then scooped cold water from the tap to my mouth, which was like the bottom of cocky’s cage. I splashed my face, dried it on a tea towel that smelt like old eggs.
    â€˜I’m trying to do the right thing,’ he said when I was facing him again.
    â€˜Can I remind you I never asked you to come in the first place? And I never asked you to stay over when you did. I never asked you to come back today. So don’t look at me like I’m some whiny little homewrecker. I didn’t ask you for anything.’
    â€˜You didn’t have to, babe. You know I –’
    â€˜Stay, don’t stay, I don’t care, but don’t tell me about you and Renee and don’t act like I owe you anything and don’t – please, Jesus, please – don’t fucking fight with me. Okay?’
    He came to me and wrapped me up and that was fine. It was always fine when he did that.
    At five o’clock Nate dropped me at work on his way to his mate Melvin’s place, where he usually stayed when in town with a tour group. He offered to pick me up when I finished but I told him I’d get a lift.
    â€˜Don’t you walk,’ he said.
    â€˜I said I’d get a lift.’ I went to open the door but he’d child-locked it. I glared, waited.
    â€˜Who you getting a lift with?’
    â€˜Someone who cleans their car once in a while,’ I said, picking a chip packet out of the garbage pile beneath my feet and tossing it in his lap. He brushed it off without looking, shrugged. I tossed the chip packet back on to his lap, added an empty Coke can and a crumpled McDonald’s bag.
    â€˜All you’re doing is making me hungry. So tell me how you’re getting home and I’ll let you out and go get myself a feed.’
    â€˜I’ll get a lift with Suze or Grey. Okay?’
    â€˜I can come and get you. No trouble.’ His hand hovered over the lock on his door.
    â€˜Appreciate that, but it’s not necessary. You get an early night.’
    â€˜Alright. But you call me if you need.’ The lock clicked up. I opened the door and I climbed out. ‘I’m serious,’ he called as I walked away. ‘Don’t you walk home.’
    I waved without looking back. Bella used to rouse on me for walking home, too. But it was ten minutes, fifteen tops. Best way in the world