Squalor (Part V)

Meredith knew exactly where Aaron was leading her, but decided it was best to pretend that she didn’t know. Cause well, that would just be creepy and she didn’t want to weird out her new friend. She had often thought what it would be like inside his apartment. On long, cold nights she imagined it almost as a palace. A palace of plenty and warmth where they had no time for the likes of her.

But in reality she knew that it had to be smaller than her dreams. This was Dublin city centre with its sky high rents after all. It only took them a few minutes to reach their destination. The door automatically opened as they approached.

“There’s a sensor in my coat pocket that sends a signal to open the door.”

“Cool.”

She had seen it occur numerous times before but often wondered how it worked. She had falsely come to the conclusion that it must be a camera that automatically opened the door.

Somewhat strangely, she felt nervous at the prospect of going inside. But this was not an opportunity that she could let slide, and so she forced herself on-wards.

“Well, what do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.”

And to her, it truly was. Two large bedrooms, an open plan combined sitting room/kitchen, with a large tv, then a computer on one side with an oven on the other. A large mahogany table took pride of place in the centre.

“So the thing is I need someone to cook and do a bit of cleaning for me. Can you cook? There’s food in the fridge. I’m starving.”

“Yes, I can do that. What would you like?”

“Maybe some rashers and sausages, with a bit of potato. Make some for yourself too.”

Meredith wasn’t going to argue with him. It had been hours since she had a bite to eat. She just hoped that he wasn’t going to sit and watch as there were one or two knobs that she had to figure out.

“You can watch the tv, if you like? I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Aaron turned on the news. There was only one item being discussed.