I told my flatmate i loved living alone. i was terrified of the silence.

I got the apartment a year before she moved in. When she asked what it was like living solo, I said something breezy about loving the peace and freedom.

Truth is, empty flat after 11 pm made my chest go tight every single night. I slept with the TV on the whole time - not for company exactly, just so the silence couldn't get that loud.

She noticed I keep the TV running late and assumed it was for "ambience." I let her believe that. Never told her the real reason I stopped being scared of the flat was the night she moved in.