Unintended

“Twenty-three, you say? Is that just twenty-three, or almost twenty-four?” Keely asked.

“I don’t know! I only met him once; I didn’t immediately fit him with a tracking chip and start stalking him on Facebook!”

“Makes a change.”

I mouthed the words, ‘Piss off’ at her, but couldn’t help laughing. That was an enormous exaggeration. I never did any of that kind of stuff, but because I worried over everything so much, my friends always said I was only one step away from it.

“Does it make a difference?” I asked, thinking back to her question.

She shook her head. “I suppose not. It’s not like he’s under age, Evie. If you said you were going to a gig with a sixteen-year-old, then I might have some questions. But he’s in his twenties and he sounds okay. He likes music, you like music. It’s not weird at all.”

“I felt pretty out of place in that club in Exeter. I was wearing clothes that weren’t really my thing, and I felt my age. Actually, I felt about eighty.”

Laughing, Keely said, “You’re overthinking again. You know, rock clubs are pretty much the only place in the world where people don’t judge you? It’s all about the music. At least, that’s what Alice used to tell me.”

Alice was Keely’s older sister; a hardcore rock chick. She was into the heavy metal stuff. Almost every inch of her skin was inked, and she had piercings all over the place. The amount of times I’d been with her and Keely and people had stared and/or crossed the road to avoid her was hilarious because she was one of the sweetest people I’d ever known. She’d moved down to London a few years ago, and although she too was married with a kid, that didn’t stop her enjoying herself and going out to see live bands as often as she could.

“She’s probably right,” I said. “But… anxiety. It makes you think everyone is looking at you, even when they’re not. That was how I felt. Like everyone knew I was uncomfortable and thought I should actually have been at home wearing a onesie and drinking hot chocolate. And truthfully, that was kind of where I wanted to be, even though I also really wanted to stay.”

“So, go to the gig with this guy. He wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t want to be seen with you.” She crossed her eyes and poked her tongue out at me, making me laugh and lighten up.

I could do this. She’d made a good point about his age. He was an adult. Plenty of people make friends with people of a different age. I was being stupid.

I typed back: Yes, would love tickets but I’m out at the moment with crappy Wi-Fi. Hopefully they’ll hold out until I get home!

Ash McKay: Want me to get it for you?

Me: No, it’s okay! I couldn’t ask you to do that.

Ash McKay: Well, I’ll make you pay me back :p

I laughed and replied: Okay, go for it. I’ll PayPal you when I get home.

Ash McKay: No rush. You can pay me when we see each other if you want.

Me: Will do! I gotta go as I’m out with a friend, but let me know how much I owe you!

Ash McKay: Okay.

I popped my phone back in my bag and looked to Keely. “All done. I guess I’m going to another gig.”

“Yay! Do we need to go shopping to buy you something you’ll feel more comfortable in for the next one?”

“Hmm. Yeah, maybe. Reckon we could have a girly day out next Saturday?”

Keely grinned. “Absolutely.”

Three Weeks Later

It had been a long week. I’d worked every night from six until one. It was usually just after two a.m. when I go

t home, and often, by the time I’d relaxed, it was around three before I fell asleep. It didn’t help that Natalie woke me at seven most mornings because she ‘wanted to spend time with me’. What she really meant was that, on the four days she didn’t work, she wanted me to do crap for her. Sometimes it was stuff around the flat, and sometimes she wanted to drag me around the shops and spend money.

By the night of the Chaos In The Courtyard gig, I was knackered. I didn’t really want to go anymore, but I didn’t want to let Evie down. We’d messaged a few times over the last few weeks, and I was looking forward to getting out of the flat to speak to someone other than Natalie and the same people I saw every night at the bar.

As I came out of the bathroom and walked into my room, I stopped dead when I saw Natalie sitting at the dresser, wrapped in a towel and carefully applying her make-up. It was Saturday night and she went out most weekends, but she’d said she was staying in that night.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Because when Natalie went out, it hurt the hell out of my bank balance.