“Because there’s a girl outside who asked me to come in here and check that you’re okay,” he said, thumbing behind him.
Fuck.
Effy.
I pocketed my phone and pushed my way past him. When I made it back into the now-deserted foyer she was frowning with worry.
“Are you okay? You were in there for ages. Do you feel sick?”
I did feel sick, but not in the way she assumed. I was sick because of what I’d watched, sick of being fucked by life and sick of getting back up to fight every damn day. It was exhausting.
“I’m fine,” I stated a little too abruptly. “We need to leave.” I stormed ahead, taking purposeful strides towards the exit, but when I noticed she wasn’t following me, I stopped and spun back around. “What?” I held my arms up, questioning why she was still standing in the same spot with her arms folded and her face like thunder. That’s when I realised I’d made my second mistake of the night. I’d pissed my girlfriend off.
“No.” She unfolded her arms to point at me like she was a teacher scolding a kid. “You don’t get to do that. Not anymore.”
“Do what?” My innocent act was shit. I knew I was behaving like an ass, but I had to roll with it. Stubbornness was another one of my traits that I couldn’t seem to shake, and so I owned it. “What is it I’ve done wrong, huh?”
“Walk away from me as if nothing happened. You were fine when you went in there and now you’re out here and back to being an arsehole. But tough shit, Finn. I’m your girlfriend now and I get to call you out on it. Cut the bullshit or at least tell me what’s wrong.”
I threw my head back and sighed then ran both of my hands through my hair, tugging on the ends in frustration.
“I’m fine.”
“Again. Bullshit. If you were really fine then why are you acting like a prick?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I actually liked that she was calling me out on my shit. It showed she really cared.
“I’m just stressed out. I got a message when I was in there and now I’m pissed.” I figured I’d give her the P.G. version of events.
“What message?” She narrowed her eyes at me. She wasn’t about to give it up anytime soon.
“A message from the boys.” I wasn’t lying. I just hadn’t specified which boys. “This party we’re doing, it’s all getting out of hand.” Again, no lie there. It was out of hand. Every day it drew closer was another day I lived with the dread of what would happen. I had a bad feeling about it and I knew the soldiers had something planned. Something which was aimed at destroying me.
“If you need help, I can help you. You only need to ask. Even if it’s just to sound off. But let’s get one thing very, very clear, Finn Knowles.” She started to walk slowly towards me, still pointing and still looking pissed off. “You don’t walk away from me again. Not ever. You’ve done it enough, and I won’t stand for it anymore. Understood?” She stopped right in front of me and cocked her head, only this was cute and playful and made me grin like an idiot.
“Understood.” I gave her a cheeky captain’s salute which made her laugh. Then I knew she’d forgiven me when she wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Good. We’re a team, remember? That’s the deal.” She gave me a cheeky wink and it broke my sour mood completely. This girl was the sparkle and sunshine to my grey clouds. Being with her made me want to shake off the masks I’d always worn that had held me back from knowing what true love felt like. I kissed her forehead and returned the hug, wanting to absorb everything about her into my whole being.
“Are you gonna be okay?” she asked, peering up at me with her gorgeous brown eyes full of concern.
“I am now I’ve got you in my arms.” I groaned. “Jeez, that sounded cheesy even for me.”
“It’s a good job I happen to like cheese.” She grinned back, and I was relieved that the storm brewing between us only moments ago was fading into the distance. Smiling, I leant down to plant a kiss on her lips.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Do you want to go and get something to eat?” she asked, threading her arm around my waist as we started to walk towards the exit.
“I’m not
hungry. I mean, I will if you want to, but right now, I just want to be alone in the car with you.”
“Me too.” She squeezed my side and I vowed to put all the bullshit to the back of my mind for a few more hours. She deserved that much.
We drove around for a while, chatting about anything and everything. Eventually, she pulled into the empty car park at the back of the waterworks where we’d held one of our last parties. She left the engine running so the heaters stayed warm, but when she turned to me there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“Let’s get in the back,” she said, breathing a little deeper and then biting her lip.