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“Finally! Where the hell have you been?” I was greeted with, and I snorted.
“Work?”
“Oh, I thought so. Are you done now? If you’re not with Carlisle, I wondered if you wanted to come over for pizza and wine?”
“I was meant to be,” I sighed, checking the bus timetable with my neon pink fingernail, pulling the phone away to check the time. “But he’s out for some birthday.”
“What, and he’s only just told you?” Ellie demanded, and I rolled my eyes.
It was common knowledge that Ellie couldn’t stand Carlisle. She firmly believed that he was a player that wouldn’t ever change—for me or anyone else. I had given up trying to convince her.
“Yup. So, I’ll get home and change, then drive to yours. Is your mum at work?”
Ellie didn’t like being in the house on her own. She got bored and tended to overthink when left to her own devices. But it worked out, considering I was also at a loose end.
“Yeah, and my brother is out, thank fuck. No doubt he will be back at some ridiculous hour, so apologies in advance,” she said dryly, and I smiled at the idea of her brother waking me up at any time of the day.
Calm your britches, woman. You’ve got a man.
“Want me to bring anything?” I asked, leaning against the lamppost idly.
I spotted someone nodding hello at me, and I recognised him as someone from college. His name escaped me.
Shit, don’t talk to me.
But I was lucky. He walked on and Ellie prattled away in my ear.
“Like even Mum lost her shit with him last week, and he’s her fucking baby,” Ellie said bitterly as a rusty green and cream bus caught my attention.
“Babes, my bus is here,” I sighed, digging in my bag for my bus pass. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”
“Alright! See you soon,” Ellie trilled, ending the call.
My fingers touched everything but my bus pass, and I pushed away my anxious thoughts of what if I never found it? I had no cash on me!
Just as I was about to empty my entire bag onto the pavement, my fingers brushed the hard plastic, and I exhaled.
Nottingham wasn’t a town I wanted to be left alone in the cold light of day, never mind in the evening. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay, and I’ve lived here all my life. But every city had unsavoury characters, right?
I joined the queue for the bus, wondering why the hell it was so busy. It was a Thursday, not a Saturday, for crying out loud.
By the time I crammed on the bus, there was barely room to stand. I wedged between a sweaty man and the luggage compartment, cursing my boyfriend. I had a car, but city centre parking was extortionate.
Any reason for Carlisle to get pissed, and he’s down. This was the one thing that annoyed me about being with someone like him—he dropped me for any night out. Then, when I kicked off and argued that we’d made plans, he referred to me as a psycho and a fishwife.
Dick.
But then he can be sweet. Plus, he made me laugh and had the greenest eyes ever to bless a man—
“Excuse me—” a woman pushed past me, and I recognised her as one of the many unwashed. I held my breath, hoping she wouldn’t notice. She shoved past the sweaty man, who made a face at me.
God. Get me home.
Forty minutes later, I was back in the fresh air and meandering down to the little terraced house I shared with my dad. He was at work until later this evening, so I left him a note explaining that I was staying over at Ellie’s. My dad doesn’t use text messages and jumps in alarm every time his phone rings.
He was a technophobic dinosaur, and nothing would change him.
For dinner, I settled on a microwaveable lasagna. Then, swiping through my Instagram feed, I chuckled at a video of a dog having a crazy minute.
