AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She took a picture and texted her mum.
This is what my legs look like, do you think I should be worried?? Xx
She fell back into bed, and into a confused sleep, as the glow from her phone told her it was 03:41.
Predictably, she’d woken up with a headache, and had about twenty glorious seconds lying in her bed before her memories of the night before came rushing back. There was an empty glass of water on her bedside table, a dull humming sound from the bathroom where she’d left the light on, and her faux leather leggings hung limply on the radiator.
She checked her phone, which displayed the reminder:
‘Call docs!! Ask about shingles. Poss autoimmune issues?!’
Then read the one message she’d received from her mum:
Good morning darling, you were up quite late, are you all right? That looks to me like a heat rash, you haven’t been wearing those dreadful leggings again, have you? Can we talk later?? x
Helen looked down at her legs; they did look a lot better than the night before. The scaly red rash was in fact a few small innocent looking bumps. She was also relatively confident that her fuzzy head and nausea were a result of alcohol and disappointment.
She took a long exhale, watching her mobile phone rise and fall on her stomach.
What was wrong with her?
To Helen’s surprise a long slow tear rolled down her cheek. It was just all a bit much. She couldn’t handle the disappointment, the anxiety, the highs, the lows. It was time to put this whole dating thing behind her. If it happened, it happened, but she wasn’t going to go chasing it anymore.
She sat upright, and pulled open her blinds to let the glow of mid-morning sun come through her window. She really needed to change. To get fitter, to get focused, to try and actually achieve something for once.
She was going to throw out those leggings that didn’t suit her, and you know what? She was chucking out those Havaianas too. Grabbing both items she marched over to her pedal bin, and only hesitated for a nano second before dropping them into the bin with a satisfying plonk.
Pulling on a comforting pair of sweatpants from the airer, she padded slowly into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her natural frizzy curls had formed a halo around her head, slowly ousting the perfectly smooth blow dry Elle had been fussing over last night.
Helen felt her shoulders drop, it was going to be okay.
Her phone buzzed, there was a DM on Instagram from @ishtory.
Get home safe in the end? Have you had any leftovers yet?
She followed him back, half typed a response, then put her phone away. This wasn’t the day to get lost on social media. She needed time away from her screen, a good yoga class, and to take her bins out.
Chapter 15
‘Jack the Ripper is an unsolved crime
Where at least 5 women lost their lives
In autumn of 1888
The police couldn’t crack the case …’
The camera shot panned to show @ishtory jumping in and out of shot, as he rapped, dressed in full Victorian costume.
Helen smiled coyly to herself; he did look a little bit silly. However, it went to show that even someone like Ish was far ahead of her on social media. He had fifty-two thousand followers ranging from school kids, ‘Thanks man, helped me get that A grade GCSE!’ to their mums, ‘Another helpful video, Ish, we’re really hoping you do Britain in the Blitz soon!’ Some mums even sounded moderately flirtatious, ‘You look very charming in that hat!’
By comparison, Helen’s latest video, the first in her ‘Easy Baking Challenge’, was a flop. She’d scraped three thousand views so far and most of the comments revolved around her outfit, which certainly hadn’t been her intention.
CakesInMyTummy: Great vid, and nice dress Helen, checks really suit you.
EveryAdil: Heart-eyed emoji
Dk1113: Nice bobs.
