Sketch

52 - Emmy

Dedicated to ScarletRoofs!  Song on the side is the song Emmy hears on the radio.  The singer was on UK X-Factor on the weekend and I'm addicted to it already :)

I feel so much better now that I've told Alex everything.  We don't have to pretend that I've not just been crying or that I'm close to tears anymore and we can just focus on catching up and being friends.

It means that I feel like I'm walking on a cloud, minus the weightless happy feeling that should accompany it, after I've told Tabs everything too.  She listens intently, letting out 'ums' and 'ahs' in all the right places.

"So what are you gonna do now?"

I shrug to myself.  The flat is empty, Alex and Annabelle having left for university early this morning.  I'd stayed in bed until noon, trying to persuade myself that I'm all cried out and the ache in my chest will disappear in time, before I'd finally convinced myself that showering and getting dressed would give me something to focus on.  It had worked, right up until I'd realised that I was alone in the flat, no-one to distract me from the fact that I miss Sam and Sketch like crazy.

"Emmy?"

"Tanya's coming over tomorrow.  She wants to talk about stuff."

"And when are you going back?"

"Whenever Tanya reckons I should.  She's my manager and she knows the guys really well.  I don't want to jump right back into Sketch only to realise that Sam's still paranoid, if that's the reason he said those thing."

"Which it is," Tabs cuts in helpfully.

I roll my eyes.  "Okay, say it is, then I don't want Sam to feel like he did before I left.  I want to feel comfortable around him."

"And you still like him?"

I bite my lip, feeling butterflies in my stomach.  "Of course I do."

"Good," Tabs says.  "I want to meet him."

"As soon as you've saved up for your train fare."

She sighs.  "Making money is hard."

"Good job I talked you out of being an inventor then."

She laughs.  "God yeah.  Sometimes I wonder why I do that to myself."

I frown. "Do what?"

"Try and be overly ambitious."

"There's nothing wrong with being ambitious," I tell her.  "It's better than settling for second best."

"Which is why you're not giving up on Sketch or Sam."

I smile to myself. "Okay, Mum."

She laughs again.  "You got off lightly.  Imagine having this conversation with Mum.  It wouldn't end."

"I know.  Thanks for cheering me up."

"No problem, Chuck.  That's what I'm here for."

"And to steal my brownies and tell on me when I do something stupid."

"And that, yeah."  I can hear her chewing on her lip.  "So you're not gonna cry anymore?"

"I hope not," I reply.  "I hate crying."

"You're an ugly crier too," Tabs adds.

"Thanks."

"Just saying."

I look around the flat.  I've already had a lunch of leftover tuna pasta bake.  Daytime TV will probably make me cry again, but only because it's awful.  I smile when I spot the stereo in the corner.