The Dusk Room

The Dusk Room chapter 1

"Oh pleeeeeease come, Darla. Beth has let me down...AGAIN!

Can you believe she's ditched the very gorgeous me, to go out with that geeky guy from the pharmacy?" Lyla's determined and slightly irritating chatter has me sitting here with a glazed look in my eye. As much as I adore her, she really is getting on my tits with her hounding whine. Oh, I hear her words, alright. I'm just too disinterested to appropriately respond. "So will you come with me tonight, pretty please?" she once again pleads in that annoying as hell whiny voice.

Turning up my nose and not wanting to look at her, I bluntly reply. "I don't think so, Lyla."

She hurls herself forward, forcing me to look at her begging face. "But why?" Her brows turn inwards and her mouth turns downwards as she desperately grabs onto both of my hands.

This is exactly why I can't bear to look at her. She does this cute, little lost girl look, that has me feeling shit in an instant. I hate it! I can't let her win. I must remain strong. So I pull my shoulders back and really try to ignore the infamous 'Lyla Look' that always has me like putty in her manipulative little hands. "I just don't fancy it, that's why. Besides, you have kind of just sprung it on me." I tell her with an annoyed yet apologetic smile.

Lyla sits quietly...sulking. "It's because of him, isn't it?" She asks, lifting her heavy eyelids.

"No." I coyly answer, resolutely shaking my head.

"You're such a bloody liar, Darla! I can tell by your face. You don't want to go out with me because of him!"

I tilt my head, looking at my friend with a smirk. "HE...does have a name you know?"

Lyla rolls her eyes. "Yeah, Tosspot!" she hisses.

I smile, looking Lyla right in the eye. "I'm just not ready yet." I admit, nervously wrapping my hair around my index finger.

"It's been four months, hun. I do get it, you know? I really do. He hurt you...really hurt you. I bet the stupid bastard is cheating right now, on the girl he cheated on you with!" Lyla pauses, gripping me by my shoulders. "You're my friend, I love you...but you have to get back in the saddle, hun. You have to forget about the past and start moving forward. You have to get over that total piece of shit!" She says, squeezing me tight.

I sigh loudly, lowering my eyes. "I don't want to risk bumping into them, that's all." Just admitting that, has the painful image of my cheating ex with his new and very gorgeous girlfriend, flashing before my eyes. I cringe at the thought. I no longer want my ex, but he's got a life and I, clearly don't.

Lyla snorts. "London is a big bloody place, Darla. I'm pretty sure we won't, but if we do...so fucking what? Show the dickhead, exactly what he stupidly gave up!" Her eyes narrow on me.

I wrap my arms around my upper body, subconsciously trying to comfort myself. "It's a small world and knowing my luck, I would...I just can't face that." I shake my head, now looking down at my lap.

Lyla grumbles. "You're a beautiful girl, Darla. He was a fool to have let you go in the cruelest of ways...but you have to start living your life, girl. All you do is work and come home." She pauses before holding her hands up in the air and her playful eyes widening with a crooked grin. "Oh, wait! My mistake. I forgot that you go out every Monday to bingo with your mum." Her chocolate brown eyes narrow on me again, followed by a sarcastic smirk. She's such a bloody bitch!

My whole body stiffens. "You can be such a cow, Lyla Stevens. I happen to enjoy going to bingo with my mum." I defiantly tell her, holding my head stubbornly high.

"You enjoy bingo because you have no damn life, Darla Johnson! You're twenty five, not eighty five. The way you live your life, you may as well have one foot in the bloody grave!" She yells back at me, before collapsing on my bed with a dramatic huff.

I playfully hit her with my pillow. "I do have a life. Just because I don't party like you do, doesn't mean that I don't."

Brushing her now messed up blonde hair back off her face, she looks at me hard. "Prove it then. Come with me tonight?" Her coffee eyes blink beneath her peroxide bang.

Lyla's pitying stare makes me feel strangely angry. The most annoying thing about this whole bloody conversation, is that, she's unfortunately right. I've been wallowing in self pity since Todd ran off with another girl. I thought we were serious. I hadn't exactly daydreamed about a big white wedding, a white picket fence and maybe a child or two with him, but I honestly thought that we were going somewhere. I couldn't have been more fucking wrong. As soon as he thought that I was his, that I was going nowhere; he began being a prick. Staying out with his friends until the early hours. Not answering any of my calls or messages. In hindsight, all the signs were there that he was shoving his dick inside someone else...I just stupidly chose to ignore it.

I look at Lyla. Her pursed lips are poised to spiel out yet another sarcastic comment in my direction. "Alright, I will." I boldly answer, all the while already doubting my gutsy decision.

"Really?" She mumbles in disbelief. I don't think even Lyla herself expected me to say yes so easily.

"Yes." I impatiently repeat.

She excitedly grabs my hands again, bouncing on the bed. "Oh my God! We're going to have such a blast tonight, hun!"

I grin, hoping some of her excitement rubs off on me. "Where are we going?" I hesitatingly ask, almost dreading the answer.

"To that new club in Soho." Lyla's smile spreads right across her attractive face.

Confused, I shrug my shoulders. "What's it called?"

"The Dusk Room." She tells me, getting up off my bed.

I frown. "So have you been to this place before?"

Lyla is checking her hair in my mirror, shaking her head slowly. "No...but Beth went a couple of weeks ago, she said it was great."

I stand, thinking that I should really try to get myself motivated about tonight. "I hope I'm not going to regret this tomorrow, Lyla." I say with a scolding look in her direction.

My vivacious friend pouts back at me. "Oh...you will!" With that, she triumphantly sashays out of my room.