Before You Leave Me

6. Comfortable

February 21st, 2017.

"When was the last time you hurt yourself?"

Vic turns to me.

"Where did that come from?" she giggles, twirling around as we walk back to the flat

"I don't know" I answer shrugging my shoulders.

I really don't. I think it's the alcohol speaking. I know I shouldn't have had the last shots... but still.

I had a great time. I never thought I'd have this much fun partying with Vic. She's drunk a bit too, not too much because she's never been the drinking type, but enough to find that personal question funny.

"I don't remember" she answers shrugging her shoulders, "Two years ago...? Maybe?" she pulls a face, "I don't know"

"What made you stop?"

"Do you always get really nosy when drunk?" she asks raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not drunk!" I jump.

I'm a little tipsy, but I'm not drunk. I've always been very aware of my drinking limits and I've never exceeded them. Almost ever.

"I guess two years ago is the correct answer" Vic finally answers, looking up, as if she were trying to run that statement with her brain and check it was, indeed, the right one.

"That was not the question" I laugh loudly.

"Oh, right" she laughs as well. She looks down at her feet and purses her lips; "I can't remember why I decided to stop" she confesses.

"Have you ever felt like doing it again?"

This time she takes her time to answer.

She finally nods.

"Yeah" she says, "yeah, it's crossed my mind a couple of times. But I've never done it."

I smile a little.

"I'm glad you didn't" I say, slightly nudging her.

She sighs and smiles back.

"Yeah, me too"

It's almost 5 in the morning and Hamburg's streets are quite deserted. It's the time where people who had gone out have already arrived to their houses and those who have to get to work haven't exited theirs yet. So there's no one around. Except for Vic and I. And I like that.

"I can't wait to get to Australia" Vic suddenly says, her voice startling me.

I shake my head laughing.

"Stop bragging about it, will you?"

Vic chuckles.

"No way, I'm gonna send you pictures and videos of everything that goes around there"

"You wouldn't dare"

But she does.

Two days later, while I'm having a beer with Andrea, my phone starts to chime.

Victoria Gomez sent you a video.

Victoria Gomez sent you a video.

I pull out my phone and download the files.

"We've managed to sneak out the hotel" Vic says from behind the camera, "This is Brisbane"

There's a long shot of the city across the water, until Vic zooms to a wooden pier where a boy is seated on one of the pier poles.