Half the World Away

33

I took one last look in the mirror and flattened down the piece of hair that was sticking up. Why do people even have that annoying piece of hair that won't stay down even when they straighten the hair. I turned on my heel and stuck my head around the door. "Tom?"

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" He replied, looking up over his game of poker.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." My voice shook, "I'm going out."

"With who?" He asked, standing up and walking over to me.

"Angel." I lied, gulping.

"My sister, good." He remarked, kissing me goodbye. That was my dismal, so I took it and ran out my door. I got in my car and sped off.

*

I stood out of my car and looked at the cafe in front of me. No turning back now. I opened the door and the bell jingled, causing brad to stand up.

"Hi Lottie." He smiles weakly.

"Hey." I say, outstretching my arms, to bring Brad into a long awaited hug!

"I'm so sorry..." we both said and then both trailed off, he smiled again then slid into the seat, so I copied him. This, was the definition of awkward.

"What food do you want?" He asked passing me a menu. Brad, I don't need a menu bruh, I've been to this cafe since I could talk.

"I don't need a menu!" I giggle, "I'll have a pancake and some water." He nodded and called a waiter over. After he left I asked him what I'd been wondering since the text conversation.

"Why are you in Birmingham?"

"If I'm honest with you, lottie..." he paused and looked up from his phone, grabbing my hand. "On tour, it got to a point where I tried too much to ignore us I went down hill, I needed my mum and dad." He had sadness all over his face and it made me want to cry.

"But the..."

"The Instagram post I know," He sallowed, "I was so childish, I wanted you to feel what I felt."

"Brad, I did feel what you felt, but amplified ten times worse." He looked into my eyes, "I had no friends, Con, Tris and James hated me, Angel didn't want to speak to me."

"That's not..."

"Your fault, I know James told me." I spoke over him, "I've had no one to get me through what is happening with Tom."

"James told me," he whispered, "that's why I was so apprehensive to meet up with you."

"I gathered." I looked away from him, "I don't know why, when I had a good thing I searched for something better because I had the best." I turned back around and Brad had bit his lip.

"I don't blame you, I did it with Ellie didn't I?" He squeezed my hand.

"We always do this." I laughed, weakly.

"What?"

"We have a good few months and then we break up, then we get to the point where we have this conversation." I sighed.

"Then, we say we will just be friends..."

"Then our feelings get the better of us..."

"And we get back together again." He finished the sentence of for me. I laughed and nodded.

"We're more on and off then Tristan's light bulb." I giggled, remembering a game me and the boys would play with Tris, we would switch his lights off and then run away because it would annoy him.

"But, Lottie you're 20 you need to take this chance to live your life." He smiled.

"Don't say that!" I said in a hushed shout.

"When I was 20. I was travelling the world doing what I loved."

"Brad you're 23, not 63 so don't give me that "when I was" bullshit."

He laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked.

"Because, even after what you've been through you can be so sassy." I blushed pink.

"Brad..."

"Lottie..."

"I want to live my life with you, not with Tom..."

"Excuse me," we looked up, there was a teen girl holding hands with presumably her sister. "Are you Brad Simpson?" She asked.

"That would be me." He said.

"Oh my god, we both love the vamps!" The little girl next to her squealed. He stood up and hugged them both.

"Can we have a picture please?" The teenage girl asked, getting out a cracked iPhone and turning on the camera. Oh way to interrupt my soppy time girl.

"Yeah, sure!" He smiled. But, then the girl turned towards me.

"Can I get a picture with you in it too please?" She paused, "I won't post it on social media because I don't want people to gossip about you." I nodded, fair enough. I picked the girls sister up and smiled, brad bent down with the girls phone and snapped a few pictures.

But it wasn't the gossip I was scared off, I'm scared off Tom finding out.

"Thank you!" She smiled and I put her little sister down on the floor. "By the way, you guys are cute and I hope you get back together." She smiled and we said our goodbyes. We slid back in the booth and brad had a massive smile on his face.

"She's right you know." He laughed. Jeez, talk about changing your mind quickly.

"Brad, without you it feels like I've stopped living."

"James said that you told him, you haven't smiled or laughed in a long time." He bit his lip and his eyes glossed over, please don't cry right now.

"It's been two months, since we broke up Brad, and I haven't felt like this in ages." I was telling him things that I haven't told no one apart from James.

"Like what?" He asked.

"Happy..." I drifted off and put my head on my hands. I always used to be happy.

But that was before I left Brad and made that bad decision.

"Well, you're going to be even more happy because your foods coming." And right on cue a young waitress came and gave me my pancake.

"FOOOOOOOOD!" I squealed after she walked away and I thanked her.

"You're cute." He laughed tucking in to his food.

"You're entering the "We're best friends with feelings" phrase pretty quick." I remarked, whilst stuffing my mouth with food.

"God momma manning wouldn't be happy right now, bad manners!" He said in a flirty tone.

"I haven't spoken to her in ages..." which was true, Tom hadn't let me have contact with her in a while.