With Grayson's sudden absence from her life, Mia tries her hardest to carry on as normal; to continue as though she had never met the man who turned her world upside down in only a short amount of time.
With the help of her best friend Hailey, and...
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"What do you think? A small one like this or one of those tall and narrow ones over there?" Hailey flicks her index finger between a variety of Christmas trees in front of us, and to be quite honest I'm overwhelmed by how much choice of one particular tree there is.
The Christmas tree farm we've visited sits just outside of Shoreditch, and is walled off by metal gates. If Will hadn't had told Hailey about it, you wouldn't even know it was here.
"I think this one," I say to Hailey, pointing to a small tree with several pinecones decorating the branches. "We don't want one too big—it'll take up the whole of our tiny lounge."
Hailey nods, laughing. "Agreed." She turns to a salesman, flicking her long blonde hair to attract his attention. "Excuse me, we'd like this one please."
The tall but young salesman turns to us, smiles, and lifts the tree effortlessly before running it through the netting machine. I stand awkwardly as Hailey watches it being packaged, and involuntary I start wondering what Christmas would have been like if Grayson and I were still together.
Perfect, probably.
Just stop, Mia.
I shake my head of my unhealthy thoughts, and soon enough Hailey reaches my side, carrying the tree in both of her arms.
"You ready?" She asks, shifting the tree to the right to encourage me to help, though I'm thankful that she's trying her best to keep me busy.
I nod, and bite down onto my tongue as I move the top half of the tree into my grip, its sharp needles pricking my arm slightly. "We didn't think about how we were going to get this home," I laugh, and Hailey sniggers.
We walk down the narrow street—Christmas tree in hand—laughing before reaching the nearest bus stop, setting the tree against the side. Briefly, I forget about everything that's currently troubling me.
"So," Hailey says, out of breath. "I think we're due another night out." Her green eyes are wide and uneasy, and I can sense that she isn't sure how I'm going to react to her idea. Truthfully, I haven't felt like doing anything besides lying in bed, working and studying since Grayson and I parted, and I'm not sure I could handle a night out just yet.
I sigh. "I'm not sure Hailey, I—"
"Oh come on Mia!" Hailey pleads. "A night out is just what you need to get your mind off of things. And don't worry, we won't go anywhere near Plasma."
My heart lurches into my throat; Plasma. The one place that holds so many bittersweet memories—from meeting Grayson, to finding myself in the staff room with him and to being drugged. The thought of that nightclub alone makes my heart spike, but there's no chance in hell I can step foot back in there right now. It would hurt too much.
"Mia!" Hailey clicks her fingers—snapping me back to reality—and I realise that the bus has just pulled up. "Come on, we need to get this thing on the bus."
