At 6:30am after a fitful sleep, I wake up with a hangover and an aching heart. I roll over to the shabby chic bedside table to turn my phone on and decide against it. Instead, I shower and pack my things. Selecting my comfortable black and white knitted jumper and some blue jeans, I pull my damp hair into a plait and apply some mascara and lip balm. I also add my sunglasses to the top of my head, to help with the blinding sunlight and my ever-increasing hangover. Ready to face the day, I make my way down the creaking staircase, bags in tow, to the breakfast room.
Walking through the door, I spy Keaton looking bright-eyed and reading the morning newspaper.
"Good morning" I croak, dropping my bags to the floor and taking a seat.
"Morning... how are you feeling?" He says, upturning a cup from its saucer and pouring coffee from a large cafetière. He slides the delicate duo over to me and I quickly empty a sachet of sugar into it and take a sip before responding.
"I'm good, thank you."
"Glad to hear it. Are you up for breakfast or..."
I nod my head tenderly. "Toast would be amazing."
"I'm on it!" he replies, standing to the table and walking through the door to the left, to where I assume is the kitchen.
I take a few more sips of the delicious black coffee, summoning the courage to turn my phone back on. As the phone springs to life, my heart sinks as no notifications appear onscreen.
Keaton walks through the door holding a plate with freshly cooked toast, another with fresh fruit and a basket of preserves and butters hooked over his wrist. He places it all on the table and sits back down again.
"This looks amazing, thank you. I'll make sure to thank your mum before we leave." I grab a piece of toast, smother it in butter and marmalade, and waste no time in eating it. By the time I've finished my toast and followed it with some melon, strawberries, raspberries, and another cup of coffee, I feel alive again.
"That was delicious - I feel so much better."
"I'm glad." says Keaton, gathering the plates.
"Please, let me help you." I say, standing and gathering items together.
"Holly, you're the guest! Sit down - I won't be a minute and then we can make a move." I nod lightly and do as he says.
When Keaton returns once more from the kitchen, he is followed by the lovely woman who greeted me on my first day. "Good morning!" she says brightly, her dark hair peppered with striking white stripes. She has the same kind but intense eyes as Keaton, which immediately makes me feel at home.
"Good morning!" I say, returning her bright demeanour. "Thank you so much for having me. The breakfast was delicious!"
"I'm so pleased you enjoyed your stay. I'm afraid I can't take credit for the breakfast - that was all Keaton." Keaton shifts a little and shrugs. "Ah it was nothing! Now if you'd have asked for a full English, that would be mum - she's the best."
"I'll remember that for next time," I say, smiling.
Keaton's mum looks between the two of us and smiles. "Keaton says he's taking you home today?" She asks politely.
"Oh, just to his uni - I can make my way home from there, easily."
"It's no bother driving you all the way, honestly." he says, picking up his backpack from the floor.
"Thank you, but you've already been kind enough." I say, turning to face Keaton's mum. "Thank you again..."
"It's Christine" she says, holding her hand out to shake mine.
"Christine. I hope to see you again soon."
"Yes, absolutely - any friend of Keaton's is a friend of ours," she shares sweetly.
"Right mum, I'm off!" Keaton announces, pulling her in for a hug.
"Thanks for coming to see us love - you drive safely."
"Will do."
"Bye Holly, it was nice to meet you."
"You too, thank you again. Take care." I say, picking my bag up from the floor and walking out the door.
As we're loading the bags into the boot, a cab appears behind Keaton's car and Ben peels himself out. He's looking more than a little worse for wear and when he notices us, his eyes flame with anger.
"HOLLY!" he shouts, walking over to the car.
"What?" I say, trying to keep my tone level but failing miserably.
"What the fuck? What are you doing?" He shouts angrily.
"Keaton is driving me home. I'd ask where you stayed last night, but I have a pretty good idea. Now if you don't mind, we're –"
"Wait, we need to talk! You can't just –"
"No, we don't. I asked you to come back last night to talk, but you didn't. You didn't even give me the chance to explain, not that I should have to. This was a huge mistake." I slam the boot and make my way round to the passenger seat.
"Shit! Holly, please... just come with me. I'll drive you home and we can talk all this through."
"Where were you last night, Ben? What did you get up to?"
His face looks sheepish, and he doesn't respond.
"Just as I thought. I have NOTHING else to say to you."
I climb into the passenger side and close the door. "Can we please leave Keaton? I'm done here."
"Of course," he says, putting the key in the ignition. The car roars into life and Ben starts banging on the passenger window. "Holly! Just get out the fucking car, we can figure this all out. Don't leave me - I need you!"
As Keaton pulls away, I can hear Ben calling my name in desperation.
"Sorry about that." I say, searching for my now vibrating phone in my bag.
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
I smile at him as I grasp my fingers on the phone. I switch it off and then turn to look out the window.
"So, what are we listening to?" Keaton asks, kindly changing the subject and turning on the radio.
"You can tell a lot about a person from the music they listen to... What do you have in the CD player?" I ask.
"I'm embarrassed to say that I've got a mix of cheesy emo shit."
"Does it have Taking Back Sunday or The Used on it?"
"Yep!"
"Amazing - let's do it!"
***
The journey flies by as we're singing along to all the best/cheesiest emo songs of the 2000s. By the time we reach the M25, we've finished the mix tape and we've hooked up Keaton's phone to run through his Spotify playlists.
When Fall out Boy finishes, Keaton says "Look, I know you didn't want me to drop you, but I couldn't live with myself if I left you to make your way home. So, I'm taking you - no arguments!" I grin, silently grateful that I don't have to navigate public transport with my heavy luggage.
"Thank you, that's so kind of you. As thanks, what can I put on the playlist for you next?"
"Let's go with The Get Up Kids "I'll catch you" - the height of cheese."
"Oh man, I love that song. It gives me all the feels."
I select the track and we sit in silence listening to the lyrics. And after the last 24 hours, the lyrics feel so close to my own problems. Ben has once again pulled the wool over my eyes, sucked me in and spit me out. I'm so angry at myself for being so naive AGAIN. The saddest part is that the pain has become a familiar friend.
"Are you alright?" Keaton asks as the song ends. "Yeah, I'm fine... those lyrics are a little raw." I admit.
"Oh shit... I didn't think..."
"No, don't... I love that song... it just hit a little harder today."
He clears his throat for a second and says, "your choice - what are you going for?"
"Story of the Year "And the hero will drown" - do you know it?"
"Nope - let's hear it!"
I select the song and the car fills with angst and powerful lyrics.
"This song is so fucking good!" Keaton says as it ends.
I smile and nod "I know, right? Super underrated."
The entire journey takes around 2 hours, and we rock up to my home around 11am. Keaton turns off the ignition and I undo my seatbelt and turn to face him.
"Thank you so much. Not just for driving me home, but for inviting me out, listening to me and just being so lovely. I'm so glad I met you."
He smiles and taps his fingers on the steering wheel awkwardly. "Holly, it's no problem - it's what any normal person would do."
"You'd be surprised!" I quip.
He sighs. "I am so glad to have met you too. Just when I was feeling down, you walked in and livened up my weekend. Listen, take my number. if you ever want to talk; about Ben, shitty music or anything at all, just give me a call or text."
"You don't want to hear from miserable old me."
"You'd be surprised!" He quips back.
I pull my phone out and notice several calls and texts. I clear my notifications and open the phone to allow him to input his number.
"Thanks!" I say, as he hands the phone back. I call his phone, so he has my number, and he saves it into his phone.
"Please call me when you get to uni, so I know you got there safely." I say, as I open the door.
"Ha ha - sure thing mum!" He jokes.
Keaton walks round to the boot and removes my bags from the car. He hands it across and then swoops me in for a goodbye hug.
"Well... goodbye then." I say after we embrace.
"Goodbye, Holly."
I watch Keaton drive away and as I enter the house and close the door; I see a glimpse of a familiar car cresting the road.