Leaving London

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Thump. Thump. Thump. Someone must have been in the living room, meddling with the sound system, because the heavy bass fills every corner of the house, and the air itself seems to shimmy and vibrate. Me and the girls have wandered around for a while, clutching cups of punch, and now we are just hanging round by the door, waiting for more of my guests to arrive, when Mia catches a glimpse of Olli crunching his way up the gravel drive, and so wrenches the door open as he comes closer and practically ambushes him, interlocking her lips with his as he struggles to get through the door and greet Jake.

"Hey, babe?" Mia sticks out her lower lip, as Olli pulls away from her roughly and disappears into the haze of bodies all pounding to the music.

"I've got to say happy birthday to Jake, leave it Mia." Olli mumbles, turning briefly before dissolving in the crowd and walking off.

"What was that all about?" I ask Mia gently, as she turns away and sits down on the doorstep. I hint at Lara to bring us out some drinks, and plonk myself next to her, noticing tears pricking from her eyes and meandering onto her cheeks. The thick music from inside spills out into the warm air, but weaker, and helps cover the noises of Mia sniffing.

"Things just aren't the same anymore, Fearne! I've lost my temper with him far too much, and now...I think I've lost him." I try and come up with something to say, but my mind remains blank.

"Has...he told you it's over?" I query, confused.

"No, but I can feel it, you know? Plus he's been really secretive about where and who he's going to places with."

I feel my heart sink. I try and conjure up how I should tell her that I've been spending some afternoons down at the beach with Olli, but then I spot Lara returning, holding three drinks.

"Ooh, punch!" Mia grins, tottering up into the hallway to grab one from Lara.

That was a bit of an over-reaction! I watch as Mia clamps her lips to the side of the cup and downs it. Then she starts giggling, a million miles away from the crying, broken girl she just was. I take a sip of my own drink, the sweet fruity scent overpowering and sickly, but as I gulp down even more, it starts burning the back of my throat. I take a cautious sniff at the liquid. Definitely alcohol. Someone has spiked the punch. I march through to the kitchen, stuffing my cup in a bin liner and searching for the fruit punch. I find it balanced on the edge of the worktop, and smell it again. Definitely not just strawberries and oranges in there. I take the almost-empty container and tip the rest down the sink. There.

I grab a mini slice of pizza from a plate of food, before I go to find Lara and Mia, passing Lillie who waves and offers me a 'happy birthday!', before I'm engulfed by another wave of people streaming through to the lounge. I don't know these people - they look even older than Jake. However, I spot Mia dragging Lara into the centre of the mass of dancers, so I follow. Mia has brightened up considerably, swishing her caramel locks over her shoulder and completely oblivious to the fact that Olli keeps trying to grab her attention, obviously feeling sorry for his sudden outburst. I carry on pushing through the crowds, my eyes swimming as I trip over someone's foot and stumble into Lara, shrieking as I grasp at her arm to steady myself. My shock switches to laughter as Lara steadies me and asks if I'm okay, although I don't hear her say this, I just see the concern in her eyes. I give a reassuring nod as I feel something whack into me from behind. I wince, turning to see someone swaying to the music adjacent to me, their arms flying around. Sighing, I liven up as the next song starts, a popular one I remember adding to the playlist. I start dancing to the music, hoisting Mia and Lara further into the throng of people with me. I can't really dance, I'm too clumsy, but even so it's quite easy: you just whip your hair, look like you're having fun and throw in some random arm jerks and laugh a lot. It's quite exhausting, so after a few songs we retreat to go and lounge on one of our sofas which Jake pressed back against the wall so there'd be more space for everyone. Most people aren't dancing, just milling around talking and eating, or flirting.