When We're Together (Damon Albarn)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Saturday 30th December 2006

"Shit" I muttered, sitting upright in bed as I took in the surroundings around me, Damon was gently snoring next to me and everything was exactly how I left it before I fell asleep.

I knew it was only a dream but it felt so real, I couldn't remember many things from my twenties, especially not random gigs but it all just seemed to come to me.

I took a gulp from the glass of water on my bedside table, I knew who was sending the letters. I don't ever remember focusing on his face that much, but it was so clear in my dreams. I only ever met him a few times and he was always lovely enough, certainly nothing out of the ordinary and yet, I was so sure it was him writing this letters.

I sighed as I took another gulp from my glass, I knew who it was and I knew with complete certainty that Damon was not going to like who it was, or rather, who it involved. I looked across to him to check he was still asleep before quietly making my way down to the utility. We'd returned from Iceland that afternoon which meant I had a mountain of washing to get through and five o'clock in the morning was a good a time as any to make a start on it.

I put a load of washing on before sitting on the floor opposite, the swirling clothes having an almost hypnotic effect on me. I got my phone out of my pocket, going through my contacts until I reached the letter L, scanning his number before sighing deeply and putting my phone away. I had to speak to Damon before I did anything.

It just couldn't possibly be him, he was always so lovely and so painstakingly normal. The more I thought about him, the more it seemed to make the smallest, the most tiniest bit of sense, he was lurking in the background quite a bit. He was always just kind of there, in hindsight, god knows what conversations he overheard.

I glanced at the clock before making my way back upstairs, I'd only managed to kill half an hour, though I knew it wouldn't be long before someone else, most likely Primrose, was up. I quietly walked back into our bedroom, taking a quick glance at a still-sleeping Damon before walking into the en-suite. I might as well make the  most of being able to have a long shower.

"Are you alright darling? You've been a bit off all morning" Damon asked me, our backs to the children as I whisked their eggs.

"I'm fine, we just, we need to talk before we head out" I rushed out, pouring the eggs into a saucepan before briefly looking up at him, worry was laced across all of his features.

"We're okay, aren't we?" He asked, I could tell he was trying desperately to sound sure of his words but the wavering tone told me the exact opposite of that.

"What?" I breathed out, letting a small smile take over my lips. Our problems were the last of my worries right now "Yeah we're fine, promise"

He nodded his head, helping me carry the plates over to the table, but I knew he didn't believe me. I placed breakfast down in front of Missy and Foxton, Damon doing the same for Primrose and himself. I quickly placed a kiss on each of their heads before heading for the door.

"Enjoy darlings, I just need to go and make a phone call"

Damon frowned deeply at me, but I had to turn away from him and disappear upstairs. I had far too much going on in my mind to even try and entertain playing happy families. I wanted, more than anything, to speak to Damon but we just hadn't had the chance and I couldn't do it in front of the kids.

Instead I found myself sat on the edge of the bed, my phone in my hands as my eyes started at the ten digits on the screen, my finger hovering over the green button.

I swallowed hard, I knew I couldn't call him yet, I didn't even know what I'd say, yet it was the only thing I wanted to do.

"Eliza, what's going on?"

I looked up to the door to see Damon stood there, stress radiating from every part of his body.

"Sorry Dames, I just" I took a deep breath, screwing my face up before looking up at him again "I know who's sending the letters"

"What?" He spoke instantly, moving across the room to sit next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders "Who is it?"

I sighed loudly before whispering his name, it took Damon a moment to even realise who I was talking about, the poor boy was painfully easy to forget about.

"Are you sure?" He questioned, biting on his bottom lip, I nodded my head, explaining what happened on that night in Manchester to him.

"Well let's go round his house, the bastards got a lot of talking to fucking to" He announced, jumping up from the bed, I laughed lightly. Grabbing hold of his wrist to pull him back down on the bed.

"No, not yet. I need to make a phone call" I told him, looking up at him with raised eyebrows "You're not gonna like who I'm going to phone, but you're just going to have to get over yourself because I need to speak to him"

He opened his mouth to disagree but quickly closed it. He knew exactly who I was talking about and, I think, he also knew just how important it was that I spoke to him.

"Are your parents on their way?" He snapped his head up, his eyebrows furrowed as he frowned at me.

"No, you told me to cancel this weekend, you didn't want anyone else watching the kids" He reminded me, I nodded my head, having to almost stop myself from laughing. How terrified I had been of these letters, of this man was almost comical, almost.

"Well the original plans back on, see if your parents will still have them, now we know he's hardly a dangerous man" I laughed lightly, watching as he nodded his head "I'm gonna call him"

He nodded his head again, vacating the room as he phoned his mum. I knew he had a million things he wanted to say to me, but I also knew he wouldn't do anything until I'd had this phone call. Everything I had planned, rather misshapenly, in my head relied on this call going well.

I took a deep breath, glancing down at the number once more before forcing myself to press the green call button.

It didn't take him long to pick up, it never did.

"Eliza darling, I wasn't expecting to hear from you" I felt instantly wound up at his words, I knew he'd have the most ridiculous smirk on his face. I took a deep breath as I reminded myself that I needed him on my side.

"I've got a bit of a problem" I breathed, I heard his breathing hitch on the other end of the line

"Well it's not fucking mine" He blurted, I rolled my eyes but laughed at the same time.

"Fucking hell, we've not slept together for about ten years" I swallowed hard before explaining the situation to him. For once, he was silent as he processed what I'd said.

"You'd better come to the studio tomorrow"

A/N

Apologies for how short this is but I wanted to give you all a bit more background on who Mr. Stalker is before his identity is revealed!! I think it's pretty obvious who she was on the phone to, but I'd love to hear any guesses/theories on this whole situation!!👀

I hope you're all well!