You Really Got A Hold On Me

I Wanna Be Your Man

The next day I decided to ignore Dad – I had nothing to say to him anyways. As there are only two of us in the house this made things rather awkward. But I avoided him all the same to show how annoyed I was, I think he got the message because he didn’t try to make conversation.

After breakfast I went upstairs and grabbed my bag. Then I saw the book Dad had bought for me on my bedside table – Pride and Prejudice. I picked it up. Maybe I should take it with me, might be a good read I thought. So I stuffed it into my bag and left the house without saying goodbye.

Abby was waiting for me at the busstop. When I got a bit closer, about 10 yards or so I started running towards her and she put her arms out as I hugged her tight.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. I felt tears starting to well up in my eyes. One found its way down my cheek but I fought the rest off.

“It’s Dad” I said with a lump in my throat.

“Did you tell him about you and Paul?” she asked.

I nodded, looking down at the ground.

“And?”

“He said that I can’t see him again!” I cried, everything seeming all the more real again.

“Oh no,” she said sadly, taking me in a hug again.

“How am I going to tell Paul?”

“Shhh” she comforted me, rubbing my back, “it will be alright.”

As I’ve said before I have always admired Abby’s optimism, but I wasn’t sure if this time I could believe it.

The rest of the day was sluggish and uninteresting. When I had a free period I decided to go to the school library which was always quiet and peaceful. I found a seat at the back and took Pride and Prejudice out of my bag. Might as well give it a go I thought.

Within fifteen minutes I was drawn in. Enveloped in this whole other world – in 19th century England – which was so different to the one I knew. I instantly took a liking to Elizabeth Bennet and she reminded me of Abby with her feisty nature and witty conversation. I, on the other hand, felt more like Jane – plain Jane. God knows why Paul liked me, perhaps he liked Janes.

I had read three chapters or so when the school bell rang loudly and I hurriedly grabbed my bag and made my way out of the library.

“What’s that?” Abby asked when she saw the book I had tucked under my arm at lunchtime.

“Oh just this book I’m reading” I said, not mentioning that Dad had bought it for me as I was still mad at him.

“Oh cool” she said simply. Abby wasn’t really one for reading so I didn’t bother going into details. I, on the other hand, could spend hours at a time just curled up with a book in my room and forget about the outside world. To escape in another time or place was always a magical thing to me.

Sometimes Dad would take me to this giant second hand bookshop an hour or two from Liverpool and I would never want to leave. There are very few things that I like better than spending the whole day in that bookshop, especially because it has a roaring fire, hot drinks, biscuits and an impossible number of books.

Abby and I talked as we usually do during lunchtime but eventually I remembered Paul and steered the conversation in that direction.

“Abby?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want to tell Paul yet” I said quietly.

“Okay” she said.