27

Chapter 2

It was late afternoon and Nilesy was long gone. I spent the whole day lying on the sofa with Mr Owl, watching stupid shows on TV and eating the birthday cake that Little Nom and Trott brought round. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about Xephos. We had been broken up for around 4 months now, but it still hurt as if it was yesterday.

Generally speaking I was doing okay, my new treehouse was serving me well, I had more space and a nicer view of Cat Island. But despite my efforts to look on the positive side, each night I still cried when I realised his protective arm was not around my waist. I still fumbled through my clothes every day until I found his jumper that I still had, and held it up to my face to somehow grasp the ever fading scent of his body. Every morning I rolled over to kiss him but found myself staring at his empty side of the bed, my hand tracing the spot at which he would have lay. I acted as if everything was fine, but deep down I knew it wasn't and I would never be truly happy without him.

I checked my phone. There was a message from Xephos from four hours ago, which I didn't reply to.

"Happy Birthday Lomadia <3"

Those words stung my body as I stared blankly at the screen, tears prickling my tired eyes, my skin flushed. I rolled away from the television screen, which was still blaring out "Orange Is The New Black", and softly fell asleep.

I was awoken by a sharp knocking.

My eyes flickered open and I sat up swiftly. Outside it was pitch black. "How long had I been asleep?" I thought. I checked my phone, 9:30pm. The knocking continued. I hurried over to the door and opened it. My heart stopped.

It was Xephos.