House on the Vistula (an Ed Sheeran story)

Chapter Four

Three months later...
"I swear to Christ, Natalia, if you're not out of there in fifteen seconds, I will leave without you!" Came Grace's voice from outside the bathroom.
I rolled my eyes and flipped my hair over my shoulder, studying the ugly bruise at the base of my neck. "I look like I've been beaten or something!"
"So what?! Doesn't mean you're getting out of going to the pub!"
"I'm not saying it to get out of going, I'm saying it because it's true!" I shouted, unlocking the door and motioning to the bruise.
This is what happens when you sleep in the same bed as my friend. You get knocked out of bed and in the process, bang and scrape your neck on the lava lamp that was already knocked over.
"Oh shit," she wrinkled her nose and adjusted my hair to the front of my body. "There, see?"
I grumbled as I touched the bruise through my hair. "What pub are we going to?"
"The Man in the Moon in Leicester Square," She told me as we walked down the stairs.
"Is that really necessary?" I asked, sitting down on the stairs to put my 5-inch ankle boots on. "We could just go to any pub over here, rather than spending an hour travelling to Central,"
"Well, we're meeting other people, and just like we didn't want to go to East London for a drink, they don't want to come here for a drink. We're compromising." She informed me.
I shrugged. "Alright. But how do we get back?"
"We'll catch the tube back, then a cab from the station," Grace said, opening the front door.

"Alright," I sighed, stepping outside and locking the door behind us. "You're paying though, I only have £30 and £15 of it is going for travel on Monday,"

She groaned and rolled her eyes but muttered an "okay,". I suddenly felt bad, as I always do about everything.

"I'll pay next time, alright? Money is just tight and Mum said that this has to include my travel for the week and she won't give me more if I spend it tonight." I told her as we walked down the street. The sky was already a deep purple and the streetlights were on already. Our heels were the only sound on the street apart from the occasional car driving up the next road.

Grace smiled and patted my arm. "I know, that's fine."

"So, may I know who we're going to the pub with?"

"Definitely not Ed Sheeran," She smiled sweetly.

"You're such a bitch, why am I even friends with you, oh my god!" I replied, faking a pout and picking my pace up.

"Gosh, drama queen much?" She laughed, grinning at me. "I'm still pretty shocked by your summertime adventure starring Ed Sheeran,"

"Oh, really? I actually found it pretty normal. After all, I always meet and make out with celebrities on holiday!" I replied sarcastically, shooting her a smirk.

I regretted it sometimes. I also missed him terribly other times. It was silly, considering I had only known him for a week, but it still made my chest tighten and ache. I was a mess; one day I thought of him non-stop and my mind would fill with countless "what if"s, the next I'd be glad I ended it when and how I did. It was a clean break, and avoided further damage. But Christ, did I miss those summer nights, sitting so close to him that I could feel the heat radiating from his face, his breath tickling my shoulders, knowing his face was so close to mine that if I turned my head by even just a few degrees, we would be kissing. I missed standing on his hotel balcony, leaning against the railing and passing the joint back and forth as he sat on the ground with his guitar, strumming out bits and bobs of some new music he was working on. Christ, did I miss being so close to him without anything happening. I missed the peacefulness of being around him. I missed him sitting next to me, a little smile playing on his lips as I looked over his lyrics, adding a word or letter here or there.

I was angry with myself- I always messed up the good things in my life. But I was also proud for being able to walk away so easily. I had never been good at goodbyes, and I had always been the one left second guessing. I felt so cruel at one point. How could I do that?