The Art of Living

[57] Hello Me

With her uniform and some other stuff that she thought she might need, or that she knew she would need, Ellie took the tube to Goldhawk Road where she got off. Not reluctantly, but the nervousness she had told Mary about was back in full force. Brian had managed to calm her down but now that she was alone she wasn't calm anymore. Especially because she had had a lot of time to think, and that was never good.

When she stepped onto the pavement in front of the station, she took a deep breath. It wasn't a particularly busy place, which was good, because it meant Ellie didn't get weird looks if she just suddenly stopped.

She took a moment to gather her bearings, to see where she was, before she turned to her right - she knew she had to turn right - and then tried to find the narrow walkway Brian had mentioned to her. It seemed a bit like a strange area, and Ellie didn't really want to be there when it was dark.

But luckily it wasn't dark and Ellie managed to find the correct path without getting lost too much. You couldn't really get lost on that ground, but Ellie was still happy that she managed it. When she got to the main road again she crossed it and kept going until she found the correct right turn. Basically it was very easy to get to the street Brian lived on, if it wasn't dark. Because if it was dark Ellie would definitely avoid that narrow walkway.

While Ellie was trying to find the way, her mind was distracted again, but when she had managed to find the house Brian lived in, she found herself hesitating for a moment. She definitely remembered that house. If she hadn't been looking forward to seeing Brian again that much, she might have just turned around again and left, but she knew she couldn't do that to Brian, and she didn't want to do that to Brian. She wanted to see him again. In a moment of courage she pressed the doorbell and bit her lip, waiting for him to answer.

"Yes, hello?"

The voice coming through the intercom made Ellie smile. "It's me, hello."

"Hello Me," he chuckled. "Well, come on up, I'm glad you found it."

Ellie chuckled a little and shook her head amused, going inside when he buzzed the door open. Carefully she closed the door and took a deep breath before she walked up the stairs until she got to Brian's small flat.

He was already waiting for her in the doorway, smiling widely at her. "You made it.."

"Yeah..." Ellie smiled a little. "I made it.. It's a little confusing but I told you I could handle it." She stopped a little bit in front of him, trying to distract herself from the thoughts that were running through her mind. Not so pretty thoughts, about the last time that she was in the flat. She was really nervous, she could actually feel her heart beating heavily. It was good that she was carrying her handbag, because it gave her something to occupy her hands with.

"I know." He smiled at her and stepped aside. "Come in, don't be shy. You've been here before, feel at home, okay?" After a moment of just looking at her - and her not moving - he added, "Just forget about what happened then, okay? It's in the past, and things are different now. Very different. Right?"

Still hesitantly, Ellie nodded. "Yeah.." She took a deep breath. "But still. It's just.. It's silly." She shook her head and stepped inside his flat.

"It's not silly, don't worry." He rubbed her back gently and smiled at her. "Just keep in mind that you don't have to feel guilty or anything."

"That's not even it, but.." She smiled a little and placed her bag down before she took off her shoes.

"But first of all, come here, let me hug you." He smiled sweetly at her.

And Ellie couldn't resist that. She went over to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I'm sorry I'm so weird."

"It's alright, Ellie, just relax. I made us some tea, and I have some biscuits from my mum yesterday that we can have. Does that sound good?" He asked, gently caressing her back.