In A World Of Our Own (Westlife Fan Fiction)

Chapter 7

All Ellen could see were flames and smoke. She tried to open her eyes but she couldn’t find the force great enough to prise them open. She saw the diner melting around her, the burning plastic and metal showering around her. Ellen tried to focus on something real, but all she could see were the red-orange flames coming closer and closer towards her. She felt like screaming, but before she could, she saw a man burst through the flames and grab hold of her. The next thing she knew she was awake, her eyes swung open and she sat bolt upright in bed.

 The nightmare was so realistic, it was as if she was back in the fire, reliving those torturing moments when she flashed in and out of consciousness. The dream was so real that she could swore she smelt the smoke, the burning metal and even the smell of the man’s aftershave as he pulled her free. She knew of no one who would risk his life for someone like that, she knew of no one whose bravery knew no bounds, she knew of no one who would sacrifice their life to save another who they didn’t know.  She was grateful to the mysterious man who saved her, she only wished she could thank him in person, make him realise how much of a great thing he did.

 Ellen placed a hand to her forehead. She had a painful headache, again, and ever since the accident she had never suffered with them quite so much as she did now. She patted down the sides of her face, she was burning up, but her hands were ice cold and refreshing. She felt warm, but there was a cold sweat on her forehead that told her otherwise. She climbed out of bed, weary and ill, and showered. Once she was dressed, she took some paracetamol and sighed. She needed to feel better soon; otherwise she might not be able to meet Westlife. It was against the doctor’s wishes to go to a concert, the excitement could make her even more ill, but at this stage, Ellen didn’t think she could feel in much more pain.

 She was to meet her brother at his garage today. Once they had made up, he told her he had something for her, but could only give it to her from today. She agreed to the meeting point, but wished they could meet somewhere not so work related. She decided to walk, his garage was only a mile up the road, and she thought the exercise would make her feel better. She set off for her brother’s business soon after she had showered; she wanted to get there as soon as possible.

 She soon reached her brother’s garage, he was a mechanic and he had built his own business from nothing but a few pounds and some tools. Her brother met her outside the garage dressed in his overalls and he was cleaning a spanner, which he placed in his pocket when he saw Ellen arrive. She strolled up to the large door and looked up at her brother. He was over six feet tall, and she was only five foot seven. He smiled and welcomed her, and then he walked her into his main office and Ellen admired the decorative impressiveness of the room. Her brother offered her a seat in the swivel chair positioned behind the desk, and sat on the chair the opposite side of the desk.

“So Adam, why did you want me to come here today?”

“The chair is comfy isn’t it?”

“You are drawing away from the point here, I’m sure you didn’t call me to test your chairs”

“It is drawing to the point actually.”

“How is it?” Ellen looked confused, and her brother chuckled at her facial expression.

“I need a receptionist, and seeing as you have all the qualifications and the communication skills you seemed the perfect candidate, also you need a job and Emma said she was worried about you, so here I can keep an eye on you.”

“Couldn’t you have asked me over the phone?”

“I thought you deserved better than that. Do you want the job?”

“Yes, please Adam, you’re a life saver”

“Follow me, I have something to show you that should seal the deal as it were” He stood up out of his chair and Ellen cautiously followed him. He walked to the far wall of the garage, and turned to face Ellen, who was walking up behind him. He pointed at a shape under a cloth. Ellen looked at him confused and he nodded.

“A little something for you, I figured you needed cheering up, and transport to get to that Westlife concert of yours”

“I don’t know what to say, or do”

“Well you say, ‘thank you Adam, you are the best brother ever’ and you go and take the cover off of the ‘surprise’ object”. Ellen giggled and she hugged her brother tightly. She walked over to the covered object and with Adam’s help; she pulled off the dust cover to reveal a car.

 To be precise, it was a BMW M3 convertible; one of Ellen’s favourite cars. She screamed and climbed in. She had a drivers licence, luckily, and Adam climbed in the passenger seat. It was an electric blue colour, with silver alloys and a black fabric roof. The roof was down, and Ellen started up the engine and prepared to hit the road with Adam sitting nervously in the passenger seat.

“Have you ever driven a car of your own before?”

“No, I have always had the Vespa; don’t look quite so worried, I’ve driven your car before”

“When?”

“When you were away with your mates. I needed a ride into town.”

“Thank you for telling me” Adam’s words were filled with sarcasm

“You’re welcome”

 Ellen pulled out into the main road and Adam seemed to relax once he realised that his sister could actually drive. She drove around the area a couple of times before returning to the garage to drop her brother off. She thanked him again and again, and he just told her not to be late for work in the morning. She giggled and drove off into the distance. She drove a little way down the road when she realised that in a couple of days her dream would become a reality. She forgot to concentrate on the road for a split second and she had to shake her head to concentrate back on the path in front of her.

 She was thinking about driving home, but the urge was too strong. She thought she ought to visit the diner before her visit to the concert, just to be alone with it for once. She drove past the road leading to her block of flats and kept going until she reached her diner. She pulled in and parked in one of the customer parking spaces. She climbed out and sighed deeply at the shambles in front of her.

 She steadily crept over to the building, as if not to frighten it. She wasn’t allowed to go back in. The structure was declared too dangerous to enter with no heavy duty gear on, and Ellen didn’t have any with her. Instead, she sat on the bonnet of her car and stared at the once magnificent structure before her. A few tears ran down her face and she tried not to burst into floods of tears. She had worked so hard on that business and now there was nothing left, although it has been said before, Ellen just couldn’t believe that her livelihood was gone. She reminisced about the good times to get her mind back on track; she didn’t want to turn such a good day into a bad one. She decided it would be best to return home, she should never have come in the first place. She climbed into the driver’s side of the car. She stared a few minutes more at the crumbling structure and she reversed out of the parking space. She drove home in silence, not a thought in her head about the diner, she was trying to block her emotions out for now, at least until the concert had been and gone.