Tongue Tied

July 2012

"Urgh, can't we just stay for the summer?" Natalie tossed her final belongings on the floor in a huff. "I don't want to leave our little home, I've had such an awesome time living here."

"The student lease runs out, we couldn't stay even if we wanted to," I unhelpfully reminded her. "Plus, we all know it's just because you can't be bothered to pack. Once you're at home you won't want to come back here either."

"Where are we going to live next year? I know we haven't discussed it yet..."

I blew out a breath of relief. I never wanted to mention it because I didn't know if Natalie wanted to live with me again or if she wanted to take things to the next level with Gaz since they'd rapidly become 'love's young dream'.

"I don't know, do you want to do the same again, or did you have other plans?"

"Like what? Who else do I like enough to put up with their mess?"

"Oh, haha. Like you're such a dream to live with. Well, I'm glad. Let's definitely do this again. It's the biggie, isn't it, the third year? We're gunna be miserable bitches just trying to struggle on through! Shall we sort it out over the summer again?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take a look online." She glanced around at the sheer mess surrounding her. "Will you help me get all this in some form of order? My dad will be here to pick me up soon, I don't want him to yell because I'm not organised again."

"Sure, why not."

It seemed to take hours to get Natalie organised, much longer than it took to get all my stuff together but thankfully we just about had it done by the time her father turned up. I had my own car to get me back, so it didn't matter what time I went and I was happy to see my friend off.

"I know we said it last summer and didn't quite make it, but let's make sure we definitely do this time. Let's meet up and hang out. No excuses, okay?"

I chuckled, knowing despite our best intentions it probably wouldn't happen. We didn't live too far away, but somehow the knowledge it'd only be a couple of months until we were back together anyway kept us apart. She'd want to see Gaz this summer too, I couldn't imagine them spending all that time apart without getting serious withdrawals. Still, if we both put in some effort it might actually happen. It was worth a try at least!

"Let's do it."

After helping Natalie to the car, we embraced and said our final goodbye. There was a strong sense of relief as we turned our back on uni for now, it hadn't been the easiest of years, we both needed some time away. Luckily, we ended the year on a high which was a positive. If things were still as difficult now as they had been earlier on then there might've been a little bit of temptation not to come back at all. Even for me!

Watching Natalie drive away and knowing I'd soon be doing the same made me oddly nostalgic. We'd spent so long trying to get by we hadn't much considered the ups and downs along the way. It'd been a rollercoaster, particularly with Scott.

"Not left yet, Jaymeson?"

Had I conjured him up just by thinking about him? I hadn't even noticed his car pulling up outside the house, or him climbing out of it. Maybe my sensitivity to everything Scott wasn't as prominent as it used to be. That had to be a good thing, another sign I was slowly but surely getting over him.

"Still here. Why haven't you gone, Albert?"

"Thought I better come and say goodbye to my bestie before I leave. I don't know how I'll cope without seeing you for all that time."