Coming Home (A Ricky Wilson Fanfic)

Chapter 40.

After telling Ricky my story I was pretty much mentally exhausted. When we finished our drinks he took me home and we had a little conversation afterwards. He said he had to leave the next day to prepare for his gig in London and that he was worried that he had to leave me like this. I told him I would be fine after a good night sleep and he eventually complied. Thinking about my past was hard enough as it is, let alone speak about it. But I was glad Ricky took it the way he did.

The next few days I voluntarily spent working long hours at Vans to save up some extra money for my move to London and to take my mind off the nightmares that had started again. I was grateful Lennon didn't ask a lot of questions about my tired appearance, but he insisted on me taking at least the weekend off. I took this opportunity to tell Lisa about my plans, so I decided to give her a call. "If it isn't my favourite success story." She almost shouted into the phone. "Hello to you too. I want to talk to you about something. Want to come over?" I wasted no time inviting her. "No problem honey. Make sure there's tea and biscuits."

I placed a steaming mug of tea in front of Lisa. She was sitting at my kitchen table waiting for me to join her. "So what did you want to talk about?" she wasted no time getting to the point. "I'm moving back to London" I said bluntly. Lisa put her mug down "Ok, that was unexpected. How did you come to that decision?" I had thought about it a lot of course, "I think I'll have a ton of opportunities to work on my music. I have to prove to myself that I can become the best version of myself that I can be." Lisa raised her eyebrows and looked at me sceptically "Jaime, cut the bullshit. As much as I want to believe you, we both know there's more to it." Lisa ticked me off. "For Christ's sake Lisa. Can't you be my friend for once instead of my therapist?!" I stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter. Lisa took a few seconds before she responded. "Sweetie, just tell me the truth." I turned around to face her "I want the nightmares to stop. I think the only way to find closure is to face my fears." She too stood up and placed my hands in hers. "As a friend I think this is a great idea. As your therapist I worry about letting you go to a place you know too well. I can't help you if you were to relapse." I looked into her friendly eyes "So you think I shouldn't do it?" "It doesn't matter what I think. You should follow your heart but don't lose your mind along the way."

That was that then. The next day I started my search for an apartment and found one near Covent Garden I liked. After contacting the owner of the property it was agreed to move at the end of the summer. I booked my flight and arranged a moving company. The following weeks were filled with packing and filling up my savings account by working long shifts. I also phoned Ricky to let him know. He reacted overenthusiastic at the news I would be living so close to him. He promised to meet me at my flat the day I was to move in to help me settle.

The day of the move Lisa drove me to the airport. It was unusually quiet between us. She parked the car and helped me to get my suitcases out of the boot. We walked inside still not saying anything. "I'll be alright, you know." I told her "Ricky knows." Lisa looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm going to miss you Jaime. Promise me to call anytime you need to talk. Don't give in." I knew exactly what she meant and I was not planning on it. We gave each other a long firm hug and said our goodbyes. After checking in I looked behind me one last time and waved. As I stepped on the plane two hours later, I wondered what London had in store for me this time. There was no turning back now.