Dear Lottie

Chapter 18

Nine hours later, we arrived at London. "Fuckety fuck. Where the fuck am I going?" She sang, trying to remain calm. "Um, we have a premier inn somewhere...oh look, big purple building with premier inn tattooed across it!" She sighed and pulled into a near by car park labelled 'Premier inn car park'. As soon as Skye had gotten parking perfected, she threw her hands in the air and screamed loudly. I laughed in response to her outburst, it had clearly been held in for long enough and she had been sitting in a pocket-sized space on her arse for seven hours. We unpacked the boot and majestically marched to the reception desk. The receptionist appeared to be quite a young man. He had light brown hair that was neatly brushed and he had a petite nose and pale lips. His name badge stated "Brendan". He tapped out words on his keyboard with his quick and nimble fingers and picked out an electronic key card, handing it to us, smiling. I walked away, dragging my suitcase behind me, but halted suddenly when I realised Skye wasn't with me. I looked down to make sure she hadn't fallen down any holes; she didn't. Then I realised she was stuck, flirting with Brendan the receptionist. He looked as if he was enjoying it as he occasionally flitted his eyes down to her black bralet with flowers dotted every where in different colours. It lasted for a few minutes and she strutted away, flipping her hair to the side. I smiled at her, mentally congratulating her on her win. "We're having dinner tonight. He's picking me up at six." I looked at her, shocked. Skye has a rule on holidays: she's not at home, so she doesn't need to act like it, therefore, she doesn't need to act like she's madly in love with Caleb, because she's not at home. I started to question whether or not she actually did love Caleb anymore though.

The room was nice, there was a double bed and a single bed and we had both agreed that I would have the single bed considering Skye is always most likely to have company. Skye's company never involved sex, just sleeping together in each other's arms, lovingly. Although that would be a step too far even for Skye now that she has Caleb.

We unpacked the bags, placing everything where it belonged and making it feel more like home. Then, the sudden realisation came to me. It hit me like a cricketer swinging his bat at 10mph into my jaw. The shocking, painful realisation that I had left my book at home and I only had ten pages left. I was nearly finished reading "Acne" which is about a girl and her struggles with acne and she had just been told she was beautiful by a boy for the first time and she's home and reflecting life and I would never know what next for two whole weeks because I left it at home. "Shit!" I yelled, looking up and kneeling on the ground. "What?" Replied Skye, admiring our work of making the room more homely. "I left my book at home!" Skye looked at me with a judging expression, which, to be honest, was acceptable. "Girl! You didn't just...no. Listen. I'm going to meet Brendan early, in like, fifteen minutes just outside. He finished half an hour ago and obviously can't wait to meet me. So, you can go find a book and have a coffee or something. Okay?" I nodded in response and left the hotel with her. Brendan was slouched on a wall with one foot pressed against it. He had a white jumper on and black jeans over black trainers. His long, shaggy hair made him look slightly hot, much better looking than when it was neatly brushed. Skye trotted off into the distance and waved back at me when she got to Brendan. I stood and watched her walk hand in hand with him until they were merely two black dots in the busy distance. I decided then that I had been stood in the same spot for two long and I moved on down the street, absorbing the London air.

Ten minutes later, I came across a Waterstones and as soon as I walked in and smelled the papery smells of new books and heard nothing but the occasional ruffle of paper under soft fingers, I felt at home. I went straight to the teen fiction to look for my next book; "Fields of Purple Roses" it was about a girl who had a strange encounter with a field of purple roses and ever since, she viewed the world differently, with "purple tinted glasses" seeing everyone as being unique; like the purple roses as oppose to how she saw the world before; like ordinary red ones. Me and another boy were the only two in the teen fiction section and I was fairly cautious that he was watching me. Every now and again, I would look at him, to see him turning his head sharply to avoid me noticing. I had held my stare long enough that I managed to tell what he was wearing; a blue plaid shirt with a grey hoodie over it, dark grey jeans and dark blue converse with studs on the tongue. He had short black hair and visibly bright blue eyes that stood out the most.

Despite the fact this rather cute boy kept looking at me, I gently dragged my index finger across the smooth spines of the books, quickly reading the titles and registering the colours. Fields of Purple Roses was purple, with purple roses trailing up the spine with the green leaves and black outline. After a good minute of looking, my finger landed on the "Roses" in gothic font. I pulled it out and checked the price; £7.99, sighing loudly, I opened my bag and discovered the absence of my purse. Without thinking, I muttered loudly in reply to this despicable discovery. "Dammit Lottie, of course you would forget your purse!" I angrily pushed the book back on the shelf and stormed out, landing on a lonely bench just out side the shop.

Minutes past and I had just started to pull myself out of this minor depression. I couldn't go a full two weeks without reading! I mean, I could do a Declan and - fuck it! Before setting off I had promised Skye not to speak nor think of Declan. Two hours in and I had already failed. I dropped my face in my hands and shook my head in dismay.Then someone decided to sit next to me on the bench. He had familiar dark blue, studded converse on, so I lifted my head slowly to see it was the same boy in the shop. I lifted my head further until I was looking directly at him. He was facing forward, looking at the shop front and swinging a waterstones bag by his side. Well someone remembered their wallet! He turned to look at me slowly until our blue eyes were meeting.

"You're beautiful." He whispered, so calm and collected. Only this didn't show at all. All that showed with me was pure hatred and anger. "What?!" I jumped back, shocked. He merely smiled and reached into his bag, pulling out a purple book with the words "Fields of Purple Roses" on it. He handed it to me and I looked at him. Then it. Then him. Then it. Until I closed my gaping mouth and carefully took it from his hands. "I said, you're beautiful. Would you like to go for a coffee?" He said it so smoothly, I had no other choice but to say yes. So after a few blinks and attempts to say something, I nodded and stood with him, walking to the nearest Starbucks.