Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You - The 1975
Mornings in London were never peaceful and Nicole hated that. She would wake up at half seven, trying to accustom herself to being awake while car horns were blaring outside. She would go out to the balcony for some fresh air and the thick pollution would make her turn and get back into the house. Nicole had grown used to it over the years. She got up an hour earlier to give herself time to awaken in a decent mood, she had a couple purifiers dotted around the house so she wouldn't hate breathing.
That Sunday morning, Nicole had the opposite of a tranquil awakening. At two in the morning, her phone had blasted out its ringtone at the loudest possible setting, startling her and Nathan awake. Nicole's back had been pressed against Nathan's chest, their bodies nestled together in the sheets as the fan Nicole had bought specifically for hot nights blew cold air toward them. As soon as the alarm had gone off, both of them had jolted into semi consciousness, groaning in discomfort. Nicole extended her arm, slapping the bedside table multiple times before she reached her phone. She had to blink for a good few moments before she could read the name; Eva. She slid her finger against the glass to answer the call and pressed the phone to her ear.
'Hel-Hello?'
'Is Nathan with you?' Eva's voice was firm.
'Yeah, yeah, give me...a second,' Nicole turned her body around to face Nathan, her eyes half closed as she put the phone in front of him. 'It's Eva.'
Nathan took the phone and placed it against his ear as Nicole curled into his chest. Nicole could tell something was wrong when Nathan begun to sit up and pressed his back against the bed frame, so she also sat up, watching Nathan's face drop.
'Thank you, Eva,' he said before he hung up, putting the phone down flat on the bed, looking down at Nicole, dazed. 'My phone ran out of battery last night and I forgot to put it on charge. My mum's been trying to reach me all night.' He paused for a moment, shutting his eyes for a split second. 'My dad's dead.'
A few moments of complete silent passed before Nicole snaked her arms around his neck and threw her leg over him, straddling him as she stroked his hair. Nathan held her tightly, his arms around her waist, his head in the crook of her neck. He wasn't crying, he was silent. He wasn't sure why he felt so weird, but not blatantly emotional. He wasn't sad, but he wasn't fine.
'I need to get to Brighton,' Nathan mumbled, his thoughts messy. Nicole pulled away for a second, her hands caressing his cheeks.
'I'll get the car.'
~
The motorway was vacant in the early morning. Nicole was sat in the drivers seat, the car in the fast lane and cruising at a hundred miles per hour. Nathan had always assumed that Nicole didn't have a car. He never saw it because it was parked in the private carpark round the back of the housing estate. The blacked out Audi coupe had been sat collecting dust for a significant amount of time, it seemed.
Shortly after the phone call, Nicole had thrown a few items into a duffle bag before driving to Nathan's flat, where he had stuffed various bits of clothing into a small suitcase. They had stopped at the first service station to stock up on coffee.
Nicole's right hand was resting on the wheel, her left in her lap. Nathan's head was balancing on his left hand, his elbow propped up on the window bracket. He had become silent ten minutes into the journey, slept for an hour, and then had settled into the position facing Nicole. He'd been scanning her facial expressions, her body language, the way she drove. He found it calming.
'This is insane,' Nathan stated, brushing through his hair with his fingers. 'I never even think about my dad, like ever. I told you about him yesterday and he dies last night. That is batshit crazy.'
'I'm guessing you weren't close, what about your siblings? Were they close with him?'
'Luke hates him, obviously cause he's the oldest he's seen everything growing up. Hayley was the only one with a semi relationship with him, cause she's the youngest. She knew he was a dickhead but she still saw him every few months. Dad made time for her, I guess cause she was the only one willing to see him anymore.' Nathan sighed deeply, shutting his eyes for a moment. 'You're free today, right? I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I Nic?'
'I'm here for you no matter whether I'm busy or free, Nath.'
The two settled back into silence, the distance between them and Brighton closing in.
~
Nathan hadn't been home for a few months. Last time he had been down was for Hayley's seventeenth birthday earlier in the year. Even then, he'd only stayed the night. Nathan had found himself drifting from Brighton and he didn't like it at all. The town was his home, that was for sure, but London was growing on him fast.
His stomach had dropped once he began recognising the streets they were driving down. Nathan's mind started racing, his chest felt like it was caving in. It hadn't felt truly real until Nicole had turned into the house's driveway. The large white beach house had an enormous front garden enclosed by large hedges, the greenery well tamed. It looked like a very expensive property, Nicole found herself thinking.
'You're gonna meet my family,' Nathan said out loud once Nicole had cut the engine. 'You've barely known me for two months. This is the worst pacing.'
'It's not like you had much choice, Nath.'
'God, they're going to put you off big time. Luke's a hard ass, Hayley's a teen and Mum likes to pester as much as she can. Leo's pretty much the only normal human.'
'They're going to be fine, Nath.'
His mother had answered the door, a petite middle aged woman with shoulder length hair that matched Nathan's perfectly. Though her skin was a tone darker than Nathan's. She had greeted the pair with a wide smile and had immediately pulled Nathan into a tight embrace, rambling in a foreign language that Nicole instantly recognised as Spanish.
'And who is this pretty girl?' she asked Nathan, referring to Nicole. Nicole smiled sheepishly. Nathan's free hand was resting on Nicole's lower back.
'This is Nicole, she's, er...' Nathan had no clue how to explain their relationship. They weren't exclusive, but they weren't just messing about.
'Su novia,' Nicole replied instinctively. Nathan's head whipped quickly to shoot a confused look at the girl. 'Es un placer conocerte.'
'¡Novia! Ya me gusta ella,' his mother beamed. 'Please, come in.'
After deciding that the family would talk in the morning, Nathan had taken Nicole's hand into his and led them both out of the large opening and directly up the stairs to Nathan's bedroom. Upstairs there was a single corridor with a couple doors coming off it.
Nathan's room hadn't changed since he was about thirteen, it seemed. Superhero posters were covering the walls, there wasn't a single space on the wall that wasn't covered. A king size bed had been pressed up into the corner of the room, a large desk was placed on the left with a monitor and a stack of video games, a large bookshelf was next to the desk packed with paperbacks.
In that moment, Nathan realised that everything in his life had truly changed. He had spent most of his childhood lying in that bed, listening to his dad scream at his mum. Now he was dealing with his father's death. He felt his lip begin to quiver, his head began to throb. Swiftly spinning around, Nathan took Nicole by surprise as he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her body into his. Nicole stumbled back slightly, but soon secured her arms around his neck.
After a considerable amount of time, Nathan finally fell asleep that morning, his head in Nicole's chest, her hand playing with his hair. She lay awake that morning, thinking of the pain that he was to face.
