Blood and Bones - Kodaline
The weeks flew by without Nathan even realising that time was running out. Amidst pitching several new artists to the higher men, he only saw Nicole briefly three times a day. Since Nicole began spending a lot more time at Nathan's place, the first glimpse of her would be during the hectic morning when they both needed to be at work. They rushed around each other, scrambling into bathrooms, grabbing breakfast and stealing quick kisses before heading out onto the streets together. Nathan would return to the flat in the evening well before Nicole would, so he would hang out with his roommate watching whatever was on telly. Nicole would arrive back exhausted, head straight for the shower, eat a little bit of the dinner Nathan had cooked and then collapse into bed. More often than not, Nathan would wake in the early morning to find Nicole dancing restlessly on his terrace. His concern for his girlfriend's health was growing, but every time he addressed her she told him not to worry. As for his own recovery, Nathan's mind was too preoccupied with Nicole to think about anything else.
Nicole's phone started ringing while the pair were pulling their shoes on. She rolled her eyes at Nathan as she reached into her sweatpants pocket, her boyfriend chuckling while he searched for his keys in one of the jackets hung up on the coatrack. Nicole's brother's name was printed across the phone screen; she hesitated to answer, knowing that Anthony only ever called when there was something to discuss. Eventually she put him on speakerphone, placing the phone on the radiator before continuing to tie her shoelaces.
'Good morning, Nic.'
'Morning, Ant. What message do you have for me today?'
Her brother let out a noise that sounded like a half breed between a sigh and a snicker. He had missed his sister's inability to be indirect. 'We were thinking of coming down to London for the weekend.'
Nicole cocked her head upward to meet Nathan's gaze. 'This weekend?'
'Yeah, this weekend.'
'Lexi was talking about coming down in December. This weekend is a little earlier than Christmas, isn't it?'
'We'll come down then too, I just...we want to see you, Nic.'
Nicole shook her head, reading straight through her brother's lies. She sat on the floor, crossed legged, staring at Nathan. 'Be straight with me, Ant, don't bullshit.'
His sister's inability to be indirect also irritated Anthony. 'Lex told me you're seeing some guy, and I want to meet him. You can't blame me for that. So tell me, is this weekend okay?'
Nicole knew her brother still wasn't being completely truthful, but she decided it was too early in the morning for a family feud. Nathan nodded his head at her, telling her that it was okay with him, encouraging her to rekindle with her family. Nicole's eyes flickered between Nathan and her shoes.
She sighed, defeated. 'You can stay Saturday night. Come at like eight, I have rehearsals all day so I'll probably be in a shitty mood, don't make it any worse for yourself.' Just after the end tone rang, Nicole shook her head. 'What a great way to start the day.'
Nathan scoffed, extending his arm to her. 'Tell me about it, I'm gonna go arrange my funeral funds.'
~
The remainder of the week went by at an incredible pace. The couple relocated to Nicole's house the very night they got the phone call. Nicole began skipping out on the gym in hopes of gaining an extra two hours of sleep. The pair hung out with Eva each night and watched her trashy tv shows. Nathan had gotten used to waking at three in the morning to check up on Nicole, but instead of finding her on his terrace, he heard her soft breathing beside him.
