After the End

Chapter 15 - The Hairclip

One week later.

      Allegra and Naomi woke up at nearly the same time; a habit they had fallen into growing up together. Naomi stretched noisily as Allegra rubbed the sleep from her lashes, both of them preparing themselves for the day ahead.

"I'll sleep on the floor tonight," Naomi yawned, looking down at her sister who was wrapped in an extra duvet on the black tiled floor of their hotel room.

"No, it's ok," Allegra smiled, looking up at the white walls that had kept her safe and warm for the last several nights.

"I insist," Naomi smiled. She swung her legs over the side of the single bed and checked her mobile for any notifications or missed calls. Nothing. She sighed sadly, her mind running through things she could say, and before she knew it, words were spilling through her lips. "When are you going to get your things from Tom's?"

Allegra looked at her sharply, surprise unpleasantly hitting her like a punch to the stomach.

"I don't know," she shrugged grumpily.

They both took it in turns to shower and brush their teeth, and then got dressed and did their makeup, ready to eat breakfast and face the day.

Allegra sat at the two-seater table downstairs in the Haverstock Hotel whilst Naomi picked her breakfast, pouring herself two mugs of coffee because she insisted that one was not enough.

As Allegra waited patiently for her sister, her phone bleeped, alerting her to a new message. She tapped the home button on her iPhone to wake the screen up, and it revealed a message from Chris Hemsworth's wife Elsa.

"Oh my God," Allegra muttered under her breath as her sister joined her at the table with a plate stacked with food.

"What?" Naomi asked, putting her food down on the table and spilling baked beans everywhere. "Is that from Tom?!"

"No..." Allegra replied slowly, not lifting her eyes from the screen. "Elsa just text me."

"Elsa?" Naomi repeated mockingly. "She's not real, Allegra."

Allegra stared at her sister in disbelief, waiting for her sister to look up and notice her expression, but instead, Naomi tucked into her sausages and shovelled too many beans into her gob.

"No. Chris's wife," Allegra corrected eventually.

"Oh..." Naomi said as she chewed. She waited until she'd finished chewing her mouthful before she spoke again. "Who's Chris?"

Allegra watched her cut messily into another sausage and reminded herself of why they never let her cut cakes at birthday parties.

"Chris Hemsworth."

"Oh..." she said again with a nod. Suddenly she dropped her cutlery on the plate and stared across the table at her sibling, her eyes wide and excited. "What? Really?!"

"Yeah. She says they're here in London... She wants to meet me in half an hour."

"Oh my God..." Naomi began, a grin dominating her face, "can I come?"

"No, Naomi. Chris isn't going to be there."

"But what if Chris is there – oh..." she stopped, hearing Allegra's response late. "Are you going to go?" She shoved another mouthful of food into her mouth, egg yolk running down her chin.

"I don't know."

"You should."

She observed her sister again, suddenly realising that her own hunger had vanished. It was as if Naomi was eating enough food for the two of them.