selfish | salia

Chapter 29

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR 10K READS!!!! WHAT?!?! here's a special update hehe!

also, i'm currently moving back home from uni, deciding it wasn't for me. i'm applying to a different uni & a different course next september so i have the whole year ... free. anyway, don't expect too much from me for the next week and a half but after that updates will be MUCH more regular hehe

I am sorry for the pain - also, I encourage you to listen to this song when reading the chapter! I wrote this chapter to this song and it feels fitting...just play it when you start, and let it run...

One week of relentless calls from Simon and I had still managed to avoid him. I didn't want to talk to him, I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to see anyone...I wanted some time where I could be by myself. Which was why I found myself living in a hotel room in Coventry.

The only person I had told where I was staying was Angele, but I had a sneaking suspicion she had told Sophie and Freya too. Speaking of, they regularly checked up on me, and I was grateful for that.

Today was another where I planned to stay in bed all day and watch some sad netflix film and end up crying, but apparently my friends had other plans. Eloise was calling, and I felt too guilty yo ignore her call. besides, it was really early in the morning for her, so I didn't want her to be awake with no good reason.

"Hello?" I asked, barely being able to see her face.

"Talia? Oh thank god you answered, I've been absolutely losing my mind!" She said, and I anticipated a lecture about being irresponsible in a city by myself.

"I'm sorry..." I said meekly, holding the phone up so my face was actually in the picture. I could see her a bit better now.

She didn't lecture me, instead she did the opposite. "I take it you're safe? And you have enough money with you?" She asked, and I nodded my head. "I'm not going to ask where you are, as long as you're safe. And for the record, I am sorry about what Simon said. He shouldn't have said that," she told me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "it is what it is, I guess," I sniffed, wiping my nose with my sleeve.

"Talia! That's grim, get a tissue," she chastised, and suddenly the old Eloise was back.

"Sorry, mum," I rolled my eyes, and it felt strange to have a smile on my face. "How is America?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

"It's really good! I'm having a good time, it was nice connecting back with some family. And my head is definitely clear, and I think me and Vik both need to say thank you to you."

"To me? What did I do?"

"Vik told me about your chat...thank you for talking to him. Thank you for making him realise."

"Oh! Yeah, of course. I wasn't sure if I was overstepping or anything, but I'm glad it helped. You guys deserve nothing but the best," I told her, and once again I was reminded of Simon. Ouch.

She must've sensed because she let me have my moment. "Talia...you can go back to London...just because you live in the same house doesn't mean you guys have to talk...just because you're back with your friends doesn't mean you've forgiven Simon, you know that, right?"

She had a point...

"I don't know...I don't want to cave, because if I go back and let him apologise I'll cave, I always have and it's something I'm worried I will always do, I don't know," I told her, and she sighed.

"Hey, I understand! It's okay if you're not ready to go back...but what if you let Freya come up to you? To keep you company? It wouldn't hurt for you to have someone there with you..."