Annie
“So how’s the forgiveness going?” Nathan tentatively asked when The Avengers had finished. I shot him a dark look, warning him to leave it alone. Not only did those words bring back the thought of what had happened last night, but they also implied that I was forgiving him, which made me sound soft. I didn’t want to be soft. The man had groped me without consent and a few sweet gifts later; he expected things to be okay? I felt like being mad at him more for principle.
“Don’t push your luck.”
His hopeful face dropped a little, and he looked down at his hands while I picked the first Captain America movie to watch. Nathan didn’t seem to mind the Marvel theme occurring, he silently sunk a little further into the couch cushions.
My phone chimed with a message at about a third of the way through the movie. After a cursory glance at the sender, my eyebrows furrowed in concern.
It was a text from Florence’s mother: Have you heard anything from Floss yet?
Worry began to pick at the edges of my mind. Despite Florence’s dramatic exit a few weeks prior, I’d had a strong belief that she’d be okay. Sure, she was travelling around the world to chase a guy she’d just met – not something her parents would approve of – but that didn’t mean she couldn’t at least contact them.
I typed back a quick ‘no’, and attached an apology on her behalf. Her mother thanked me and expressed her worry, but left me alone after that. What worried me was that Florence hadn’t made contact with me either. I could perhaps understand her avoidance of her family – however uncalled for it may be – but to ostracize your best friend was another deal altogether.
I shook the matter from my mind and focused back on the movie, having missed a good few minutes due to my inner thoughts.
“I should go,” Nathan sighed, checking his watch. “I have work soon.”
I nodded, unsure how to respond. “Okay. Thank you for the gifts.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” the skin beside his eyes crinkled a little as he sent me an apologetic smile.
He slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked to door, turning once to wave. “I’ll see you around.”
“Yep.”
The door clicked as it shut, and his footsteps faded from earshot. The apartment seemed bigger once he’d left, and I couldn’t help but feel lonely.
“I can function without him,” I growled to myself, grabbing the honeycomb ice cream and shoving the lid on it. It was melting at room temperature. Rising from my seat, I padded to the kitchen and opened the freezer door with my foot, shoving the box in and kicking it shut. I needed to be healthy anyway.
The main action sequence had begun in the movie, with gunshots and bomb explosion sounds ricocheting off the apartment walls. Shouting ensued, but I was distracted.
On the bench top were two small slips of paper. They certainly hadn’t been there before; maybe Nathan had accidentally left them. I mustn’t have seen him drop them on his way out.
Upon closer inspection, they were tickets. I let out a gasp before I could stop myself, as my fingers scrabbled to pick up the tickets and inspect them further. They were tickets to see Bastille, an English rock band that I’d loved ever since they began producing music. The date was in two nights’ time, at a local stadium, with standing tickets.
I had no idea they were touring in Australia, let alone here. For Nathan to have gotten standing tickets to my favourite concert, only a few nights before the actual gig, it was an incredible gift. On the back of one was a small, pen-written message: I hope this cheers you up. Nathan x
