The Movies Make It Look Easy

Chapter 16

Shannon’s P.O.V:

I sat at the table, forcing cereal down my neck when Nick stumbled from his room the next morning.
I resolutely ignored him.
I really wasn’t in the mood, not that I ever was for fighting, but today especially I couldn’t handle a row.
I was severely hung-over.
It really is true that you shouldn’t mix drinks, it comes back to haunt you the next day.
The room had started to spin when I groggily opened my eyes this morning and I had a thumping headache, not to mention the queasiness in my stomach.
The price one has to pay for drinking, it never seems worth it the morning after the night before.
Nick walked straight into the kitchen without looking at me. He almost seemed like he was still asleep.
I continued to glower at my cereal, forcing myself to eat spoon after spoon of it.
I didn’t want to but I knew I’d feel better if I did. The anger running through me didn’t help one bit. I needed to direct it at someone or something instead of keeping it bottled up inside me, to erupt like it had last night, but I didn’t have the energy.

I heard footsteps stop in the kitchen doorway but I didn’t look up.
I couldn’t.
Although I wasn’t looking at him, I was all too aware of him.
I could hear his uneven breathing from where I was sitting.
‘Shannon’ he rasped, his voice sounded like sandpaper.
Hearing his voice made me realise that he probably hadn’t seen me on his way to the kitchen, he had been still half-asleep like I’d thought.
He sounded as bad as I felt, if not worse. Still, I refused to look up.
An evil part of me was happy that he was in pain, whether emotional or physical, I didn’t know or care.
‘Shannon...please...’ he paused ‘at least look at me?’ his voice had cleared but it still had a rough edge to it.
I still refused to look up from my bowl of cereal which I hated more and more as each second went by.
‘Fine, ignore me, I deserve it’ he paused again, as if hoping I would relent and acknowledge him.
‘Look I’m really sorry about last night...I barely knew what I was saying. I was drunk and way too harsh. It was a mistake, I honestly didn’t mean what I said’ he pleaded.

My teeth clenched and my spoon clattered against the table as I finally looked up. I immediately wished I hadn’t.
I looked at him for a moment, shocked. He didn’t look like himself.
He was wearing old tatty clothes – tattier than usual anyway – and his eyes were bloodshot and puffy. He had creases across the side of his face from where he’d slept and his hair was lank, so unlike his usual sexily mussed style.
He had a look of utter contrition on his face as he surveyed me.
I flicked my hair over my shoulder as I stood up.
I saw a muscle in his jaw tick as his gaze zeroed in on my neck.
I hastily covered it with my hair again, knowing what he saw.
When I’d gotten up, I’d checked myself in the mirror to see more than one hickey on my neck, all of them a dark purple colour, and I knew they’d take at least a week to fade.
Even though he couldn’t see my neck anymore, Nick’s gaze was still locked onto where my hickeys were, his gaze narrowed.
That just made me madder; it wasn’t any of his business what I did when I went out.
I steeled myself for what I was about to say, I couldn’t let him get away with acting like an ass. I wouldn’t be a pushover, it wasn’t in my nature.
‘Ok fine, so you were drunk, I get it, everyone makes mistakes when they’re drunk.’
I winced as Ben’s face flashed in front of my eyes.
‘But that’s not the point’ the hopeful look on his face fell as quickly as it had come.
‘If it was the first time you’d acted like this I’d say “oh its fine, I forgive you”, but it’s not’.
Traitorous tears pricked the corners of my eyes,
‘And it probably won’t be the last’ he flinched.
‘I meant what I said last night, that I think it’s better if we stay out of each other’s way as much as possible’
I paused, ‘please’ I whispered.
I couldn’t bear to stay in the apartment any longer, so I turned on my heel and made my way over to the door.
I almost stopped when I heard him choke out ‘I’m so sorry’, but I didn’t stop.

I closed the front door behind me and leant back against it to rest my aching head.
When I could stand straight without everything starting to spin, I started walking slowly towards Natalie’s apartment.
I’d left my keys and phone inside, but I couldn’t bear to go back and get them...I couldn’t bear to look at him. I needed to spend a few hours away from the apartment and away from Nick.
I just hope he’s home later, I thought or I’d be screwed.
A memory of my first day flashed across my mind, when I’d forgotten my keys and Nick let me...it had been the first time I’d met him; that had been an interesting day and when I thought back now I realised that I was horribly naive to presume that I’d have a female roommate.
I pushed the memory back ruthlessly and tried to focus on my surroundings.
It was a grey day, the sun not being able to poke its weak rays through the blanket of clouds that covered the sky.
A wind was blowing my hair every which way and I shoved my hands into my pockets in an attempt to keep them warm.
Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, only a couple still clinging desperately to the branches.
The grass on either side of the path was littered with the red and brown leaves while some were being swirled around by the wind. I went out of my way to step on them, enjoying the crunch beneath me feet.
I soon became lost in my thoughts again as I walked, kicking up leaves as I went.
I wasn’t really even thinking; I was just daydreaming. I wandered along the path towards Natalie’s not seeing anything or anyone.

It came as a bit of a shock when I suddenly looked up to see her door right in front of me, with the number 4 printed on it. I hadn’t realised I’d come so far so quickly. I sighed, raising my hand to knock on the door.
Almost immediately I heard footsteps on the other side and I waited wearily for the door to open.
It was Nat who opened it. She was on the phone but when she saw me she grinned, ‘well, speak of the Devil. I’ll call you later with all the details Em’
She laughed at something Emma said before hanging up.
She stood grinning widely at me.
‘So is this a walk of shame by any chance?’
I raised an eyebrow as I spread my arms wide. She frowned when she noticed that I wasn’t wearing the same clothes as last night.
I shook my head slowly ‘no’ I told her bluntly, not able to muster up a smile.
She didn’t seem to notice though, that I was in a less than good mood,
‘Damn!’ she muttered.
‘Besides, I left the Club alone last night, so how could this possibly be a walk of shame?’
I gave her my best innocent look.
‘Don’t play dumb with me, Lee texted me last night to say that he’d run into you and was walking you home’
Ye he “ran” into me, I thought, mentally rolling my eyes.
‘So you put two and two together and you made five’
I shook my head at her in mock disapproval,
‘Tsk, tsk, tsk, you really shouldn’t jump to conclusions’
She pouted as she stood aside to let me in – finally.
‘So nothing happened?’
‘Oh I never said that’ I said casually as I flopped down onto her couch.
I picked up a fuzzy purple cushion and put it on my lap, immediately beginning to fidget with the edges of it as Natalie practically vibrated with excitement at the other end of the couch.
I swear sometimes I don’t know where that girl gets her energy from, I thought affectionately.
‘So?’ Natalie burst out when it was clear that I wasn’t going to explain.
‘So I apologised for the whole thing with Ben’
She looked momentarily confused,
‘You know Ben, the guy I was with that Lee almost started a fight with?’ understanding crossed her face.
‘Oh ye. Go on?’
‘So anyway, I apologised for that and he said he was fine so then we were flirting a bit’
I took a deep breath, smiling slightly at the memory ‘and then he kissed me’ Natalie squealed, bouncing up and down in her seat as she started to clap her hands together like a crazy person.
I just watched her with one eyebrow raised until she’d calmed down.
‘Oh my God, that’s so great! I knew it was going to happen, right from when the two of you first met’ she gushed,
‘So are you two together now?’
I had to think about one, were we together? I wasn’t sure; one kiss didn’t mean we were suddenly together.
I shrugged ‘I dunno, we were interrupted and he left...he said he’d call though’ Nat frowned ‘why were you interrupted?’
I was silent for a moment as I picked furiously at the edge of the cushion, unconsciously ripping out bits of fuzz.
I told her that we’d been interrupted by my roommate and that we’d had another fight but I didn’t go into details, the less I thought about Nick the better.

We got up to make tea (well coffee for Nat) and as we walked into the kitchen I remembered that she’d been on the phone when I’d arrived.
‘Why was Emma on the phone?’
Nat shrugged as she boiled the kettle ‘just talking, mainly about you actually – you and Lee’
She grinned at me as I poked my tongue out at her ‘and we were planning this dinner thing we’re having tomorrow’
‘Dinner?’ I mumbled around a mouthful of biscuit.
I’d found a packet in one of the cupboards and helped myself.
Thankfully, I didn’t feel hung-over anymore...sure, I wasn’t 100% yet but I was getting there.
‘Ye it’s on tomorrow’
‘Who’s going?’
‘Well, the five of us, James, Delilah and her boyfriend and Lee’s bringing his roommate, Mark and he’s bringing a couple of his friends. You wanna bring your roommate?’ she paused, obviously remembering that I was fighting with my roommate.
‘Sorry, you probably don’t want to bring him do you?’
I shook my head.
‘So can you come?’
I thought about it ‘ye sure, I have to work in the morning, so I’ll meet up with you after?’
‘Ye sure, just give me a call whenever you’re finished.’

We headed back into the living room with our tea and coffee and the rest of the biscuits.
We flicked on the TV and I asked Natalie how her night had been because I hadn’t seen her for most of the time we were in the club and I’d left before them.
She happily started to tell me every minute detail about her night while the TV played in the background.
It was only when Delilah came home, waving airily at me before disappearing into her room, that I realised that I’d spent practically the whole day with Natalie, just chatting and messing around.
I sighed ‘I’d better go home, it’s late’
Natalie looked up from the TV ‘sure, let me know how things go with Lover Boy’ she winked.
I threw a pillow at her in reply as I headed for the door.

Sadly the walk home didn’t take as long as I wanted.
I had hoped a couple of hours away from the apartment would make it easier but I was dreading having to face him.
That’s if he’s even home, I thought. I was envisioning having to walk back to Natalie’s and kip at hers because Nick was out somewhere, drowning his feelings in beer as I knocked on the door.
Almost immediately though, he threw open the door.
He seemed surprised to see me as if he was expecting someone else – he probably was, but I didn’t want to think about that.
‘Thanks, I forgot my keys’ I muttered as I pushed past him, not waiting for a reply. I went straight to my room and shut the door behind me, glad that he hadn’t tried to talk to me.
I decided to have a shower in an attempt to relax my tense muscles and I stood under the hot water long after I’d finished washing myself, hoping that my problems would wash away as easily as dirt and swirl down the drain, never to be seen again.
Eventually I stepped out of the shower and dried myself with a towel.

After changing into a comfortable pair of pyjamas, I climbed into bed and pulled both my laptop and phone towards me.
I heard a faint knock at the front door and Nick opened it, again almost immediately.
I heard voices, one was Nick’s and the other was distinctly female – but I couldn’t tell who it was and I made myself forget about it as I heard his bedroom door closing.
I replied to a text from Lee that he’d sent hours ago; asking if I was going to dinner tomorrow.
I couldn’t help but smile, he was so sweet.
I replied to E-mails from my mother, Conor and various different friends before I leant over and turned off the bedside lamp.
I didn’t immediately go to sleep though.

I spent ages texting Lee, until I finally fell asleep, exhausted, but happy for the first time that day.