Stand A Little Too Tall, Say A Little Too Much

I woke up in the morning lying next to Alex in our bed. Obviously he’d carried me upstairs. I wondered if Chloe and Jack were still here and judging from last night, it was highly likely that they were sleeping on the sofa or something.

I checked my phone and the little digits on the screen claimed it was 10am. I was still tired. I tried to get back to sleep but it wasn't working. I just couldn’t settle down. My stomach was grumbling but I wasn’t hungry at all. For some reason, I felt like something bad was going to happen today. No matter how much I tried to push that thought to the back of my head, it wouldn’t go away.

I browsed through my phone contacts. I had an urge to go shopping but had no-one to go with. Alex wouldn’t want to go shopping; he hated the idea of shopping altogether. I kept scrolling through my contacts and came across Tom. He was the brown haired guy who had tagged along with Josh that day in the park a few weeks back. Something in my head was telling me to text him, see if he wanted to have a catch up. After the Josh incident, Tom had text me saying that he thought Josh was a total dickhead and had broke contact with him after what he’d done to me.

‘Hey Tom, it’s Justine. Wanna hang out in a bit or go shopping or something? X’
It wasn’t long before he replied.
‘Hey. Sure can do, I’ll meet you in town at 1? X’
‘Alright. X’

I snuggled back up to Alex and somehow, his warmth or light snores made me relax and I fell back to sleep.

--

I was woken up by Alex slowly rocking my arm back and forth.
“Hey baby,” he kissed my forehead, “wake up sleepy.”
I groaned and eventually forced my eyes open. “Morning,” I yawned, “What time is it?”
“Half 12.”
“Oh shit.” I shot out of bed.
“Whassup?” He raised his eyebrows in confusion.
“Is it okay if I go downtown for a bit to do a spot of shopping?”
“Sure thing. Do you want me to come?”
“It’s okay. I’m meeting an old friend that I haven’t spoken to for a few weeks. I’ll be okay, honest.” I smiled.
“You sure?”
“Baby, I’ll be fine,” I pressed a light kiss to Alex’s lips and he rested his forehead against mine.
“If you’re totally sure.”
“I am honestly. I know how much you hate clothes shopping.”
“Alright. But text me when you get there and when you’re on your way back yeah?”
“I will do, don’t worry.”
“Do you want anything to eat before you go?”
“I’ll be alright, I’ll grab a McDonalds downtown or something.” I smiled.
“Okay,” he hugged me tight, “I’ll leave you to get ready.”

10 minutes later, I was downstairs on the doorstep waiting for Alex to come say goodbye before I left. He jogged from the kitchen to the hallway and was practically out of breath by the time he reached the front door. He wrapped his arms round my waist and kissed my cheek a few times over before moving onto my lips.
“Remember to text me when you get there alright?”
“Will do Alex. See you later.” I smiled and then closed the door behind me. I placed my headphones in my ears and set off. It would only take me 10 minutes.

--

I arrived at the café on the corner and found Tom sitting in the corner. I quickly text Alex telling him that I was fine and I’d made it into town without being abducted by some freaky yellow looking aliens. He was probably going to kill me for that later.
I walked over to where Tom was sitting and poked him on the shoulder.
“Hey you!”
He looked up in surprise. “Oh, hey! How’re you?! Gosh, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“Tell me about it.” I sat down on the chair opposite. “I’ve been up and down, how about you?”
“I’ve been good thanks. Well, I hope things are getting back on track for you now.”
“Me too, me too. Anyway, what shop should we hit first?”
“Topshop.”
“You’re such a girl.”
“I know. Let’s go.” He linked arms with me and we headed for the shopping centre.

We went into Topshop and browsed through most of the shop. I bought a new dress, top and belt and Tom bought 3 new shirts. Tom and I continued through the centre and by the time it hit 3pm, our arms were covered in shopping bags. Tom helped me over to the pretzel bar in the middle of the shopping centre and ordered a bag full of salty pretzels.

“So, whatcha been up to recently then?” Tom asked.
“Nothing much really. I’ve only just come out of hospital aha.”
“Ah shit. What happened?”
“I went out to this bar with my friends and some guy bought me a drink and I think he spiked it. It caused an allergic reaction within the whole of my body and I almost died.”
“Fucking hell. I’m assuming you’re all clear now?”
“Kind of. I’m on antibiotics for the next two weeks.”
“Ah right. So, apart from cheating death, what else have you been up to?”
“Nothing much really. I watched a DVD with Alex, Jack and Chloe last night after I was discharged from hospital. I’m kind of not living at home neither. How about you?”
“Same really, I do fuck all nowadays if you ask me. Although I hang out with these really cool guys, better than Josh’s group ever was, and they’re literally so lovely. Ah, howcome?”
“Shit went down and I moved out.” I grabbed another pretzel out of the bag and started to munch on it.
“Ah right. Life sucks.”
“Indeed it does! Especially with everything I’ve just been through.”
“I can imagine! Come on, let’s hit the next shop.” Tom paid the bill and then helped me off the chair.

We staggered through the rest of the shopping centre and gained a few more bags. Time was ticking by quickly and it was nearly 5pm now.
“I should be getting back home now. Alex will be worried to death, haha.”
“I need to be heading back as well. I can give you a lift if you want?”
“I’ll be alright thankyou.” I smiled.
“You sure? I could drop you off at the end of the road or something if it’s a problem?”
“Oh, go on then.”

We headed to the car park and Tom took all my bags from me and placed them in the boot. I got in the front passenger seat and clipped in my seat belt. I grabbed my phone and text Alex once again to tell him that I was on my way back. As soon as I’d done, Tom climbed into the drivers seat and set off.

Tom drove me to the end of May’s street and once he’d stopped, I unplugged my seatbelt and headed to the boot. I grabbed all of my bags and Tom came over to me and shut the boot.
“It was nice hanging out today, we should totally do it again sometime.” Tom shrugged. He was shy when it came to goodbyes.
“Sure thing! I had fun literally spending all of my money.” I laughed.
“Same here haha. Anyway, I should get going but I’ll text you in a bit or something yeah?”
“Alright.”
“See you.” Tom gave me a hug and we both kissed each other’s cheek as a goodbye gesture.
“Bye Tom.” I waved and then headed towards May’s house.

I knocked on the door and then twisted the handle and let myself in. I placed my bags on the floor.
“Alex?”
I heard a sniffle and walked into the living room. Alex was on the sofa, knees up to his chest, and frustration all across his face.
“A-Alex?” I started to worry from the lack of response from Alex.
After a few seconds, Alex stood up and passed me his phone.
“What’s this about Justine?”
I focused on the phone and realized there was a message on screen.

'Your so-called girlfriend is cheating on you. She was downtown with a guy today for a few hours and they were totally over each other. Just thought I’d give you a heads up.'