Chasing Pavements

The usual ritual following a night of drinking in an attempt to help the inevitable hangover was to go to Tom’s and Violet’s favorite, greasy downtown diner. It was not, however, commonplace for Violet to awake in Tom’s bed, both of them naked.

Violet could just barely see in the early morning light coming in through the window in Tom’s room. She sat up carefully, trying not to wake Tom. She wasn’t exactly sure what to do at this point, but she knew the best thing would be to get out of there.

She shivered from the cold air as she stood, gathering up her things from Tom’s floor. At the door she stopped to watch Tom, blankets pooling around his waist as he snored softly. Quietly, she left his room and immediately went to her own.

She considered putting on some pajamas and curling up in her bed, but decided to shower instead. She grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself before heading to the bathroom.

Her stomach felt uneasy as she turned on the water. She wasn’t sure if it was from a hangover or the fact that she slept with Tom, possibly ruining their friendship. She knew she shouldn’t have let it happen. What should have been a great moment for her, only left her with uncertainty and an urge to throw up.

Tom knew that she loved him. That much was clear. But Violet still didn’t know how Tom felt. He never did actually answer her question.

She wiped furiously at her eyes before stepping into the shower, distracted momentarily by the scalding temperature of the water.



After her shower, Violet lay in her bed for a while not really knowing what else to do with herself. She thought about waking Tom up and getting their inevitable talk over with, but the pit in her stomach wouldn’t even let her get near the door to his bedroom.

When she finally heard movement from his room, she pressed her palms to her eyes and prayed to God that somehow everything would be fine. To be perfectly honest, Violet was completely terrified of facing Tom after last night.

She heard the shower start and let out a sigh of relief knowing she had a little bit more time to prepare herself. She just didn’t know what she was preparing herself for.

She carefully got out of bed, running a hand through her still damp hair, knowing it probably wasn’t doing too well since she had been laying on it while it was wet for so long. She picked up her brush and carefully worked out the tangles.

When her hair felt under control, she finally faced the mirror she had hung so carefully on her wall only a week ago. Her eyes were red and her face puffy from crying. Where her neck curved toward her shoulder she could clearly see a bite mark, and she touched it gently remember how Tom had bitten her there as their bodies had come together. She shivered, remembering how much she had enjoyed the sensation.

Her eyes watered again and she stepped away from the mirror. Everything was fucked up. There was no doubt about that. Last night shouldn’t have happened—she knew that much. She just wished that that wasn’t the case.



When Violet finally left her room, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt (in attempt to cover the mark on her skin) she found Tom sitting on the couch, the TV on some sitcom re-run that he obviously wasn’t watching.

Without a word she headed to the kitchen where she turned on the coffee maker, choosing to watch her coffee brew than face Tom. She had gone over the different ways this could pan out in her head before coming out, but all the things she had thought of saying had flown out the window. Her mind was blank and all she could focus on right now was the coffee in front of her.

When it was done, she poured herself a mug, added cream and sugar. She thought of bringing Tom a mug of coffee as well but that would mean she would have to face him. She sighed quietly and sipped at her coffee before setting it down on the counter. She was purposefully not turning around to see if Tom was watching her or if he was still just staring into nothing. All she could hear was the happy conversations of those on the TV show followed by a laugh track.

“Do you want to head to the diner soon?”

Violet jumped violently and spun around, finding Tom standing in front of her now. She hadn’t even heard him come over.

“Um, yeah,” she said. “Let me just finish my coffee.”

He nodded slowly and she watched as his eyes roamed over her face. After a moment, he returned to the couch in silence. Violet let out the breath she had been holding before turning back around to grab her coffee and headed over to the couch. She drank her coffee as she stared at the television screen, but she wasn’t watching it. She could see Tom out of the corner of her eye, staring straight ahead as well.

The thought went through her that maybe Tom didn’t remember last night, and that maybe he was afraid to ask her.

She finished her coffee and stood up quickly, bringing her empty mug to the sink where she quickly rinsed it out and set it down.

“I’m ready,” she said. “I just have to put some shoes on.”

“Okay,” he said, shutting the TV off and standing up.

Violet went to her room and grabbed a pair of sneakers that she quickly slipped on. She grabbed her bag and checked to make sure she had money in there. When she came back out, Tom was waiting by the door. Silently, they headed downstairs where Tom immediately hailed a taxi.

Typically, whenever they went somewhere they would try to always take the subway, but on occasion, such as when they were hung-over, they would splurge on a cab. Though she was pretty sure her hangover had nothing to do with alcohol.

Once in the cab Tom told the driver the address for their favorite diner and they rode in silence for a few minutes.

“Are you okay?” Violet finally asked, figuring the way he was acting may also have to do with the fact that he and his girlfriend had just broken up last night as well. And really, how stupid could Violet be to just sleep with Tom after that had happened… He probably only needed someone to comfort him somehow and Violet was just there. She tried not to think too much about that though.

Tom looked at her and forced a smile.

“I’ll be fine,” he answered quietly. He looked down and it was silent for a moment. “Are you okay?”

Violet’s gaze met his and she knew in that moment that this would be the only acknowledgment she would get concerning what had happened last night.

“Yeah,” she said, a sad smile gracing her lips as she felt her heart sink. “I’m good.”