The Boy Next Door

Greece had been the perfect place to get away from London, to get far away from England and to distant herself from her problems. She and the girls had had a perfect two weeks in the sun, partying along the Falaraki strip and just sunbathing by the perfectly blue ocean. She had done day trips to old ruins, connecting herself with the history and just indulged herself to a point where she couldn’t think of anything else.

Greek mythology had fascinated her. All the Greek gods and the stories behind them had always drawn her in to a point where she had even bought a book and read the entire thing in one weekend. It felt amazing to be here, to be part of a historically famous place.

Tonight the girls had decided to spend their last night on the beach. They had met a group of party goers here over the last couple of weeks, a group of four boys and two girls. They had all partied along the strip together and although nothing had happened between Ella and any of the boys, she knew here that casual sex was on offer, a temporary antidote to this pain that had slightly dimmed since being in a different country.

The girls had fun dressing up every night and tonight, they even had fun dotting neon paint around the skin of their face and arms.

The fire was lit by the boys when they reached the quiet strip that was allowed for activities such as these. Alcohol littered cool boxes and marshmallows were being stuck on sticks and melted in the hot fire. Ella found herself laughing a lot and the tension behind her head was slowly easing like it had all holiday. She knew it would be back as soon as the plane touched down in Gatwick.

“Okay, so we definitely need to keep in touch and meet up here again next year?” Stanley, a boisterous spiky blonde shouted over the crackling fire and mixed voices mingling in different conversations.

“Definitely! I’ll bring my Wes next time too, you guys would get on so well!” Clara beamed before going back to talking to one of the boys who had a girlfriend back home, so enjoyed speaking to Clara who was also taken. Vick had stricken it up well with the two girls from the guy’s party and Tamera had already hooked up with one of the boys. Apparently Oscar was still not yet giving her his full attention and he had sent her a very flirty text intended for another girl. Tamera had really grown in confidence and had played him at his own game. She was now snuggled against Nick’s chest, laughing as he said something funny.

Ella found herself sat beside Clara, but Daniel, a boy who had been hitting on her all holiday, had seated himself on her other side. She enjoyed speaking to him, but he was another boy who she couldn’t give her all to. She didn’t want a repeat of Flynn.

Flynn and Ella had seemed to be great to the outside eye, but after the run in with Harry and figuring out that Lisa was Flynn’s sister, everything had changed. She realised she was being stupid and trying to fool herself and everyone. Flynn had seemed upset and a little angry, but he had accepted she wasn’t ready.

“Did you want to go somewhere a little quieter?” Daniel asked. This was the last night and his last chance to get somewhere with Ella.

Clara heard his question and leaned into Ella.

“Use him to forget. All he wants is a good fuck and all you want is to forget. Stop overthinking and just go.” Clara smiled and gave her a gentle nudge. Ella sighed and realised maybe her friend was right. She had once used sex as a coping mechanism to stray away from feelings. Now she had felt those feelings, could sex be a cure to forgetting them, even if it was for one night only.

“Sure, let’s go.” Ella smiled at the boy, who by all means was good looking, but just not her type. Too much styling gel and Hollister clothes. His face made up for it though.

The two strode along the sea edge, moving away from the group and too a vacant part of the beach. Daniel put down a towel he had brought with them and both sat down.

“I didn’t think you’d agree to coming with me. You sure are a girl full of surprises.” Daniel smiled, leaning closer into her and smiling. He wore a little too much cologne as well.

“That’s me; just full of them.” Ella smiled.

“So do I finally get to have my chance with you tonight then, or is this one of those strictly talking dates?” Daniel cocked an eyebrow. Ella looked at the sea before looking back down to the towel beneath her. Would this boy really be the answer?


Later that night, Ella lay back on the hotel bed, listening to Clara’s soft snores beside her. She wasn’t sure if she had made the right choice tonight. Daniel was good looking, despite some little flaws, but good looking still.

Ella picked up her phone from the nightstand and despite hating herself for doing it, she found herself on the search bar on twitter, typing the name that had been imprinted on my mind from day one.

Harry’s page was quiet, with him only updating it two days ago. Ella stared at the tweet, wondering if there was any chance he was talking about her, but then again, she was sure he probably had forgotten everything by now. With her absence, he was sure to have moved on; maybe there was another Lisa on the scene.

She’s all I see. She’s all I feel. I’m nothing without her.

This new girl must be something special if he was baring himself in front of everyone. Ella pushed away the familiar ache in her chest and dropped her phone onto the bed beside her. Tomorrow she would be back in London and back living next door to the person she had tried to forget. Ella realised that she probably would never get over Harry.

The next day went past in a blur. They packed and headed to the airport. They boarded the plane and spent a few hours in the air, before landing back at Gatwick. They collected there bags and were welcomed home by their respected family or friend. Wes was there for Clara, and had promised to drop the other girls home too. Kye had surprised Ella and showed up, telling her he wanted to pick her up himself. They were both happy nobody else joined them as they all left the airport car park.

Kye asked endless questions about Ella’s holiday and she told him every small detail. Kye listened quietly rarely speaking or interrupting.

“No boys that took your fancy?” He finally asked, a small twinkle in his eye. Ella laughed and shook her head; she wasn’t going to tell Kye about Daniel.

“How are things at home?” Ella asked, stumbling over the words like she was scared of the answer.

“Mum and dad have missed you; so has your bored older brother!” University had been over for the summer and Kye usually always came home. She would have to make it up to him. “Harry has been asking for you.” Kye’s sudden words took the air from Ella’s chest as she gripped the chair.

“What did he want?” She barely managed to stutter.

“He’s a mad man on a mission and very desperate to talk to you. You think you’ll listen?” Kye smirked, remembering the mess that had been Harry, pacing back and forth and pulling at his famous locks.

“I really don’t know.” Ella admitted, leaning her elbow against the door and placing her head in her hand.

“He loves you, you do realise that, right?” Kye almost whispered, afraid to step out of line and send his sister into a fit of tears or anger. He wasn’t sure which one would be worse.

“He may think he does, but he doesn’t. He has a new girl, the love you saw is for her.” Ella snapped, but didn’t move her head from her hand.

“He isn’t with anyone, Ella.” Kye said, driving the car through the gates. “The boy is mad about you; it only takes someone to look at the way he looks at you. Mention your name and you see him transform before you. You can be stubborn and deny it all you want, but it seems the boy is ready to finally try. Now it’s up to you whether you want to as well!”

The car came to a stop in the driveway and Ella didn’t speak. She let Kye’s words sink in as he removed himself from the vehicle and headed to the door. He stopped and watched her, waiting for her to move.

Could she try with Harry? She couldn’t stop thinking about him, but then again that was natural as he had been her first love. It would get easier if she walked away, wouldn’t it? It had too. She wasn’t sure giving him another chance was an option any more. She had to think of herself; think of her vulnerable heart.

She stepped from the car and shut the door. She looked at the house sitting beside hers and watched as the front curtain opened and Harry’s eyes watched her. She saw a smile tug at his lips, but she wasn’t ready to decide yet. She looked down and walked to her own front door, pushing past Kye and walking in.

She needed time to think. This wasn’t a one minute kind of decision. She needed time to realise which was smarter to follow;

Her head,
Or her heart!