Broken Hearts May Have Their Doubts

Dearest best friend, my one and only chum bucket, Blissy boo,

How I miss thou. I'm sat in an Internet cafe in Jacksonville, typing this email to you and trying to find a cheap flight to Ibiza. My dad says I can go out and stay with them, help them set the pub up and stuff. I don't want to, but what else can I do? Rhys ran off with a stripper. A STRIPPER, BLISS, A STRIPPER! In Vegas. I do not understand that boy. He tells me he loves me, wants to marry me, says we'll get married in Vegas, then one night he runs off to a club and returns home with this surgically enhanced, bottle blonde, telling me he wants her instead of me. So they took her car and drove off into the sunset. The bastard. Why oh why did I spend all those years of my life with him? Three years I won't get back anytime soon!
Lets hope I meet a nice Spanish boy in Ibiza, I could do with some major excitement.

Anyway, how are you? How is Libby? How is the poor student life treating you?

Bliss, promise me you'll marry some boy in your law class. Some rich good looking boy. Promise me now! PROMISE ME NOW BLISS SARAH BRADLEY! Swear it on your life.

Tell Libs I said hi and show her this email, I don't have enough money to allow me to stay on the computer long enough to send her an email.

Love you,
Polly. x

I raised one eyebrow at the glowing laptop screen in front of me. The room was dim, save my laptop and the glow from the TV screen, that for some unknown reason was on mute. The closing credits of Hollyoaks flashed before my eyes and I wandered over to it, pressing in the 'off' button, which made Harmony's head snap up at the sudden darkness.

"It's dark and spooky. The ghosts might come out," she whispered, mysteriously. I rolled my eyes at her and walked over to the standing lamp in the corner and flicked it on, illuminating the room instantly. Harmony was now more than just a very vocal shadow to me, she was curled up in the battered armchair, her sketchbook in her lap. Her hand flew across the page as she put images from her mind on the cream coloured paper.

I walked back over to the sofa and slumped down in it, re-reading Polly's email. I bet you're wondering what's going on. You'll be wondering who Harmony is, why Polly's been dumped in Las Vegas by Rhys Maple and where the hell are Sacha and Libby. Well, let me explain.

After college, Polly and Rhys decided to head to America. They'd both had several part time jobs during those two years and saved up enough money for flights and such. Rhys had bought them a cheap second hand car and they'd gone on a huge road trip across America, though clearly, that had been cut short now he'd ditched her for someone tartier than Sacha. Speaking of Tart Face, she was working in some office back at home, choosing to opt out of further education. It's not her style anyway, is it really?

Now, myself and Libby were both at university. Living away from home in the halls of residence, with our new friend, Harmony.

Harmony Lewis was some sort of hippie. I swear she's like lived in caravan's all her life with travelling gypsies or something along those lines. She's one of those people that believe in fate and destiny and cosmic ordering and all that jazz. She babbles on about vibes and crystals and stuff. Truly mental, so she fits in with us just perfectly.

Relationship wise, only Sacha had any luck. I won't say anymore. The story will unfold, believe me. I'll tell you this for free, my fairytale ending, wasn't a happy one. So really, it wasn't the end to be honest, it was somewhere in the middle.

I set my laptop aside and leaned towards the tiny coffee table, picking up Libby's copy of Kerrang magazine. Seriously, she's poor and constantly moans about how she's never got any money, yet she'll fork out the two pound ten for this. I flicked through it, reading live reviews and several other bits and pieces. Until I came across a page that a familiar face adorned. I flicked a couple of pages, choosing to ignore it, until I stumbled across him again. And again. And again.

I groaned and tossed the magazine on the table, rubbing my eyes tiredly. He was coming back to haunt me, making sure I never forgot his stupid face or his stupid name.

"I'm sensing some bad vibes, and that magazine holds the answers," Harmony announced, placing her sketchbook and pencil on the floor and picking up the magazine. I watched her set it down on her lap and flick through it. Every couple of pages, she read something that was printed, in the hope to find out what had rattled me.

"Review of Mindless Self Indulgence gig?" I shook my head. "Introducing You Me At Six?" My jaw tightened and Harmony nodded. "Okay, that's what's making you mad, can I ask why?"

I took a deep breath to try and control my anger, it wasn't her fault she was naive and stupid, and didn't know anything about Josh. Not how it took us months to finally get together, and how... well, let's not get into that right now.

"The lead singer, Josh, is my ex boyfriend. The bassist is Libby's ex, and the guitarist is Sacha's boyfriend," I explained, through gritted teeth.

"Oh, Sacha, how is she? She was such a lovely person, good vibes just seem to cling to her. All her emotions are so balanced, not like you and Libby."

It's when she says things like that, I want to push her head down a toilet and flush it. "I'm sure, Tart Face is doing perfectly fine. But that's not what I was talking about."

The front door opened and Libby's voice called to us. "I'm back and I bring an amazing gift!"

"Food?" I asked, watching her take her coat off and kick her shoes to the side of the door, before wandering into the tiny living room. She delved into the pocket of her tight skinny jeans and produced something thin and card like. She held it out to me and I took it from her.

My eyes scanned the ticket before glancing up at her. "Your kidding, right?"

"No. I'm going to get Matt back. I miss him, Bliss, surely you miss Josh too?"

I shook my head, thrusting the tickets back at her, standing up and heading towards my bedroom. "Count me out, Elizabeth! Take someone else!" i cried, dramatically, slamming the bedroom door behind me.