Cherry Coloured - Alex Turner

9. Pay Phone

Ever since he was a child, Alex had held a strong sense of self. It was an aspect of him that he found pride in and upheld with the tightest fist. It had become a form of self protection, he knew who he was and as a result, wouldn't let people knock him around.

Growing up he refused to melt into the crowd. As his mates began to become misogynistic and nonchalant towards women, he refrained. He didn't care that the girls at his school wanted to chase and not be chased, he knew he was a seeker of romance, not sex. Despite knowing that sports were more widely accepted, Alex knew he liked to read and wouldn't give it up to please the people around him. He always maintained respect for himself due to how strong he believed he knew who he was but all of that came crashing down when he met Vienna.

As time passed, Alex began to realise the one thing about him that was more persistent than that unbreakable sense of self; his foolishness in the face of love. Suddenly, everything he knew of himself flew out the door and dispersed itself into tiny fragments never to be found.

It was easier to remember who he was when she wasn't around but even then, she lived in his mind and swam in his viens like regret. However he didn't regret Vienna. He loved her. Ultimately, entirely, and destructively. He loved her more than he'd ever loved anyone and he couldn't stop. No matter how much she hurt him.

  Alex's mind was comparable to a blended slush as he tended to pouring a pint for the two lads that had approached the bar. Once again, Rent had requested his assistance and, having nothing else to keep his mind off last night and no one to go home to after work, he'd willingly accepted. Consequently, he now found himself trapped behind that wooden bar listening to the worst local band on earth whilst pouring out a bitter IPA to two bitter lads.

"Cheers man," one of the men said as Alex handed them their pints.

Alex waited until they'd left the bar to sigh and snuck a look at his phone from his back pocket. Nothing. Nothing to calm his nerves or subdue the worries navigating the waves of his brain.

He opened up Vienna's contact and waited like a dog at the door for a message to come through. In a desperate attempt for a response, he typed out a simple, innocent message and sent it to her.

"Finish Rent's at 9:30 tonight, I can bring home dinner if you like? I know it'll be late but I'm happy to grab anything."

  There wasn't much more he could do than try his best.

  "Hey mate could I get a pint of Guinness?" someone said, snapping up his attention.

  Alex cleared his throat and shoved his phone in his back pocket. "Yeah, sure, lass."

  It was as Alex served this young lady with shimmering blonde hair that reminded him of his partner that Maeve thoughtlessly rushed into the building and made a beeline for the bathroom. Neither of them saw the other.

She'd been out drinking with a friend in the area and had been looking for a bathroom to use seeing as the one at the pub they'd been at was covered in sick. Rent's only had one women's stall and by some miracle it was vacant. Maeve alleviated herself with the loudest exhale of pure relief.

  Her dark eyes scanned her surroundings and brought a wince to her lips. Rent's wasn't a bad bar but it was obvious the staff cleaned the toilets once every two nights. Whilst washing her hands she met the warped image of her reflection. First Friday off in months and still she was out and looked absolutely shattered. Her nose had also woken her up to a puddle of blood on her white pillows, it had been playing up over the week ever since the bathroom incident at the Ritz. Everything about that night had haunted her and worst of all was the man at the bar whom she didn't even know was there.