Almost Home

Chapter Six

The pub was quiet as we enter, and I follow behind Tom as he makes his way over to his friends who were all piled around a couple of tables they'd pushed together by the fire. It was intimidating, especially when they all looked up simultaneously to gawp at me and I fight the urge to fade into the background, smiling sheepishly at them as I lift my hand in hello.

It's not that I don't like meeting new people, because I do. In fact, working at the café forces me to meet new people every day and it's never been an issue for me before. I just don't like being the centre of attention.

I used to. When I was younger, I was the loudest one in the room. I think that came from hanging out with two older boys every day of my life; if you didn't talk loudly, you didn't get heard. And because everyone liked Tom and Jamie, that meant they liked me too, because I was in their gang. So I adored all of the attention and all of the new friends that came with it.

But not now. I'm happy enough to take a back seat and let others have their say first. 

It takes a while to regain confidence after having a bit of a knock.

'This is Emma, my sister,' Tom introduces, and gestures for me to take the empty seat next to a pretty, heavily pierced girl with a blonde pixie cut.

'Hey, I'm Steph. You're Tom's sister? How have we not met before?' she asks, as Tom turns his back on us and makes a beeline for the bar.

'She doesn't get out much!' he shouts over his shoulder before greeting the girl behind it with a friendly, familiar hug. 'What are you drinking, Em?'

'Just an orange juice, please.'

I sit back, my eyes instantly straying across the table to where Jamie was sitting, locked in a deep conversation with someone I didn't recognise and as if sensing my bashful gaze, he glances up, flashing me a brief grin before resuming his chat.

It was still so surreal to see him sitting only a foot away from me after all this time. He looked so casual, so relaxed, as if this was nothing more than a regular evening out for him but for me it was anything but ordinary. It felt monumental. Years of missing him, wondering whether he would want to even speak to me after the way things ended between us, gone with a single smile when he returned.

He was back. And yes, it may only be for another two days, but he was here now and everything was okay, and that was all that mattered.

A drink is waved in front of my line of vision and I take it from Tom with a small thanks, finally tearing my eyes away from Jamie to take a sip and when I do, I almost gag from the taste of it burning my tongue.

I look to my brother in shock to find him grinning at me. 'Tom! What-'

'I stuck a vodka in it. You're welcome!'

He turns away from me, clearly thinking this was an adequate enough explanation and, not bothered enough to change it, I take another sip whilst scanning the familiar room in which I'd spent many a Friday and Saturday night when I was younger.

It's been years since I've set foot inside here and I was glad to see that nothing had changed, noting the same regulars propping up the bar and the faded pool table tucked away in the corner of the room.

I have a sudden urge to know if the dartboard was still here and with a painful pang I locate it, hanging up beside the bar and memories of playing on it all those years ago come flooding back. Nathan had convinced me to a game when we were first dating, the loser having to buy the takeout and the results had been catastrophic. Missing the board entirely, I'd managed to shatter the glass of a drinker sitting nearby when I'd hit his pint instead. Although we'd offered to buy him another in its place, his anger had been indelible and we'd decided to scarper, cackling as we raced through the darkened maze of streets towards town.