If They Knew by Sophie Flynn

Author:Sophie Flynn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hera
Published: 2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Then

New York

I don’t know what I can do to get Jesse’s interest back. Some days, I think it’s all okay and he still loves me the way he did when we first met, but then other days, like today, I can feel him pulling away. I was so excited this morning because he finally agreed to come and hang out in the practice rooms with me. We haven’t done that for ages, since Haydee came along really, ’cause he’s always too hungover or on a comedown from the night before. But today we went together, guitars strapped on our backs and as we walked across the lawn to the music block, he took my hand and the sun came out and I honestly thought everything was going to be perfect.

It kind of was, too. That’s the worst part. We had such a good day! The practice rooms here are way better than the ones at uni in Exeter; they’re actually soundproof, for a start, and every single one has a working piano that’s properly tuned. It made me kind of miss home in a funny way, walking into a perfectly white room where you just know everything is as it should be. There’s something a bit unnerving about New York in that way, sometimes. As if there’s no room for imperfection. But maybe that’s the point? People who come here, people like me, know they’re riddled with imperfections but they’ve dared to dream that they can make something better of themselves here; that’s what New York is all about.

I’m talking rubbish as usual. What I really want to write about isn’t even practice, though that was absolutely amazing; it’s what happened after.

But I should mention practice too ’cause it makes everything even worse. So, Jesse was playing piano. We’d both brought our guitars but we hadn’t even taken them out of the cases ’cause he was playing so beautifully, I didn’t want to ruin it. He was playing and I was singing and god, it was so perfect. We work so well together and so I asked him if he’d come to the open mic at the pub that night with me and play what we’d just written and just like that, he stopped playing. All the air got sucked out of the room as he shut the piano lid and told me he had plans with Owen tonight.

‘What sort of plans?’ I asked.

He rolled his eyes. ‘Just plans, don’t be so needy.’

‘I’m not being needy!’ I said and yes, of course it was in a bit of a squeal that made me sound the very epitome of needy. ‘I just thought it would be nice to play together.’

‘We’re playing together right now,’ he said, a smile curling his lips and with that, I knew that I could breathe again. He pulled me towards him and I straddled either side of the piano stool.

‘We can’t, not here.’

He stroked the side of my face, then down my neck until he unzipped my hoody and traced a line around my breasts.

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