Lucy in the Sky

you the same question.’ I reach out to touch his temple gently. He’s going to have a nasty bruise in the morning. He flinches.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘I’m so sorry.’
    ‘You don’t have to be sorry,’ he tells me softly as he unbuckles our seat belts. He leans over and puts his arms around me. ‘You’re shivering,’ he says, and turns the heating right up, before relaxing back in his seat. He looks across at me.
    ‘What now?’
    ‘Well, I don’t think I’m going home with James to his parents’ place tomorrow.’ I laugh hollowly.
    ‘Do you want to come back to mine?’
    ‘Actually, what I’d really love is to go home to my family.’
    ‘Okay,’ he answers, trying to mask his disappointment.
    ‘But I won’t be able to get a train ticket…’ I add.
    ‘Can I drive you?’ he asks, hope filling his eyes.
    ‘Would you?’ I question, tears filling mine.
    ‘Lucy, of course. Will that be okay with your mum and Terry?’
    ‘I’ll call her,’ I tell him. ‘But can we go back to mine quickly and pick up my bag?’ Thankfully I packed last night.
    Nathan pulls up outside our flat and comes upstairs with me. He takes my suitcase and I grab a few more things, including the velvet box with James’s necklace in it. I bring it through to the living room.
    ‘Come on, Lucy,’ he urges, ‘we should go.’
    ‘Hang on,’ I tell him. He stands and watches me gravely as Iremove the diamond earrings from my ears and place them in the box next to the necklace. I leave it open on the coffee table. There’s no need to write a note. That sight will speak volumes.
    Nathan drives north to Archway while I call my mum. I fill her in briefly.
    ‘Nathan’s bringing me home,’ I say finally. ‘Can he stay with us for Christmas?’ I feel awkward as Nathan can hear everything I’m saying.
    ‘Of course he can, love. Of course he can.’
    ‘Thanks, Mum.’ My eyes well up again.
    ‘Do you want me to make up the spare room for him?’ she asks drily. ‘Or will he sleep in yours?’
    ‘Er,’ I peek across at Nathan. ‘Maybe the spare for now, thanks…’
    He grins at me cheekily and the butterflies awake in my stomach.
    I switch off my phone in case James calls and then wait in the car while Nathan runs into his flatshare to pack a bag.
    ‘Were your flatmates okay about you not being around for Christmas?’ I ask when he gets back.
    ‘Yeah.’ He laughs self-consciously.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Richard told me he’ll be happy not to see my miserable mug around. I’ve been destroying his and Ally’s festive cheer, apparently.’
    I concentrate on navigating until we hit the motorway along with thousands of other Londoners heading to the country for Christmas.
    ‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’ Nathan asks finally, as I put the map down; we’ll be on the motorway for a while now.
    I look across at him in the darkness and can barely believe he’s coming home with me for Christmas. I remember he’s going home himself soon and my stomach freefalls. But I can’t think of that now. We have two weeks left together; I want to make them last.
    ‘Lucy?’ he asks me gently, and I realise I haven’t answered his question.
    ‘Yes, sorry,’ I reply, and fill him in on the night’s events.
    He shakes his head in dismay when I’ve finished. ‘Are you okay?’ he glances across at me.
    ‘I am. I feel surprisingly okay.’
    James and I would have broken up sooner or later, I know that now. Surely it was only a matter of time before I found out the truth about him…I should feel worse about what he’s done to me, but I don’t. Oh, I know it will get messy. We’re going to have to sort out the flat and that will be a nightmare, but it can wait. Right now I refuse to waste a single minute with my sexy, messy-haired surfer.

Chapter 27
    We arrive in Dunster close to midnight after almost five hours of Christmas traffic. I dozed off on the way here but poor Nathan looks shattered. The house is dark, and as I search for my set of keys in my bag, Mum opens the door in her dressing gown.
    ‘Lucy.’ She gives me a tight hug before turning to Nathan. ‘Diane,’ she introduces herself.
    ‘We’ve met.’ He smiles. ‘Once or twice before. When we were kids,’ he explains.
    ‘Oh, have we? I’m sorry.’
    ‘Don’t worry, Mum.’ I grin. ‘He’s changed quite a bit since then.’
    Mum offers to get us something to drink, but we just want to crash out so she leads the way to Nathan’s room