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The little barks echoed through the house; there was a rushed patting of small paws along the kitchen floor. I smiled, bending down to stroke the pup. But I was shocked to see he was much bigger. ‘Hey buddy,’ I rubbed his head. ‘Glad you remember me.’ ‘You’ve not been gone that long, you know,’ my dad scoffed, standing up from the table, closing his laptop lid down. ‘Dogs have decent memories.’ I carried on stroking John’s head

The months were a blur, in between still script writing for the comedy show, Charlie and I had been on the sets of our show, watching the scenes and acts all over and over. I had no idea how slow it all was. Watching scenes to repeat over and over. I was almost silent on the show, invisible, but I wrote down extra notes and passed them down. The actors had felt more comfortable talking to the director, Sammy, than me. Sammy, who I had barely talked to for five minutes. When I wa

It had been three days and we were both just shadows walking around the house. When I first got there my dad came to the door before I even stepped out the car. We just looked at each other, tired black eyes, blotched faces, clothes slugged on us, we both looked as crap as the other. Like father, like son. It had been strange sleeping in my old bedroom, well, not a bedroom anymore. A guest room, all my old things taken down and my desk and my be

The next month was a blur. It’s a common cliché, but it really was for me. I was still scriptwriting, just barely, I was going to have to quit it soon to focus on this project. This was supposed to be it. My work, not only be appreciated, but noticed. I felt like I was under water and I had to guess how to swim, that I should have known how to swim, and I was stupid for struggling. Sometimes I would wake up and stare at my hands, wondering if I

He stood there at the airport gate, a beautiful toothy grin blossoming on his face. He was standing taller and held up the sign higher with my name on. He almost looked like he was about to go on his tiptoes and jump around like an excited kid. He was all fresh faced and smooth looking while I was carrying heavy black bags under my eyes and a thick dirty jumper. ‘You really don’t travel well, do you?’ he grinned, almost laughing. In one smooth movement, he swep

‘Thanks for helping me pack the case,’ I said, over my shoulder. The zip squealed as I closed the suitcase. I lifted the case off the bed and pushed it to the side. ‘Leave it there,’ said Charlie, shutting his wardrobe. ‘It’ll be fine for a while.’ He paused and smirked at me, ‘Didn’t realise how poor you were, not even having a suitcase.’ ‘Shut up, Knight Man.’ He pulled a face and opened his mouth to reply.

The phone bleeped again. I stared at the ceiling. My whole body ached, and I couldn’t roll back over again. I reached my hand out, smacking the table trying to find my phone. I brought it closer to my face and squinted at the text message. ‘Second sick day in a row. You have one more left then you must come in for your next shift.’ I rolled my eyes. I had the best boss in the world. Tossing the phone onto the side, I rubbed my face with

It was nearly midnight. Three minutes before midnight actually. Three minutes and I could leave this dumpsite of a workplace. My face ached from smiling. Glancing over, Oli caught my eye. He was stood next to David at the bar and waving over in a frantic manner at me. Looking around for the boss, I then walked over. Crowds were starting to leave anyway. ‘Two more minutes until leaving!’ exclaimed Oli, patting me on the shoulder. ‘How’s your hang

‘Should have totally slapped that bitch!’ ‘Yer,’ I mocked, taking another slice of pizza. I was turning into a guy who liked Fridays now. I did actually enjoy it. Even if I did have to come in on Saturdays for work. I had felt better after spending time with Alex, and I had talked to both Charlie and Oli. ‘Well, she should have,’ Oli muttered, sitting back. He turned to me and said, ‘So, you going to go?’ ‘Of course, I am goi

‘So, you and Alex W. Scott?’ I blushed and shrugged my shoulders. 'Makes sense now,’ said Charlie, sitting back, flicking through the channels. He took a swig from his beer bottle. ‘How so?’ I asked, staring at the changing channels. ‘With him rushing to help you with Robertson,’ he replied. ‘I thought he was just acting the old heroic act. Makes sense now why he did it.’ I frowned, ‘He is nice anyway. You sh

The screen was too bright, it almost burned. Rubbing my eyes, I sighed and turned away from the laptop. I went the kitchen, opened the fridge. Inside was that tub filled with left over lasagne. Reaching for it, I tittered at the swirly writing on sticky note on top. ‘Enjoy sweetie!’ Lifting the lid, the cold meat scent hit my nose. I smiled, ‘Thanks, mum.’ I picked a fork up and started to eat. ‘Cold lasagne

‘Ugh! Robertson is here again,’ Oli gave a glance to the left, over my shoulder. I lifted the champagne bottle and poured it into the glasses on my tray. ‘Ach!’ Oli rolled his eyes. ‘He looks bad. I feel bad for anyone caught with him tonight.’ I smirked back and placed the empty champagne bottle back on the desk. Lifting my tray, I said, ‘He was here last week. Threw a drink at one of the new bar staff and groped Sandy.’

‘You put up with him, don’t you?’ I raised my eyebrow over to Oli. ‘I could say the same for you,’ he replied, laughing. He had a nice laugh. I looked over to Oli. He was grinning. No wonder. He was right. David was cool. Oli was so over excited, and David was happy to just watch, delighted. His mellow vibe alongside being a tall guy with long black hair, large eyebrows and happy-go-lucky charm made them a balanced handsome couple. Well suited.

CHAPTER 17 Sitting myself down, I gave a slight push to the laptop screen and I picked up my hot cup. The coffee was a strong delight for my nose, the heat teasing my cold skin. I blew over it and clicked on my emails. I frowned. No new emails. Still. I sipped my coffee and sighed. He should have replied by now. Why wouldn’t he reply, it had been over two months now. I tightened my fingers around the handle of my cup and

Ugh. Pulling myself back up, I wiped my feeble hand over my mouth. My tongue was acid, and my old mop bucket was getting the full load of it. I stared at the repulsive bucket of vomit of shame near my bed and rolled my head back on the pillow. The reek hoovered all over my bedroom like death hanging on for eternity. Sniffing, I let out a breath and glanced over to my phone. It was nearly four in the afternoon and my phone hadn’t received any mes