Chapter 19
The Night of the Party
Seb
Seb sat at the bar in The Bay Hotel and waited for everyone to arrive.
He had thought it odd Holly would change the venue for her party at such short notice, but Sloane had been adamant the plans had changed.
By half eight, he started to get worried.
Why was everyone so late? He downed what was left of his pint, then checked his phone a third time for any messages. None.
He had tried phoning Holly, but it cut off before it even rang. He tried Sloane’s number this time, and she picked up on the second ring.
‘Seb, where are you?’ she sang down the line.
‘The Bay - like you said?’
‘Oh, shit. Sorry. Last minute change of plan - again. Holly has been all over the place today. It’s all back on at The Dolphin. Meet me outside first - we need to talk.’
He left the hotel and made his way up the cobbled street to the sounds of music and laughter drifting down from The Dolphin.
He couldn’t quite understand what had happened this weekend.
He’d been excited to see Holly, to give her his present.
But everything, every interaction, every moment they’d had together felt stilted.
He spotted Sloane as she slipped outside, moving towards him.
‘What’s going on Sloane?’
‘I told Holly you were on your way and she said it’s better if you just don’t come at all. She said you’ve been giving off weird vibes lately and she didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.’
‘The wrong idea?’
‘That she likes you.’
‘Holly doesn’t like me? Have I upset her?’
‘No - shit - I’m not explaining myself properly,’ Sloane giggled to herself and then looked back up at him, ‘she likes you, but like a brother. She said the thought of anything else between you has been grossing her out. She nearly cancelled the party all together.’
The words hit him like Sloane had landed a punch.
Each syllable felt like a blow. In his confusion, he didn’t realise she was pushing him against the walls of the pub and slipping her arms around his neck.
He also didn’t realise she was kissing him until it was too late.
When his brain registered what was happening, he pushed her away.
‘What the hell, Sloane?’
‘I don’t think of you like a brother.’
She went to kiss him again, but he ducked away.
‘She really said that?’
Sloane composed herself as she turned to face him again. ‘She said the thought of kissing you made her gag. Likened it to kissing Luke.’
Seb blinked, then looked towards the doors of The Dolphin.
He’d been looking forward to spending Holly’s birthday with her.
He’d been in love with her for years and was starting to think maybe, she liked him too.
Now the end of Uni was in sight, and he was coming back to the Bay, he’d worked up the courage to tell her how he felt.
But if she thought of him as a brother, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to move back home and not be with her.
‘I’d better go then. Wouldn’t want to gross her out on her birthday.’
*
As he walked up the narrow cobbled alleyway on his way home, his plans started to shift.
He was grateful for the darkness that surrounded him as he used the comfort of the shadows to plot the next chapter of his life.
It was something he would have to do alone, and quickly.
If his parents had the chance, they’d try to convince him to return to the Bay.
But he couldn’t now. Last month, he’d been offered a graduate position in Leeds.
Leeds felt far enough away from Holly that he could move on.
His childhood home was thankfully quiet when he closed the door behind him.
After checking the monitor and seeing the grainy footage of Danny asleep, he tried to ignore the pang of guilt that assaulted him.
His plan to return to the Bay after Uni had also meant he’d have more time with Danny, but he knew in his heart it would be too hard to live here and see her loving someone else.
Seb was never selfish. He rarely put himself first. But, how could he live here and not be in Holly’s life right now?
Opening up his laptop, he emailed his acceptance to the graduate programme, and hoped Danny would understand his decision.
Before turning in for the night, he dialed Holly’s number, hoping it would still go straight to voicemail. It did.