Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Casualty had just started on BBC1. That probably suited his mood better. Watching other people having shitty things happen to them might make his own life feel like less of a clusterfuck.
Finally, Jez turned up. “Okay, guys, I’m good to go. Sorry to keep you waiting, but it takes effort to look this pretty.” He tossed his mess of dirty blond hair out of one eye. It looked as if he’d just crawled out of bed, but that was obviously the effect he was going for, and it suited him. “Come on.”
He stood in front of Mac and offered a hand. Mac took it, and Jez hauled him up.
Mac put a possessive hand on the back of Jez’s neck and kissed him lightly on the lips. “You look awesome, babe.”
Jude stood too, putting his phone in his back pocket.
“Bye, mate,” Mac said.
Jez waggled his fingers. “Yeah, bye, Shawny. Have a nice night.”
Jude didn’t say anything at all, but their gazes locked briefly as he followed the others out, closing the door behind him. Shawn thought he saw a flash of hurt on Jude’s face. He took small comfort in the fact that he wasn’t the only one feeling crap about where they’d ended up. He was sure Sid would be a good distraction, though.
With that thought he settled back on the sofa to watch other people’s lives falling apart.
Shawn found Casualty weirdly absorbing. Not a show he usually watched, the story arcs involving the regular characters didn’t mean much to him, but the story lines for this episode involved a car accident, a brawl in a pub, and a teenage girl who’d taken a drug overdose, and those held his attention. The car accident plot line was a little too close to home, given that the victim was a bloke who’d been on his way to tell a girl that he loved her after he’d been a twat. Now it looked like he might end up dead before he got the chance to say his piece.
The living room door opened, making him jump. Lost in the drama on-screen, he’d forgotten he wasn’t alone in the house.
“Oh. Hi.” Ben stood uncertainly in the doorway, a bowl of food in his hands. “I thought you’d gone out with the others.”
“No.” Shawn picked up his beer and drained the can. He couldn’t be bothered to move and get another. “You gonna join me? Although if you’re squeamish, it might not be a good idea to watch this while you’re eating.” The scenes of the medics working on the car accident victims were pretty graphic. There was blood everywhere.
“Nah, I’m not squeamish.” Ben came and sat on the sofa with Shawn and dug into his bowl of what looked like stir-fry.
It smelled good. About a million times better than the crap Shawn had eaten this evening. He realised that even though Ben had been living here a couple of months now, he had barely exchanged more than a few words with him. He didn’t even know what Ben was studying, only that he was a mature student—in his mid-twenties, apparently—which was why he’d opted not to live in halls of residence. He didn’t look any older than an undergrad, though. If Shawn didn’t know better, he’d have assumed Ben was still a teenager.
He suddenly noticed he was watching Ben like a creeper, so he turned his attention back to the TV and gave a sigh that came out louder than he’d intended.
“You all right?” Ben eyed him doubtfully.
“Yeah,” Shawn lied.
He was far from all right. He was a cowardly twat who was sitting here sulking and alone because he didn’t have the balls to be honest about who he was.
Maybe it was the beer, or maybe Shawn was turning soft, but when the guy on Casualty pulled through after some emergency surgery and finally got to tell his girl that he loved her, Shawn had a massive lump in his throat. He swallowed hard, glad that Ben was watching the screen rather than him because he suspected his eyes would be a little misty.
“Love conquers all,” Ben said, sounding a little cynical. “Shame it’s not always that easy in real life.”
“Yeah.”
But maybe it could be.
The credits started to roll, and before he had time to think about what he was doing, Shawn was on his feet in a shower of Dorito crumbs.
“You off to bed?” Ben asked.
“No. I’ve decided to go out after all.”
Out being the operative word. Shawn’s stomach lurched with nerves, but his resolve held.
“Oh, okay. Well… have fun.”
“Cheers.” Shawn wasn’t sure how much fun it would be, depending on the outcome, but anything would beat sitting around being helpless and pathetic. And with that thought in mind, he headed upstairs to get ready.
By the time he’d showered, fixed his hair, and tried on several different combinations of clothes until he was happy with his appearance, it was quarter to eleven. Which pub was it they said they were going to?