Free This is a Love Story by Jessica Thompson

sports writer, dancing around behind Sienna, moving his hips like an
    oversexed R’n’B singer and pointing at her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Then his fringe flopped over his face. Oh God,
    this was embarrassing . . .
    Sienna must have sensed something was going on behind her and she turned her head around. But by the time she did, Dave was
    sitting still with a false look of diligence on his face, probably typing the letters XyXyXy all the way across the screen. Cheeky
    bugger.
    ‘Right, OK then, see you in the morning,’ I called and turned on my heels.
    When I got home I dreaded what I might find when I turned the key in the door. Maybe Amelia had created a floor mosaic out of
    raw meat spelling the word ‘Fuckwit’, or even worse, taken my Radiohead CD. The very worst-case scenario would be if she was
    still here . . .
    I slowly made my way into the corridor. ‘Amelia?’ I called out, the fear obvious in my voice as it echoed down the hall. Looking
    down at my feet, I saw the key gleaming on the mat. Phew, I was safe.
    I shuffled cautiously into the kitchen and saw a folded-up piece of paper. I began to read.
    Nick,
    What can I say?
    I ruined the best relationship I have ever had in my life and I will probably never forgive myself for this.
    I am deeply sorry for the pain I might have caused you.
    If it helps in any way, the person who is hurting the most in all this is me.
    People like you don’t come around often, and I may never meet another.
    If you ever find a way to forgive me, I will be waiting.
    Love you,
    Amelia
    x

    Well, you had to give it to the girl, that was truly heart-wrenching. I looked at a photo of us pinned to the fridge with a Honey
    Monster magnet. We looked so happy. Behind us were the rambling hills of the Lake District, and the bright sun had created a white
    flash in one corner of the photograph. A flaw in an otherwise perfect moment.
    The true enormity of what had happened suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. My house now felt huge, even though it wasn’t that
    big. A two-bedroom terraced place that seemed like a sprawling mansion now I was alone.
    I had put the deposit down on it with money left to me by my grandmother. Mum and Dad helped out a bit too. I was lucky to
    have this house at such a young age, but right now I felt so alone in it. I would probably have to get a lodger now to help with the
    mortgage. Great.
    I had thought I was too angry about what Amelia and Toby had done to feel sadness like this. I’d been so incandescent with fury
    that I’d hated the thought of her; only now was I starting to feel her loss.
    I suddenly remembered what this stage of a break-up felt like; it was all coming back to me now. It was like a really bad stomach
    bug after a dodgy takeaway. At the time you feared you might die with your head stuck down the toilet and a hole blown out of the
    seat of your trousers, then just a few weeks later you had completely forgotten how terrible it was. It was as if the experience had
    been so traumatic that your mind had dulled its memory enough for you to get all cocky again. Otherwise you would never be able
    to walk down a street with a curry house on it again. And that would make living in London quite difficult. With feelings, it was
    tricky. One minute you might be making a coffee or shopping for milk and cereal, and then bam – out of nowhere the inescapable
    would come and sting you. Those emotions you’d buried under a heap of male egotistical bullshit. All the crappy phrases your
    friends had reeled off to salve the wounds: ‘Plenty more fish in the sea, mate,’ or ‘We never really liked her anyway . . .’
    But I wasn’t sure whether I missed her, or whether I was scared of my uncertain future.
    The loud ticking of the kitchen clock only affirmed the fact that I was alone. I’m not a big boozer, I don’t really drink on my own,
    but I poured a small amount of whisky into a glass and trickled some Coke on top.
    I pulled a