Alex’s POV
The next day I head to the restaurant that Troy gave me the details for. River’s friends were extremely kind, asking me lots of questions about my life, why I moved here. Although I was mostly vague with my answers.
None of them have to know that I moved here because of Liam. To them I just wanted a new start from London, somewhere quiet but with lots of character. It’s not a complete lie. I’ve only been here for a week and I already love this town.
I guess it can get quite samey-samey if you’ve lived here for a long time. But I am yet to get to that stage. I can’t imagine hating this place if Liam loved it. It fills me with hope, warmth.
Everyday I feel a little closer to him.
As I stop outside of the restaurant, I can see the ’HELP WANTED” sign in the window. They’re still needing a chef, hopefully I could be up for the job. They just need to take a chance on me as I’ve been out of the industry for a couple of months. Although there is nothing wrong with having a break when you need it.
I press my hand to the door and step inside. It’s fairly quiet but it’s just before lunch. I see a young brown haired girl at the front till, her eyes light up when she spots me. “Hi,” she greets. “Welcome to The Green House. Here is a menu.”
“Oh,” I bash my eyes at her extended arm. “Actually I’m here to see William. Is he here?”
The girl rips her arm backwards, brushing hair from her face with a soft blush. “Oh, my bad. Yes. He’s in the back. I’ll go get him.”
“Thank you.”
When she leaves I find myself smoothing out my shirt and inhaling a thousand breaths. Act cool, Alex. Act cool. No one wants to hire an awkward being with no social skills, even if I’ll be kept in the back making food. Restaurants want vibes.
“Hello?”
My head whips to the deep voice, my eyes focusing on a man in his fifties. Tan skin but greying hair. “Hi, I’m Alex. I heard about your chef posting and I thought I’d bring in my CV.”
The CV that I printed this morning from the local library for fifteen pence. Sometimes the traditional way is better than leaving an email or ringing them up. A little bit of effort goes a long way, my dad always told me that.
I hold out my hand as he moves closer, he takes it with a firm grip. The action almost pulls me to the floor but I stabilise my core and offer a smile. “From the window?”
“No actually, someone told me about it.”
“Who is this someone?” He pulls his hand back and crosses his arms over his chest.
“Troy,” I swallow. “I don’t know his surname.”
William pauses for a second and then his expression widens. “Ahhh, Troy Hernandez. Yes. Of course.”
I dig my hand into my backpack and pull out my CV. “I thought I would drop this round if you guys are still looking. I recently moved to town and I’m looking for a job within this industry.”
He glances down at the pristine piece of paper and takes it between his hands. His eyes scan over the words at the top of the page, they flick from me to the page and back again. Then his hand swipes across his jaw.
“King?”
I nod and continue to smile, ignoring the crash of anxiety over my spine.
William’s eyes focus on mine for a second longer, then he tilts his head. “Did you have a brother?”
“Yes.”
“Liam.”
I inhale as quickly as I can. “Yes.”
My hands clasp together in front of me to stop them from shaking. I don’t know why I’m feeling like this. I moved here to learn more about him. If I can’t handle it when people bring him up, how am I going to survive a day longer?
William’s expression widens with enthusiasm and then dips instantly. “I am so sorry for your loss,” he says sincerely. “Liam was a wonderful person.”
“You knew him well?”
He nods eagerly. “Yes. Yes. Liam used to work at my son’s school. He really brought the town back with his selflessness and creativity.”
My eyes widen, my heart softens. “That’s really lovely to hear,” I say. “That’s actually one of the reasons why I moved here. To learn more about him, to get to know this town where he worked so hard to get to know everyone.”
William’s eyes crinkle when he smiles. “He was an amazing asset to this town. Always thinking about these children, the youth. Helping them with their futures, despite anything that might come in their way. He truly was one of a kind.”
“I really appreciate you telling me,” I smile back at him. “It’s nice to hear it from people who really knew him, those he helped.”
“Oh my son loved him,” he waves a hand and then leans onto the counter. “It’s such a shame what happened. This town needed him.”
I purse my lips, stopping myself from breaking down in tears. Although this conversation doesn’t make me upset, it makes me miss him so damn much.
“The memorial is beautiful too,” he says.
My eyes snap to his suddenly. “A memorial?”
“Yes, the town put one together for him a few weeks ago. You haven’t seen it?”
All I can do is shake my head. I had no idea. My blood chills for a moment and William steps forward. Telling where I can find the memorial. I smile back at him and thank him for his time even though blood is roaring in my ears because of this new information.
“I’ll give you a call,” William says, gesturing to the paper. “Thank you for coming in.”
I give him a nod and exit the restaurant. Taking the biggest breath of air, extending my neck to look up at the sky. He has a memorial and I had no idea. My eyes clamp shut and I feel like the worst brother ever.
Inside I’m scolding myself for taking too long to come to terms with his death. By shutting myself away, I missed a lot. Including the memorial for him in his own town. I mutter something to myself before heading back to my apartment.
Another day of applying for jobs back to back until I actually get one.
My rent isn’t going to pay itself.
I make myself some quick pasta with chicken before heading straight back to the laptop. It’s well into the evening now and my eyes burn from the amount of cover letters and applications I have completed. But my persistence keeps going.
As I finish my pasta and leave the bowl on the table, I twist to start refreshing the page only for the lights to go out. I slump back in my chair and look around. “Great,” I murmur to myself.
A power cut? Just what I need.
I stand from the chair, even though it’s not completely dark outside, my windows face another building which means no lights from the street seep through the room. It might as well be midnight.
My fingers reach for my phone, only to find out that it’s dead. “Of course,” I huff out.
Then I remember I don’t own any candles or a lighter. I didn’t prepare myself for a situation like this. I chew on my lip and make my way to the front door without walking into any furniture.
I step out in the hall only to be met by the dim emergency lights to the fire exits. A low grunt escapes my mouth. So it’s the whole building and not just my apartment. Fucking fantastic.
The sound of an apartment door opens down the hall and I turn my attention towards it, although I can’t see anything, I know that it’s River’s door. A hand presses to the door hinge and I notice his silhouette.
I lick my lips. “Power cut?”
“It happens every month,” River’s shoulders shrug gently.
My eyes widen in response. “Really?”
He passes a soft chuckle. “This place is a shithole but I’m not sure if you already know that yet.”
“Yeah... sure did.” I trail off. “When does it usually come back on? My phone is dead and I have no candles.”
River pushes off his doorway but I still can’t see his expression. He throws a thumb over his shoulder. “Do you wanna come in?” He clears his throat. “I have some candles and a semi charged laptop with illegally downloaded movies.”
I blink at his offer. “Oh, umm...” I swallow before I choke because being around him makes me nervous. Yet I have no idea why. “Are you sure?”
My hand raises to graze the back of my head. I have no idea why he’s so damn nice to me.
“Positive.”
For a moment I stand still and do nothing but then I pat my trousers to make sure that I have my keys, then I shut the door behind me. “Okay.”
River holds the door open for me and I enter his apartment, candles have already been lit and they’re dotted across the living room. It instantly makes everything feel a thousand times cosier and warmer even if it gives off the illusion.
“Sit down,” he gestures to the sofa and I nod. I perch on the furthest part of the sofa. “Do you want a drink?”
“Water is fine,” I smile. “Thanks.”
River nods and walks to the kitchen, filling up two glasses of water. When he returns he places them down onto the coffee table and sits down beside me but keeps a lot of space between us, probably because I’m right up against the arm of the sofa for absolutely no reason.
“The power usually comes back on around midnight,” he sighs.
My expression expands. “Really? That’s super shitty. Has no one complained?”
River’s mouth stretches into a smile, he pushes his hand through his hair with a laugh. “Yeah. A thousand times,” he nods. Even though all I can see him through is candle light, it frames his face with his amazing bone structure. “But they never do anything about it. Think it’s to do with the local energy company not having enough money. It’s stupid but we get by.”
“Yikes,” I exhale and look away from him before he notices that I’m staring at every inch of his face.
He shrugs. “How’s the job hunting going?”
“I went down to that restaurant that Troy suggested, handed in my CV there,” I lean forward to take the glass of water in my hand. Dampening my mouth. “The guy was really nice but I’m not sure if he’s going to hire me.”
“Well I have every faith in you,” he shuffles closer and I attempt not to notice.
I’m so thankful for the powercut because my cheeks begin to rise in a thick blush, so hot and so stupid. Why am I blushing over him? He’s a friend... if I can even call him that.
Maybe he’s my fairy Godfather instead.I laugh to myself. What a silly thought.
“What’s so funny?” He tilts his head with amusement.
My attention is snapped towards him, my expression dropping within a second. “Nothing, sorry,” I apologise.
“You don’t have to apologise for laughing, Alex,” he says gently. I internally shiver at the sound of my name falling from his lips. He says it with meaning, with purpose. Like he can see me, hear me.
That analogy sounds stupid. But in my head it makes sense.
“I guess time will tell with the job,” I say to get back onto topic. “It’s only been a few days since I started to apply. Hopefully something will come back in the next week or so.”
River hums in agreement. “Absolutely.”
“Your friends are really nice,” I say in response.
“Yeah, they’re pretty great. I love them.” He cups his hand over his knee.
I press my arms over my chest and settle into the sofa. “Must be nice to have a close knit friendship group like that,” I admit then instantly realise how lame I sound. “When I went to university, people weren’t as kind as I thought they would be.”
River moves even closer, I can see a small frown on his lips. “Really? I met Troy and Demi at university. They might be the only friends I came out with but you don’t need loads of friends to prove anything. One really good friend is better than ten fake friends.”
“Yeah,” I whisper and think back to my brother. He was my best friend. But voicing that outloud, is that also lame?
My brother was one of my only good friends. Everyone else was mean for no reason. I don’t know why no one really wanted to be friends with me. Probably because I wasn’t popular, I liked to read and play games online. I did my homework on time and never skipped school.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” River leans forward to grab his laptop and I appreciate that he took the opportunity to change the subject.
“Yes,” I nod in agreement.
River clears his throat and scrolls through his files. “Well, I only have Lord of The Rings or Kung Fu Panda.”
I release a chuckle at the options. “Love them both.”
“Really?” His eyes light up. “Not a lot of people can tolerate Lord of The Rings.”
“It’s long but so good,” I say.
River flashes me a bright smile. “You might be the only person I know who is willing to watch it with me.”
He turns back to the laptop, the brightness of the screen illuminating his face. I find myself staring again, it’s hard not to. He’s devastatingly good looking. But he’s the sort of person who doesn’t even know it. That’s what makes him so appealing.
“You ready?” His gaze turns so quickly that he knows I’ve been staring at him for the last few seconds.
“Yeah,” I blink rapidly. “Ready as ever.”
❖ ❖ ❖
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Author’s Note
Hello my loves. What did we think of this chapter?
River inviting Alex in is just super cute to me!
I’m so excited to share this story with you, it’s honestly so heartwarming to me and I have loved every single second of writing it!
Don’t forget to leave a vote, it really means everything to me if you enjoyed!
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