The news have been quite frightening around the world lately. I hope you are safe, wherever you are, my thoughts are with you.
This chapter is a short one, but I hope you enjoy it!
[10. FRIDAY]
…
It's Friday night, and there's a party about to start on Hunter's floor.
Exactly one week ago, Miles had needed to invest a good half an hour advertising the benefits of fresh air in order to convince Frankie to finally leave their brother's room, where she'd been burrowed for days hiding from the world. Things are vastly different now, and Miles realises this as Frankie herself is the one suggesting they all join. Miles and Hunter can't help exchanging a pleased look above her head, but then they quickly smile at her and enthusiastically agree that it's a great idea.
People at the party are super chilled — like students generally are — and don't blink an eye at the siblings' presence. Most of them don't even live in the same building, hence no explanation necessary. The evening brings out a wild side of Hunter that was unknown to Miles, and he feels a quiet sense of contentment as he watches his brother unironically approach beer-pong with levels of drive and competitiveness he normally reserves for multiplayer shooters.
When the group finally heads to a bar, Frankie decides she has had enough socialising for the night, so she and Miles end up staying behind. They climb back up to the terrace, the midnight sky above them, the fresh air welcome after the stale stench of beer downstairs. They sit with their backs against the concrete banister, and Frankie snuggles up to his side.
"Tell me about London… please?" she whispers, leaning her head on his shoulder.
Miles smiles quietly to himself. And then he does.
He starts with the obvious things, the famous ones. The ones even Frankie will probably recognise. So, he tells her about the Southbank, and the breathtaking skyline of the City, and the Borough Market, and all the frolicking life that goes on, hidden underneath the glass towers. How you can travel anywhere with the Tube, and the only cars on the street seem to be the black cabs, scattered in between red double-decker buses. He tells her about the parks, and the squirrels coming to you to be fed, and the children playing in the Serpentine, reminds her how much they loved Kensington Gardens when they went there as kids, one of those Summers they spent in Europe forever ago.
She smiles at the memory, a deep dimple forming into her cheek. "Remember Hunter fell into it? The Serpentine?"
Miles chuckles quietly, staring up at the sky. "How could I forget. Mum was hysterical."
"She had you take off your jumper and give it to him while we ran back to the hotel, even though it looked so comically big on him. Hunter hated every second of it," she recalls, a cheeky grin on her face at the memories. "Dad was laughing the whole time, though, do you remember that?"
Miles smiles a sad smile. "Yeah, I do."
Frankie can probably feel how the atmosphere has shifted, the sudden change in his demeanour, the weight of all those years when their dad didn't seem capable of laughing at all. She scoots closer to him, leaning back into his shoulder. "What else?"
So he tells her about all his favourite places. Camden Town with its crazy shops and Primrose Hill with its stunning views. The food at Brixton Market, and Shoreditch with its hipster cafés, and this hidden garden in Dalston that is just the most beautiful of places. And the underground scene, the art and music and crazy parties you can get in if you know the right crowds. But this is only half of it, the beauty of this city that is so many things all at once, multilayered and multi-faceted. So many people and meanings and histories and lifestories, and a place for each and everyone of them. It's part of the reason Miles fell in love with London, but it's not all of it.
London means so much to Miles, and it's hard to explain it to other people. London is the first place where he's ever felt like his name didn't come before him. Nobody knew him, or his family, or the incredibly stupid things he did as a kid. Nobody would superimpose his father's image on him, be it to undermine his accomplishments or to excuse his mistakes. London is also where he was first able to pursue his dreams, and to build the life he wanted to live — and not what somebody else thought was appropriate.
It's hard to put it into words, but if there's one person in the world who would understand, that person is probably Frankie.
"You can be your own person, in London."
Frankie rises from her spot underneath his arm, just enough to be able to look him in the eyes. She has an unusual expression on her face, oddly mature for someone Miles will always see as his kid sister, no matter what. She holds his gaze and Miles can tell that she sees it. She sees him.
And despite the ugliness of the past few days, and the terrible reason that brought them here together… Miles is grateful for this very moment — sitting on a dirty terrace out in the elements on a chilly winter night, with his sister at his side.
