Chapter 12 – Christine? Christine? Where in the world have you been hiding?
AN: This chapter is going to focus on Meg and Christine's friendship, which lies in tatters at the moment. Please remember the M rating on this!
Some people may remember that after I introduced Rob (Raoul) into the story I actually met someone who met that exact description with the same name and we started dating. We've moved in together now and it will be three years in February; still can't get my head around that crazy coincidence! Just want to point out that they are totally separate characters and nothing Rob the character does or says in this reflects real life BF Rob.
Big thanks to a returning reviewer, SweetNerds for kind words and encouragement, you made my day.
Christine
It was midday and the essay Christine was working on swam before her eyes. A week of poor sleep plagued with nightmares of Eric the murderer, combined with the incredibly awful topic of Secularisation in the 20th Century, meant that she could barely keep her eyes open. A knock at the door interrupted her fatigued efforts at reading survey responses; a welcome intrusion.
'Christine?' A voice came tentatively through the door. Christine didn't answer. She had hoped it would be Heather back from her usual Monday night Baking Society meeting, but it was Meg. They hadn't spoken since their argument a week ago and frankly, Christine had enjoyed the lack of drama. But she did miss having someone to hang out with; Try as anyone might, Netflix was no replacement for human interaction and she was going to get cabin fever eventually.
'I brought you a cup of tea? Shall I just leave it here?' The prospect of a mug of hot tea with soy milk sealed the deal. Christine sighed and rose to her feet, unlocked the door (she had a habit of locking it these days) and took the offered tea from Meg.
'Can I come in?' She asked, looking sad. Christine nodded and moved some of the stuff that had accumulated on her bed – mainly books for uni but also the odd crisp wrapper or crumb.
'You really need to clean up your room Christine, I don't know how you live like this' Meg said, and laughed, so that she knew it was an attempt at a joke.
'You're probably right. And I need to do laundry. Is it sunny?'
'Sunny enough. I've got some stuff on the line but it should be dry now so it's all yours'. Meg sipped her own mug of coffee. It was awkward but they were both making an effort and it was appreciated on both sides. And Christine really did need to do laundry. She was down to her last pair of pants and now that her period had ended she needed wash her hot water bottle cover and all her jogging bottoms and baggy t-shirts.
Meg spotted the box of tampons on her bedside table and nodded at them.
'You too?'
'Just finished' Christine mumbled.
'Oh, I just started. Typical, when I've got loads on this week. Nice to know I'm not pregnant though, right?' Meg often forgot that Christine was a virgin and she wasn't about to remind her when she was still a bit grumpy with her. So she just laughed. It was forced, but still felt nice to lighten the mood.
'Christine, I'm-'
'Sorry for being mad over something so stupid when I'm suffering horrendously?'
'Yeah. Exactly that. Are we okay?' Meg looked her in the eye for a second, while Christine deliberated. Yes, Meg was selfish and immature, and being mad at someone for not telling you that they almost got raped was insane. Not to mention her quizzing on what she had been wearing, what she had been drinking, and blaming her for something outside her control. But she had learned her lesson, and it was time to stop being so cold, and allow her back into her life. Slowly, though.
'We will be. Are you doing anything today?'
Meg smiled, almost tearfully.
'No, I'm wide open. Shall we get some of this laundry on and watch a movie or something? Or go out to lunch?' Christine nodded, mentally working out what her bank balance was after rent. Meg sense her hesitation.
'I'll pay. It's the least I can do. We could order in?' Christine smiled appreciatively. That was the Meg she had missed.
'Let's get dressed up nice and go out somewhere and order something hideously unhealthy'. Meg nodded and together they grabbed a laundry basket each, Meg's blonde ponytail swishing behind her as she went to take her laundry from the line, and Christine's unwashed hair escaping from its messy bun as she collected some of the dirty clothes from her floor.
An hour later, her now clean laundry was on the line, and they were both showered and dressed.
Meg had opted to keep her hair up off her neck, from which hung a silver necklace with lots of tassels coming off it. She had on several rings, a pair of earrings, and a watch that her parents had bought her for her eighteenth birthday. Over her black skinny jeans and ankle boots, she wore a long top in a bright red colour that matched her lipstick. Christine sighed, slightly envious at her daring colour choices, but still happy with her own. She far preferred to dress in neutrals, and had opted to wear her perpetually messy hair down, where it fell to her waist. It was nice to dress up a bit and wear some jewellery and make up.
When they arrived at café Velo they both ordered burgers with all the extras- avocado, bacon, cheese, pulled pork, the works. After a few bites, the two looked at each other and smiled. They would be okay.
Christine's eyes eventually wandered to the newspaper on the table, where there was no mention of her attacker. The case must be getting old enough that it wasn't worth printing anymore. This comforted her for some reason.
And that was it. The two girls chatted about this and that, debated on whether to order a dessert and then headed back home to watch a movie.
Eric
The two girls left café Velo, smiling and laughing about nothing in particular. Eric sighed and put his newspaper down. He really needed to cut back on the stalking but he couldn't help it. He missed Christine so much, even though she was right there in front of him most days. Going back to the way they were before was not an option. He could no longer blend into the crowd and admire her from a distance; she would recognise him. And even if he could do that, it would not be enough anymore. Now that he had been inside her house, been within an arm's length of her, and rescued her from an attacker. They needed to meet again, and if she wasn't willing to come to him, then she would need a little push in the right direction.
Eric waited another half an hour before heading back to the house, so that the girls wouldn't spot him. When he did return via the back passage, he went straight to his room; he could hear talking and knew it was Meg and Christine in her room next door. But what he wasn't prepared for was what they were doing.
Through his peep hole, Eric could see Christine sat in a chair in front of her mirror, one side of her hair chopped to shoulder length. NO!
Her silky brown tresses were all over the floor!
'This is going to look really nice, I can't believe we didn't do it sooner!' Meg was saying enthusiastically. Christine was smiling too, so this seemed to be voluntary.
'Let's just do the other side' Meg said, and carried on cutting. Eric couldn't believe it. Her beautiful hair. Hair that he had dreamed of running his fingers through, of kissing and burying his face in. Gone!
'It's going to work so well for Carrie's party later, and it will be so much easier to wash and stuff. And it was definitely time for a change as well, it was so long!' Christine seemed enthusiastic, as though her old sparkle was coming back. Eric relaxed a little then. If this was what she needed to do to feel better, then that was just fine with him. And it did look nice.
'I can't believe we didn't realise we both know her. What module is it that she does with you again?' Meg asked Christine as she concentrated on cutting the hair just right.
'It's just the core religion module but it's optional for other subjects as well. We did Stonehenge a few weeks ago, that was pretty cool. About how the neo-druids kind of claim it even though it's too old to be connected with the real old druids. I'm not sure what her main subject is though, I don't know her that well. Is she nice?' Christine seemed a bit apprehensive about this party. Eric frowned. Who had he been talking to about Stonehenge before? It was hardly a common topic of casual conversation. It had to have been Nadir, the only person he actually spoke to about anything beyond the weather. Nadir did that module! He must know this girl Carrie. She seemed to be a common friend among a lot of people.
'I know her from my dance module so I'm pretty sure that's her home subject. Anyway, pretty much everyone is invited to this party so it doesn't really matter if you know her well or not. And it's only up the road as well so no need to stress about getting a bus or taxis and stuff. Have you got your drinks ready?'
Christine nodded thoughtfully.
'The theme will be perfect with your new hair as well. I'm so excited! And Rob is going too so it will be nice for you two to get to know each other better'. Meg seemed genuinely excited at the prospect. Eric bristled at this news. He wanted to minimize any time Christine and that pleb spent together as much as possible. But it was good for her to get out and about again after the attack. Even the thought of a party being good for Christine did not squash his jealousy though.
The girls continued chatting as Meg finished Christine's hair, but a knock on Eric's door made him drop the glass in surprise. It bounced off the carpet thankfully, and didn't break.
'Eric?' Eric cursed as Nadir said his name loudly through the door. The walls between his house and Christine's were very thin, the last thing he needed was for her to find out just how close he lived. The girls seemed too caught up in conversation to notice though, but he mentally made a note to tell Nadir not to say his name in the house in future.
He opened the door to find Nadir holding last week's paper.
'I need to talk to you about this'. Eric nodded. He had been expecting this for some time. Nadir was sharp as a knife and, equally, didn't mince his words.
'Let's go to the kitchen then, it's not a good idea to talk about it in here' Eric motioned to their shared wall.
'Are the walls in here really that thin?' Nadir frowned. His eyes glanced over at the wall, and stopped at the chair Eric had pulled up to sit on while he eavesdropped, with the glass fallen on the floor next to it.
'Eric, you have to stop this. It's ridiculous. I know you care about her but she's not an angel of music, she's very nice but she's not some miracle woman that's going to make your life better. You need to leave her alone and concentrate on other things'. Nadir's tone was stern, and Eric could feel his disappointment and worry. As if he needed to feel any worse.
'It's none of your business, Nadir. She's a miracle woman to me'. Eric strode past him and grabbed his keys, just as Christine had when Meg had confronted her about her behaviour. He had just got down the hall when Nadir called his name in a tone he didn't recognize.
'Eric. Come here'. That was not a tone to be questioned. He was pointing at the hole in the wall. Eric swallowed.
'What bloody hell is this?'.
'What?'
'You know what. This!' He pointed at the offending hole. Eric tried to swallow again but his throat had turned to sandpaper.
'I don't want to hear it. If this isn't permanently covered up by tomorrow, I'm leaving. I can't let you do this anymore'.
