Chapter 6: This can't be love if it hurts so much

The summer flew by. Between working and seeing each other as and when they could, they were both shattered and it was taking its toll on the couple. Elvis would come up to Manchester every other weekend, and stay at the Lane household so Georgie didn't have to do all the travelling. He was due to drive up to Manchester this evening after finishing work for the week to meet up with Georgie and the 2 section lads. They were all off out for the evening for a big drinking session. Elvis wasn't in the best of moods but he needed to make an effort. He'd been told at the beginning of the week that he would be leaving for The Ukraine in a weeks time, and probably wouldn't be back until Christmas. Georgie had been told the week before that 2 section would be off to Syria on a humanitarian mission, and would likely not be returning until the new year, so between them it hadn't been a good couple of weeks. To be fair, they were lucky they had managed to have as much time together as they had and they both knew that, but going away now almost made that harder for them to come to terms with. They both loved their jobs and were professionals so knew they would make it work, but they knew it wasn't going to be easy.

As Georgie sat at her dressing table getting ready for the evening, she couldn't get Syria out of her head. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little scared about going. She'd seen lots of things on the news about Syria lately and it didn't look like a nice place to be. Her parents weren't exactly thrilled about it either. As she sat at her dressing table, curling her hair for the night ahead, she started to think about Elvis and how hard it was going to be spending 4 months away from him, and her first Christmas away from her family. She knew what the job entailed when she first signed up, but now it was happening she couldn't quite get her head around it. Georgie had one of her favourite songs playing in the background, hear you calling by Birdy and as the lyrics 'Oh my beautiful summer, how the winter makes me wonder' played, she now knew those words had a deeper meaning for her.

Georgie met the guys at Tiger Tiger. Elvis was due to meet them later in the evening once he'd arrived in Manchester. The evening started with a round of shots and beers. Georgie knew the guys were heavy drinkers so she needed to pace herself. After a few more drinks, they headed to one of the karaoke booths. Fingers and Monk blasted out the Manchester karaoke classic 'Wonderwall' having everyone in stitches. Up next was Brains and Georgie with their rendition of Gun's 'N' Roses- Knockin' on heavens door.

It was at this point that Elvis turned up. As soon as he walked into the club he spotted his girlfriend straight away, as though they were magnets. It wasn't until he got closer that he saw Georgie and Brains rocking out to Guns 'N' Roses. Elvis laughed at first seeing this care free side of Georgie. She didn't usually drink. Air guitar in full swing and arms around each other as they sang their hearts out actually made Elvis feel a little jealous. No one had noticed Elvis walk into the club, so he took that time to observe them a bit more. Elvis wasn't the usual jealous type but the past week had been a real head fuck for him.

Elvis knew from fairly early in the night that he was never going to catch up with the others. They'd had 3 hours more drinking time then him so he just decided to have a few and watch out for Georgie. Elvis was feeling a little annoyed that Georgie was acting as though nothing was wrong. Just a couple of nights ago she was on the phone to him crying about their upcoming separation and here she was tonight acting as though nothing had happened. Elvis knew it was the alcohol but he was still hurt. Between that and all the attention she was getting from her male colleagues, Elvis was just about ready to end the night. 'Shall we make a move then George?' came Elvis's voice. At first Georgie just looked up at him surprised, 'What now?' came her reply. Elvis thought about his reply. 'Yes if that's ok with you? I'd like to spend some time with you if that's possible?' came Elvis's sarcastic reply. Georgie just stared up at Elvis for a few seconds looking pissed off. Remaining eye contact with Elvis, she said to the others, 'Sorry guys but we're going to head off. It's been a long week' and with that she hugged the lads and walked out of the club. Elvis followed after her, once he'd said his goodbyes. 'What the fuck was that?' came Georgie's question as soon as Elvis had gotten outside. Elvis knew Georgie was cross and had every right to be. 'I'm sorry George. I'm not usually the jealous type. This is all new to me but you've been all over them ALL night. I came to see you' said Elvis. 'Their my friends. My work colleagues. Of course we're close but that's as far as it goes. Their like the brothers I never had. Please don't over think this Elvis'. Elvis could hear the hurt in Georgie's voice. 'I'm so sorry Georgie. I don't know what I was thinking. This whole week has been a complete head fuck for me. I don't know how I'm gonna cope being away from you for so long', said Elvis. 'It's not just you that's feeling that way Elvis...I think we should spend tonight apart' came Georgie's words like a knife to his heart. 'Please' spoke Elvis but he was too late. Georgie was already getting into a cab. 'I'll speak to you tomorrow' came Georgie's words, and with that she slammed the door shut and her cab drove off, leaving Elvis standing on the pavement, wondering how everything had changed so quickly.

Georgie cried the whole journey home. She knew they were due their first argument. Every couple had them. No one was perfect, but she wanted them to spend their last week together, happy and not arguing. Once Georgie arrived home, she striped herself naked, got into her pyjamas, pulled the duvet up to her neck and cried whilst listening to one of her favourite artists- Birdy. Wild horses started to play through her ear phones and as Georgie laid in bed listening, she couldn't believe how relevant the lyrics were. 'This can't be love if it hurts so much. I need to let go'. She couldn't understand why Elvis had acted like that tonight. She'd never seen a jealous side of him before but then love does strange things to people.

It took Georgie a long time to fall asleep that night. Worrying about where Elvis was sleeping and how he was after their first argument. She drifted off just after 3am but it was an unsettled night. Georgie awoke to the door bell ringing and she could hear people talking downstairs. She lifted her head from her pillow to look at the time on her phone. 9am. Too early for a weekend thought Georgie. She noticed there were no texts or calls from Elvis on her phone.

After a few minutes there was a little knock on Georgie's bedroom door, and she could hear the door open slightly. When she looked up from her pillow, she could see Elvis's head poking through the gap. Georgie was relieved to see him but then remembered their argument from last night and went back to laying down. 'Didn't fancy the window this time then?' spoke Georgie. Elvis smiled a little, glad that Georgie was speaking to him. 'Can I come in?' spoke Elvis. Georgie pretended to think about it for a few seconds and said 'Sure, but I don't want to argue'. Elvis was relieved with that. He didn't ever want to argue with Georgie again. Elvis striped himself of all his clothes except his Calvin Kleins, and got into bed beside Georgie, spooning her. She was lovely and warm. Elvis whispered sorry into Georgie's hair. 'I've already forgotten about it' whispered Georgie back and all was well in the world again.

Georgie and Elvis's last week together went fast. They'd both taken some leave from work and had decided to spend it down in London, at Elvis's house so it was just the 2 of them. On the morning of Elvis's departure, he sat up in bed watching Georgie sleep, absorbing this blissful moment into his mind ready to take with him. He knew he'd think back to this moment on a day in Ukraine when he was feeling low and missing her. Elvis had put the music channels on in the background and he smiled to himself when Ed Sheeran's, thinking out loud came on, taking him right back to the very start. As Elvis sat there listening to the lyrics 'Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love? Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks'. Elvis began to feel sad about their temporary upcoming separation. Once Georgie had woken up, the couple took a shower together and got ready for what would be one of the hardest days of their lives. Elvis had said to Georgie she could borrow his car, so she could drive back up to Manchester rather then getting the train. As the couple stood outside Elvis's house, waiting to say their goodbyes, Elvis remembered he had something to give to Georgie. With neither of them saying anything, Elvis pulled out a freshly cut key from his jacket pocket and presented it to Georgie. 'I want you to have this. Whenever you're feeling like you want some time to yourself, or if you're missing us or just want to get out of Manchester, come here and just know that everything will be ok', and with Elvis's words and kind gesture, tears started to stream down Georgie's face. They both threw their arms around each other and said their goodbyes, knowing this would be the last time they would see each other properly for at least 4 months. 'Feel free to fill the place with your girly shit' said Elvis on a lighter note. Georgie laughed and said 'I've only got a week until I leave. I might have to work on that when I get back', and with that they kissed and reluctantly walked away from one another with promises they would text, call and Skype every day they could.

Song credits:

Birdy- Hear you calling

Birdy- Wild Horses

Ed Sheeran- Thinking out loud

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