To The Bitter End

VI

Another week, another meeting. But it wasn't just any branch meeting - this was the first time she was going to see Matt in real life. Holly had both been looking forward to this and dreading it at the same time. She knew that she found it difficult to interact with people she had heard so much about and that were handsome, as well. It was like there was so much pressure for them to live up to that image she had in her head. It wasn't really fair, but what really was fair in life?

Holly had gotten off work early and that meant that she could get into town earlier, before the rush hour traffic. She was looking forward to it, not just because she was going to see Matt, but also because she would get to spend some extra time with her friends. And she got out of the house and away from Sam for a while. Not that she didn't like being around Sam, but sometimes he just annoyed her so incredibly much and then Holly would have to get away from him for a few hours.

She had used to just go on long walks when they had still been living in the city, hear earphones blasting music, as she marched along the river, sometimes all the way to the college in town, sometimes only a few rounds around the city centre. But now she was living a little more rurally, which meant she could either take the bus into the city or go for a nice nature walk - both options were quite nice. Holly found that walking through nature calmed her down much quicker.

When she arrived in the city, she headed to the restaurant where her friends were having some dinner, hoping she could get some food as well. Usually there were some leftovers and Holly much preferred eating other people's leftovers than getting her own food for some reason. Maybe it was some remnant from when she and Sam had been saving up for a deposit to buy their own house, maybe it was that she just kind of forgot to eat when she was doing renovations and she was losing all the weight she had put on while living in the city.

When she arrived, there was quite a lot left - some corn on the cob that was gorgeous with a spicy sauce and plenty of butter over it and there were also some chips left. It was enough to get her through the branch meeting either way. This place also had free refills for drinks, so she could just get Alice's cup and get herself a free drink. Holly loved it when her bounty was so rich.

When she arrived and started eating after being offered all the leftovers, she kind of zoned out. It wasn't like anyone noticed. They were talking about something that had happened earlier today and they were so entranced in it that they didn't really pay much attention to what Holly was doing. She figured that they assumed she was just busy eating, which was just to her liking. Right now, she didn't really want to talk much. She enjoyed just listening to her friends joking with each other.

"Does anyone else want to go for something sweet? I could do with an ice cream." Caleb announced.

"Ice cream sounds great, actually." Holly commented. It was the first real contribution she had made to the conversation all evening. She was still hungry after eating all the leftovers, but it wasn't really a gnawing hunger. More the kind of hunger, where she felt fragile, as if her cheeks were hollowed out and she was going to wake up in the morning being nothing more than skin and bones.

"Let's go, then. We can go to Giovanni's around the corner." Caleb replied. Carol nodded and got up.

"I'll just head to the bathroom before we leave." she said and quickly made her way through the restaurant.

"Are we going to wait for Carol or not?" Alice wanted to know. Holly shrugged. It was all the same to her. She'd feel kind of bad just leaving her alone, but she also really wanted to get up and get some fresh air.

"I mean... we can, but she always takes ages in the bathroom." Caleb replied. Alice nodded in agreement.

"She knows where the place is, anyway. Let's go then. I'll just send her a text." she said. Holly tilted her head.

"Are you sure she won't mind?" she asked.

"Yeah, she definitely won't mind. Let's go." Caleb answered and started heading towards the door. Holly shrugged and followed them, while Alice was typing up a quick text to Carol. The ice cream place was literally around the corner and when they got there, Holly could barely believe her eyes.

There he was. In the flash. Matt. She had only ever seen pictures of him, but she knew exactly that it was him. He looked gorgeous in real life. He was thinner than Holly had expected, looking as if he might be dying of starvation any moment. His features were sharp and delicate, his face pale, his eyes looking tired and hollow. The way Holly was describing him in her head didn't sound particularly handsome, but he was beautiful. In a strangely haunted way.

"Oh, someone's back in town! How are we doing?" Caleb greeted him. Matt looked up from his phone and smiled.

"Not too bad, how are you?"

"Good, good. Do you want ice cream?" Caleb asked. Matt glanced at the inside of the shop, as if he had absolutely no idea where he had just been sitting. He then shook his head slowly.

"I would, but I'm too broke." he replied.

"I'll buy you some ice cream." Holly offered. Matt looked at her and Holly wasn't sure if he even knew who she was. She was almost sure that he had seen pictures of her, but it seemed like he didn't recognise her until he smiled at her and shook his head again, politely declining.

"Thanks, but no, you really don't need to-"

"Well, tell me what you want or you're getting some random ice cream." Holly insisted. Matt looked back at the ice cream inside the shop.

"No, seriously, you don't..."

Holly raised her eyebrows at him.

"Alright, alright. Thanks so much. Can I get vanilla and mint chocolate?" he replied. Holly smiled and nodded. She knew that they would be friends, at the very least. They'd get along just fine.