LUCIFER » SIMON MINTER

Chapter 53

Simon: are you serious right now Lu??? How am I supposed to get back?

Simon: you've never even driven in my car before! I swear to god if you crash it..

Simon: where are you going?

Simon: can I have my car back

I pressed on the gas pedal as soon as I glanced down to see Simon sending me a bunch of texts. At the moment, I was driving back to my house but then I figured that was going to be too obvious. If he wanted his car back, that was the first place he would look.

Instead, I took a last minute decision and drove onto the M1, going faster than ever. I loved the rumble of the engine and the feel of the world speeding past me as I held onto the steering wheel with a tight grip. I imagined my hair flying behind me in the wind if the roof could come off. I would've looked awesome.

So I drove to the last place he would look for me, a place far away from home. I drove past the train station where I had come many times before. I remembered Vik playing on the public piano here after they arrived for a photo shoot. That must've been about a year ago now.

I drove down the familiar street that looked out upon the English Channel. The sun was out and the waves were a bright blue colour, matching the bright lights coming from Brighton Pier. I was around 2 hours away from home, away from anybody I knew and I loved it.

I parked my car nearby and walked down the rest of the way, taking my shoes off as soon as I reached the sand. I kept my head down, refusing to look at the couples that were walking hand in hand as their feet were being refreshed by the tide. I knew that that could've been us right now, but I also figured those couples were happy because they didn't just have a heated argument with their prick of a boyfriend.

I wondered how many of them had children.

Then I sat down on the side with my feet dangling off the edge of the wall and finally pulled out my phone. I stared at my home screen with the messages from Simon, but I told myself I wouldn't reply to them now. I was too angry, so if I texted him now it would only get worse. I glanced down at the polaroid that was hanging from my neck; the one that I always kept with me just in case.

'Hey, what are you doing here?' A familiar voice asked and I looked up to be greeted by a freckled face and blue eyes. I felt a pang of relief in my stomach. I wasn't alone after all.

'Ella? I don't know- I'm just hanging out by myself, I guess.' I made up the lamest excuse ever.

She was wearing jeans and a black leather jacket that was zipped up halfway, both her hands buried in her pockets. She was right to: the sun was nice and bright but the chilly winter breeze still haunted us at this time of year. She had makeup on, too: perfectly drawn eyeliner and mascara that made her lashes even bigger, making her blue eyes pop more.

'It seems like a place pretty far away from home to just be 'hanging out', if you ask me.' She said. So she knew I wasn't just hanging out, then.

'What about you? Why are you here?' I asked in return.

She shrugged and looked around. 'I was visiting my family.'

I gasped. 'You're from Brighton?' In my head I could suddenly picture why her accent seemed a little different to ours.

She nodded. 'But I was getting a little bored and annoyed by my little brother so I decided to get some fresh air.' She explained. 'Did you come here by car?'

Now I was forced to tell her about Simon, no matter how much I wanted to forget about it. This girl knew how to get what she wanted, alright. 'No-well yeah, I took Simon's car.' She raised an eyebrow at me. 'We had a fight and I didn't have my car so I took his and drove down here.'