I’m sorry!!!” Lucy can hardly breathe from laughing as Nathan finally lets her go, pulling her upright and onto his lap.
“Am I forgiven?!” She asks, still giggling.
“I suppose so…!” Nathan kisses Lucy gently, tickling her once more as she wriggles in protest. Their laughter subsides and Liam and Nathan’s bickering continues on a quieter level, as the sound of the radio creeps back into the foreground. Abbey instantly recognizes the song that is playing and she feels a sickening jolt of pain at the sound of the lyrics and the quiet strum of the acoustic guitar. ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis.
She couldn’t hear it at first over Lucy’s laughter but she can hear it clearly now and her face drops as she struggles to keep her composure. She always hated how a piece of music can instantly bring up memories that you would rather keep buried. Music can provoke emotion like nothing else and this song effects Abbey in a way she can’t control. Without thinking, she instinctively rocks forward and flicks the radio onto another station, causing all three of them to turn and look at her.
“Abbey are you OK?” She had hoped they wouldn’t notice, but Lucy looks concerned.
“Yeah. Fine…” Is all she can manage.
“You don’t look so good, Abs…” Nathan sits upright and Lucy climbs off his knee, as Liam reaches across and gently puts his hand on Abbey’s shoulder.
“What’s up?” He asks.
There is no hiding the truth anymore. She will have to tell them the reason for her strange behaviour and explain why she has suddenly gone from laughing and joking to looking drip white and stone faced.
“I just don’t really like that song…” She says quietly. “It reminds me of… it was played at my brother’s funeral…” The three of them stare at Abbey in silence for what seems like forever.
“But I thought you said you moved here with your brother?” Lucy asks, almost reluctantly, unsure whether she should push Abbey on the subject considering her suddenly fragile state.
“That’s my older brother, Peter. I have… I had… another brother, Ryan. He was my twin brother actually…” Abbey takes a long, deep breath; it always requires a lot of strength to say these words out loud, “He killed himself last year. A few weeks before our 17 th birthday…” Silence again.
“God, I am so sorry Abbey…” Lucy whispers, sadly. It is the reaction that Abbey usually struggles with, the shock and the pity that people show towards her when they find out about Ryan; it is hard for her to bear and it normally makes her feel incredibly self-conscious, causing her to shut herself off… but this time feels different.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now… I just… it was nice, to not have to think about it all the time, you know? To pretend for a while…” Abbey speaks fast while looking down at the floor, almost embarrassed at causing such an awkward atmosphere, “But that’s why my parents split up, and the real reason, well, the main reason why we moved to Leeds, to start over…”
“That’s really awful mate, I’m sorry…” Liam states.
“So it’s nothing personal against the Gallagher’s…” She jokes, “It’s just pretty hard to listen to that song, you know…?”Another moment passes and the three of them smile at Abbey sympathetically. No body speaks, almost as if they are taking a minute to digest the information she has shared with them, and when it becomes apparent that Abbey has nothing else to say, Nathan is the one to break the tension.
“I think they’re overrated anyway to be honest…” Lucy turns to face him in an overly dramatic fashion before he has even finished his statement.
“Are you kidding me?!” She asks, incensed, “They’re one of the best bands the UK has ever produced…!”
“I’m entitled to my opinion…” He laughs, “no matter how misinformed you think it is…” He sticks his tongue out at Lucy and she shakes her head in
“Am I forgiven?!” She asks, still giggling.
“I suppose so…!” Nathan kisses Lucy gently, tickling her once more as she wriggles in protest. Their laughter subsides and Liam and Nathan’s bickering continues on a quieter level, as the sound of the radio creeps back into the foreground. Abbey instantly recognizes the song that is playing and she feels a sickening jolt of pain at the sound of the lyrics and the quiet strum of the acoustic guitar. ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis.
She couldn’t hear it at first over Lucy’s laughter but she can hear it clearly now and her face drops as she struggles to keep her composure. She always hated how a piece of music can instantly bring up memories that you would rather keep buried. Music can provoke emotion like nothing else and this song effects Abbey in a way she can’t control. Without thinking, she instinctively rocks forward and flicks the radio onto another station, causing all three of them to turn and look at her.
“Abbey are you OK?” She had hoped they wouldn’t notice, but Lucy looks concerned.
“Yeah. Fine…” Is all she can manage.
“You don’t look so good, Abs…” Nathan sits upright and Lucy climbs off his knee, as Liam reaches across and gently puts his hand on Abbey’s shoulder.
“What’s up?” He asks.
There is no hiding the truth anymore. She will have to tell them the reason for her strange behaviour and explain why she has suddenly gone from laughing and joking to looking drip white and stone faced.
“I just don’t really like that song…” She says quietly. “It reminds me of… it was played at my brother’s funeral…” The three of them stare at Abbey in silence for what seems like forever.
“But I thought you said you moved here with your brother?” Lucy asks, almost reluctantly, unsure whether she should push Abbey on the subject considering her suddenly fragile state.
“That’s my older brother, Peter. I have… I had… another brother, Ryan. He was my twin brother actually…” Abbey takes a long, deep breath; it always requires a lot of strength to say these words out loud, “He killed himself last year. A few weeks before our 17 th birthday…” Silence again.
“God, I am so sorry Abbey…” Lucy whispers, sadly. It is the reaction that Abbey usually struggles with, the shock and the pity that people show towards her when they find out about Ryan; it is hard for her to bear and it normally makes her feel incredibly self-conscious, causing her to shut herself off… but this time feels different.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now… I just… it was nice, to not have to think about it all the time, you know? To pretend for a while…” Abbey speaks fast while looking down at the floor, almost embarrassed at causing such an awkward atmosphere, “But that’s why my parents split up, and the real reason, well, the main reason why we moved to Leeds, to start over…”
“That’s really awful mate, I’m sorry…” Liam states.
“So it’s nothing personal against the Gallagher’s…” She jokes, “It’s just pretty hard to listen to that song, you know…?”Another moment passes and the three of them smile at Abbey sympathetically. No body speaks, almost as if they are taking a minute to digest the information she has shared with them, and when it becomes apparent that Abbey has nothing else to say, Nathan is the one to break the tension.
“I think they’re overrated anyway to be honest…” Lucy turns to face him in an overly dramatic fashion before he has even finished his statement.
“Are you kidding me?!” She asks, incensed, “They’re one of the best bands the UK has ever produced…!”
“I’m entitled to my opinion…” He laughs, “no matter how misinformed you think it is…” He sticks his tongue out at Lucy and she shakes her head in
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