A Beautiful Forever (16 page)

There is maybe a handful of other people waiting for the
tour when we arrive. Paige is actually pretty excited about doing this and has
been talking about what we might see while we walk. Neither of us believes in
ghosts, but we’re really keen to see what passes for haunted and are willing to
have an open mind, in case we’re wrong.

Paige grins up at me and clutches my arm as our tour begins,
after our chat on the train, she seems much more relaxed around me. I’m so
relieved because I was worried that maybe I had messed things up between us
somehow after Cambridge – I just didn’t know how to get us back to how things
were in that motel room, despite desperately wanting to feel like that with her
again.

The first place we go to is Highgate High Level Station, it
doesn’t really look haunted though – the guide, a short, squat man in his late
40s, tells us tales of ghost trains and a worker who killed himself here
jumping in front of a train. The station has been closed for decades, and the
tracks have long since been ripped up, so nature has overgrown, I guess it’s
kind of spooky.

“I suppose it looks kind of spooky,” Paige says, reading my
mind while she’s looking around.

“Let’s capture the moment, maybe we’ll find an orb in the
photo or something,” I suggest, readying the camera on my phone. We stand in
front of the entrance, and I hold my phone in front of us to take our picture
there. We lean our heads together and smile as I tap the screen. The weather is
getting warmer than it was when we first came here, but it’s still cool enough
to flush our cheeks and turn our noses red. Paige looks radiant in the image.

“That’s a keeper,” I say to her.

She smiles at me and tugs my arm so we can catch up to the
rest of the group who are moving on to a pub called The Gatehouse, it’s a
pretty cool looking place, but they have modernised the interior, so it isn’t
very creepy either.

We take some photos of the outside and happily accept when
German gentleman from our tour group offers to take one of the two of us
together. I do the same for him and his wife before we have to move on to our
next ‘spooky’ setting.

“This is pretty fun,” Paige declares as we walk along with
the group.

“It is?” I ask, feeling sure this was a complete failure.

“Yes,” she confirms laughing. “We are being tourists Elliot!
I've never done something like this before – it’s awesome!”

We’re led to the Highgate Cemetery where we’re not allowed
to take anything inside, and are handed off to another guide who takes us
around. The cemetery is actually very creepy, not creepy in the paranormal
sense – just creepy because it’s a graveyard and there are these great
headstones looming over you, reminding you that people are buried here.

“Oh my god!” a woman shrieks as we all get the fright of our
lives when the guide’s eyes roll back and he collapses on the ground having
what looks like an epileptic fit.

Whispers go around the group as people wonder if finally, a
ghost has come out to possess him.

“He’s having a fit!” I call out, rushing to the man’s aid
and disbelieving that so many people are just standing there watching him.
Paige kneels down beside me as I pull my jacket off and slide it under the
man's head.

“What do you want me to do?” she asks.

“Just call an ambulance, I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt
himself,” I say as I watch our guide foam at the mouth as his body shakes and
convulses uncontrollably.

“I can’t believe that just happened!” I say to Elliot as we’re leaving the
cemetery, we decide that after the guide collapsed that maybe we should call
this tour quits and go and get some food. We got our fright – it may not have
been from the supernatural, but it was scary none the less; so we are ending
the tour and declaring it a success.

I have to admit I’m pretty turned on by the way Elliot took
control of the situation. I had no idea what to do, but he just went right on
in there the second the guide started to crumple and took care of everything.
I’m very impressed.

“Hang on a sec,” I say as we exit the gates to the cemetery.
“I’ll find a pub for us to go and get dinner.” I use my phone to Google a
nearby pub and get given directions to a place called Flask.

“I think that was actually supposed to be on the tour,”
points out Elliot.

I shrug my shoulders and put my phone back in my bag. “Maybe
we’ll actually see a ghost there,” I say.

“Maybe… Alright, one more photo before this unghostly tour
is officially over,” he says, readying the camera on his phone.

We lean in together and he turns and kisses my cheek, so I
turn my head and kiss him properly on the mouth before the camera app makes its
clicking sound to signal the photo is done. He’s laughing as he checks that the
photo worked, “That one’s great,” he says, showing it to me.

“You’ll have to send them all to my phone, so I have them
too,” I say as we start walking towards the pub.

He nods, a thoughtful expression on his face, “So you want
to remember me then? You aren’t planning on forgetting me when I go?”

I stop walking and kiss him with as much passion and feeling
as I have in me. The world slips away from around us as we stand together,
ignoring the traffic and the passers-by as we meld with each other, tasting
each other, breathing each other in shamelessly. When we pull away, I can feel
us both shaking from the intensity.

“I will dream about you, every night for the rest of my
life.” I tell him seriously.

He threads his fingers through my hair and guides my head
towards him to kiss me back, slowly and tenderly. I reach my arms up and wrap
them around his neck pulling our bodies tighter together. My body hums with
longing for him. I can’t seem to get enough of him. I don’t want to ever have
enough of him.

When he pulls away he looks at me, adoration on his face,
“Why couldn’t we have met in Sydney? I just feel so rushed.”

“Because sometimes all you get is a tiny flower in the
bullcrap that is life,” I say matter-of-factly. He gives me a wry smile before
we continue on our way to try to enjoy what is left of the night, but our
imminent separation is a constant in the back of both of our minds.

“How would you all feel about me and Paige sharing a room
together after Shane and Gav go back home?” I ask the group of curious faces in
front of me. Paige and I have called a house meeting to see if everyone is
comfortable living with a couple who actually get to sleep with each other in
the flat.

“Relieved actually,” Brian states. “I’m always worried that
I’ll open the bedroom door and find you two going at it.”

“I’m relieved too!” Naomi laughs, “I thought you were going
to tell us you knocked her up or something!”

“How the hell would I do that? We’ve only been together for
a couple of weeks,” I laugh shaking my head at her reaction.

“I don’t know exactly when you two started sleeping
together. Paige isn’t very forth coming with the details,” she says looking
pointedly at Paige, who just shrugs at her.

“Well, obviously we don’t care,” Gavin says looking at
Shane, who nods his head agreeing.

“So it’s fine?” Paige asks.

“Sure,” they all say at varying times. I also hear a
‘doesn’t bother me’ in there too.

“Well, that was easier than I thought,” I say looking at
Paige, who is beaming happily. She takes my hand and leads me out onto the
balcony, the only place where you can be alone in this place at times.

“Are you happy?” I ask as I wrap my arms around her waist,
effectively trapping her against the railing.

“Very,” she states simply, tucking her head into the crook
of my neck as she sighs contentedly. “I’ve missed having you inside me,” she
whispers, tilting her head up and nipping at my Adam's apple, causing me to go
instantly hard.

“Oh god Paige, don’t talk like that. You’re killing me,” I
groan, pressing myself against her. She rocks her hips, writhing against me.

“Are you sure Elliot?” she asks in a whisper, planting soft
kisses on my throat.

“Nothing could change my mind,” I growl as I capture her
mouth in mine in a kiss that feels like it tugs at my soul, feeding pieces of
it to her as I draw pieces of hers into me.

“So how come you don’t talk to me about Elliot?” Naomi asks
me as I attempt to slip quietly into our room after saying good night to Elliot
and the rest of the guys who are all happily playing cards around the dining
room table.

Sighing, I sit down on my bed, she’s normally asleep these
days when I come in so our before bed chats have been few and far between.

“Well, what do you want to know?” I ask her. “You know that
we’re together. So, what do you want? Details? I have to warn you Nomes. I'm
not good at sharing feelings and what not.”

Slipping her bookmark in place, Naomi places her book on the
bedside table and sits up in her bed, so she’s directly across from me.

“I don’t know Paige. I don’t need to know everything – but I
kind of hoped we were friends. I guess I just want to talk – like we used to,”
she says, her eyes looking down as she stares at her hands.

“I’m so sorry Naomi,” I tell her honestly. “I do consider
you my friend. I’m just… I’m not very good at talking to people – you know?
Back in Australia I didn’t have anyone to lean on, so I’m kind of used to
dealing with all my shit on my own. But if it makes you feel better I’ll fill
you in on as much as I can,” I say before launching into a recount of
everything that’s happened since Cambridge. I give her the same story I gave
Andrea about meeting a relative. I'm not willing to share the sordid deals of
my conception with her, but I do tell her about how wonderful Elliot has been towards
me and that I care for him deeply. “I’m really dreading the day that he has to
go home. I don’t want our time together to end. But I guess it has to,” I
murmur, my voice trailing off as I finish.

Naomi sighs, a whimsical look in her eyes. “He sounds so
wonderful Paige, why don’t you just go back with him?” she asks.

“Nomes, I can’t do that to him – he can’t pin all of his
hopes on me.”

“Why Paige? What’s so wrong with your relationship that it
can’t continue back in Australia?”

“There’s nothing wrong with our relationship Naomi, I just
can’t keep him – it’s as simple as that,” I tell her firmly. Her mouth opens to
say something more, but I’m quick to silence it. “Drop it Naomi – please.”

Holding her hands up in surrender, she pushes her feet off the
floor and slides back into her bed, reaching for her book.

“I’m glad you two are going to be sharing a room then,” she
says quietly as she reopens the book and settles against her pillows.

“You are?” I ask as I start to ready myself for bed.

“Yes Paige, it might make you come to your senses – you
shouldn’t put a time limit on love.”

“No one said anything about love Naomi,” I shoot over my
shoulder as I brush out my hair.

“No one has to.”

“So I guess this means Paige is well and truly off the
market then,” Shane says as he deals the cards out.

Scooping up my hand, I fan it out, scrutinising it with what
I consider to be a straight face before throwing three cards back in the middle
of the table, keeping only the pair of kings I was originally dealt.

“As far as you lot are concerned; she was never on the
market,” I say, watching as Shane deals out the second round of cards.

“Shane, quit ribbing him, you should know by now you don’t
talk about Paige to him,” Brian says, throwing a handful chips in the middle of
the table to kick off his betting.

“You can talk about Paige with me just fine. It's talking
about her like she’s a piece of arse you want to tap that bothers me,” I point
out, flicking my own chips in the middle of the table. I still only have the
pair of kings, but I’m happy to continue playing. We're betting for the last
few packets of Tim Tams and a bag of Minties. We desperately need a parcel to
arrive from someone at home before we run out completely and are reduced to
paying the exorbitant prices they charge for them online.

“Well, you’re a lucky man Elliot. She’s a real stunner,”
Gavin puts in, evening out the mood a little. “What’s the plan when you go back
home? Is she going with you?”

“I don’t know yet. We haven’t talked about it,” I reply,
taking a swig of my beer.

“Geez mate, don’t leave it too long like I did with Coral.
She’s all over the place these days ‘cause I won’t commit to coming back for
her. Her moods kind of shitting all over everything these days,” Shane warns me,
folding his hand and dropping his cards in the middle of the table. “I’ve got
nothing,” he says, raking his hands through his dirty blonde hair as he
indicates his mismatched cards on the table.

“So why don’t you want to come back for Coral – you not really
into it?” I ask, continuing to bet on my hand.

“I don’t know. Things were great before she started freaking
out about me going. But it’ll take me three months before I can even get back
here, and it’s just so much money. It took me a year to save up for this trip,
so…” he shrugs, swigging on his drink and leaving his sentence unfinished but
understood.

I guess if he really cared about Coral, then he’d come back
as soon as he could regardless of how much it costs. I know without a doubt
that if I can’t get Paige to come home with me, then I will move heaven and
earth to get back to her. Now that I have her - I never want to let her go.

I’m a bundle of nerves tonight because Shane is all packed
and ready to go, he’s spending his last night with his girlfriend, and Gavin
has shifted his stuff into Elliot’s old room for a couple of days before he
goes back home to give us the room earlier.