Tucked away down Seel Street between a building site and a second-hand clothing store, it was a typical student dive: scuffed red leather seats, fruit machines, low lighting, and cheap vodka. Lizzie had come here a lot in her first few months at uni. She’d met Harris at a gig here, taken her first pills here with him a week later.With a heavy sense of morbidity, she ordered a vodka and orange at the bar and sat down at a corner table. The place was mostly empty; just a few lads playing pool across the room. One of them stood at the jukebox, flicking through the song choices with a frown of concentration.She nursed her drink, didn’t have enough money for a second, and wondered if she was just going mad. Maybe she’d broken her brain, one too many pills, one too many k-holes. Someone slid into the chair opposite her and she looked up with a start to see Nick. They started at each other silently for a second, Lizzie pumping her broken brain for something to say. He simply watched her with keen eyes and said nothing.
