Moving away from Bridlington and his relationship of 3 years took its toll on Sam. He had been with Amy since meeting her in 2015. The couple shared a small flat and socialised regularly. For the last six months however the strain began to show. There was no single reason why which was a constant cause of frustration for the couple. They would argue about silly things and eventually they seemed to dislike being in one another's company. It was Amy who finally cracked and summoned Sam for 'the talk', she suggested she move out and they try things at a looser pace but to preserve her well-being Sam instead offered to be the one who walked, her immediate acceptance told him all he needed to know. While Sam was stubborn, he also knew when to call it quits and this was most definitely it and while he knew he'd miss the attractive mid 20s hair stylist he knew it was a must.
It took a few weeks to adjust to being a 'sofa surfer', Sam was not one for charity, but it was a must while he searched for accommodation. He had chosen Blackpool as his original birthplace and, through connections with friends he had managed to secure a new job in the area working as a site security operative on building sites, it was the same field he was in previously but with a new contractor. After a few weeks of searching, he happened across a flat share that met his low budget, it was in a deprived area but one he knew well, essentially it was a large room on middle floor of a three story 'HMO'. The bedroom was one large room and was once a lounge and there was a small cupboard toilet but everything else was communal including the showers, kitchen, and lounge. It wasn't ideal but it would do. The fact that it was directly above a convenience store and a few takeaways was considered a bonus. An additional feature was the small iron staircase that led to a door directly into his room, it was meant only as a fire escape, but it proved handy to save messing with the main entrance door. He signed up as quickly as he could and within another few weeks, he was moving what belongings he did have into the room.
Blackpool in winter can be bleak and depressing so while settling in, Sam opted to work as much overtime as he could in the run up to Christmas to keep himself busy. He had a friendship group nearby and he was finding more time to see them now that he was local again, if he wasn't working or with them then he was at home gaming on the PlayStation. He was in a much more positive place although he did miss the sex with Amy. He had dabbled with dating apps but didn't make too much of an effort, he had managed a few hookups but nothing to consider going further. His days were dominated by trying to secure as many hours at work as he could, it was hard graft but he now had a bit of money in his pocket ready for New Year's Eve.
"Bruv have you got your Hidden tickets sorted yet?" Aiden asked Sam one evening as they chilled at Sam's place, gaming and having a smoke.
"Nah not yet" Sam replied casually as his focus was on the football match the two were competitively playing.
Aiden was a long-term friend of Sam's, someone he grew up with, he still lived in the area and worked in the tourist industry in season and did handiwork offseason.
"Well you better had, they sell out quickly and Rushton's girlfriend had to buy on off someone so they might have already" Aiden replied as the game broke for a replay, he looked at Sam with a small frustration, he wanted him to be there but knew he would be lazy booking a ticket and then complain last minute that he couldn't go. Sure enough, upon checking the event was sold out.
"See I fuckin told you" Aiden said with a frustrated tone to his voice, shaking his head.
"What you gonna do now then?" he asked as Sam shrugged as the game ended at a draw.
"I'll prob get tickets down the social with some work lads innit" Sam explained, some work mates he had met had invited him to their local social club which was hosting a party. It wasn't one of the top clubs or even close, it was a social club with a bit of a reputation for nights turning interesting, but he had drunk in there a few times and had no issues, it had a regular patronage who all wanted the same thing, to drink well after a hard-working week.
"Ite well that's cool but I don't fink there's gonna be much fanny in
there
, maybe single mums" Aiden said with a smile and a laugh, Sam smiled and shook his head, he was probably right but he wasn't that bothered anyway. The two parted ways and things remained routine and dull for the next few weeks as Sam made his new room more homely. He purchased a TV bracket to put his TV on the wall at the end of his double bed and he fashioned two washing baskets into bedside tables by turning them upside down. The walls leaved much to be desired, they still were covered in the random scrawl of whoever's child lived their previously, but it was nothing a lick of paint wouldn't cure. The windows were old and lacked curtains or blinds, but it had a nice bay you could sit on with a view towards the sea if you cricked your neck 90 degrees to the right and looked down the road.
As Christmas rolled around Sam continued putting the hours in, it was a busy time for him as various sites he worked reached stages of completion, he earned himself some brownie points with his management for offering to work Christmas week. It made little difference to him, he had very little family left despite his relatively young age of 28, working was a way he kept busy and stopped himself from feeling lonely or wondering if he could contact his father out of the blue for the first time in 15 years. Most of his working day was spent sitting in either a portacabin or a small barrier booth at the main entrance to the development, he was tasked with checking arriving contractors paperwork and credentials and directing any deliveries to the appropriate part of the site, it was simple work but occasionally presented a logistical challenge when he was tasked with cleverly routing materials deliveries to whichever team could handle it most efficiently in order to avoid the hauliers charging 'waiting time' penalties. It was something he was quite good at and it curried favour among his management. It enabled him to negotiate getting New Year's Eve and day off which would allow for some much needed down time.
The morning of New Year's Eve was a quiet one for Sam. It was one of the few days he wasn't up at 5am for work so he spent the morning sleeping in so he could stay up later. He had managed to secure a spare ticket to the social club some of his work mates visited and it was within 15 minutes walking distance, so he made no other effort to secure tickets to the bigger venues with his friends, he'd catch up with them another time. In any case, Sam felt good about going somewhere entirely new and 'less obvious' and less 'social media. His relationship with Amy was dominated by appearing for social media and to her, every moment was 'for the gram' so he relished the idea of visiting somewhere a little less
that
and a bit more real.
Sam got ready in his flat before heading down to the social club. His wardrobe wasn't a feature in his life, and he was wearing a pair of jeans and a white shirt, much like the thousands of other men out that evening. He walked the short distance to the club, it was a slightly decrepit looking building but the inside was okay, it had a large hall with a bar than ran around one end in a U-shape, the seating area was similar with the dancefloor in the middle, a wooden floored area with a large net above it holding balloons and confetti secure ready for the countdown. He entered around 8pm and it was beginning to get busy, he ordered himself a beer and looked around before noticing the table with his work mates. Most were older and there with their wives, but they had accepted Sam into their group, and they welcomed him accordingly.