“Will you come with me?”
Michelle’s lip trembled but she nodded.
“Yes, you don’t need to ask.”
Sophia smiled and rushed upstairs to check the airfare. Her head was buzzing with the excitement. Within half an hour she bought two tickets to Belfast and started packing. She didn’t have time to even think about what was happening. She wanted to call Vanessa, but then she realised that she couldn’t. A few weeks ago she lost the last form of contact that she had with her. The plane was leaving tomorrow evening and she knew that she wasn’t going be able to sleep at all. That evening, she sat down in the living room and talked with Michelle for hours. The tension between them had slowly eased off. Sophia went through all of the events in Belfast and her mother just listened. They were building back the past that was lost, healing the open wounds.
***
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Belfast International Airport. Local time is eight p.m. and the temperature is fifteen Celsius. Unfortunately it will be raining most of the night. I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip, and we are looking forward to ...”
Sophia couldn’t listen to the rest of the announcement. Her heart was pounding in her chest, the dread and anticipation sweeping through her body. She was going through the worst possible scenarios, imagining Harry telling her to go to hell. He was probably furious with her, but she hoped that he would let her explain.
She was feeling physically sick walking out of the plane. Michelle had been trying to convince her that everything would be all right. Harry never told her how exactly he felt about her, and not knowing what’s happened in Belfast was slowly killing her. They claimed their luggage and Michelle sorted the car quickly.
Sophia wanted to drop her mother to Vanessa’s. She needed to explain herself to her, but she wanted to see Harry. She didn’t want to think how much she hurt him.
“Don’t worry, everything will go smoothly,” said Michelle as they reached Vanessa’s apartment . Sophia nodded, feeling sick. Her head was pounding and her mind was hollow. She still had keys to Vanessa’s apartment , but with every step she took she was losing her confidence.
“Mum, please don’t interfere, Vanessa won’t be happy. She will probably start shouting.”
“I would presume so, she always had a short temper.”
Once they were in front of Vanessa’s door, Sophia swallowed hard and knocked. The door opened. Sophia was swept off her feet and arms looped around her.
“Oh my God, Sophe, is that really you?” whispered her friend. Sophia couldn’t breathe, she slowly pulled away.
“I am so sorry, Vanessa, you are probably furious and you can hit me,” she said, “but I need to see Harry!”
“Nice to see you, Vanessa, sorry for this intrusion,” muttered Michelle, but Vanessa was still staring at Sophia, pale and mesmerized.
“He probably doesn’t want to know me, but I need to see him, I have to ex—”
“Sophia, listen to me,” said Vanessa, approaching her and snapping out of her shock. “I don’t know if Harry is still in Belfast, he came to see me yesterday. I didn’t have your current address, so he took the old one. He said that he was going to find you. Oh, Sophia, I think he already left.”
Sophia’s world spun, she felt cold sweat embrace her whole body, bringing her down to the deep end. Harry didn’t have a clue where Sophia lived. He couldn’t just leave Belfast and look for her in London. This was insane.
“Mum! Give Vanessa car keys, she needs to drive me somewhere,” ordered Sophia, turning to face her mother.
“But, Sophia, if he is gone we have to get ...”
“Mum, please, I need check if he is gone. Stay here, we will be back shortly.”
“So ...”
Michelle handed Vanessa her car keys, chewing her lip.
“Sophia, where are we going? Why are you even here?” enquired Vanessa as they got into the lift.
“There is a lot that I have to go through but we haven’t go time for this now. I am going to see Harry’s mother and find out where he is.”
“I told you, he said that he was leaving today.”
Sophia shook her head and rushed out of elevator, her head pounded with anticipation. She didn’t have time for discussion. She needed to know Harry’s plan in order to find him in London. He was still with probation and he couldn’t miss another appointment, he knew that but he was still willing to risk it. The bead of cold sweat gathered of Sophia’s forehead.
On the way to Harry’s house she briefly explained to her friend about the pictures that Mason took. She told her how her father blackmailed her to leave.
“So what are you even doing here? Harry used that money that you gave him for operation, but, Sophe, he has gone mad. He was in my apartment nearly every day. He got into a fight with one of his mates. You leaving him nearly killed him.”
“My mother discovered that Dad was having an affair and she confronted him about it. He was up to no good with his taxes or something like that. I am not sure, but she forced him to destroy the pictures.”
“What? Your terrible mother did that for you?”
“Yes, we are here, stop the car.”
Sophia jumped out of the vehicle and started banging on Harry’s door.
“Sophia! Oh my God, what are you doing here?”
It wasn’t Harry, it was Caroline. Sophia stepped inside, losing hope.
“Where is Harry, Caroline? Please tell me that he hasn’t left yet.”
“He left an hour ago, but his bus doesn’t leave until nine o’clock. If you drive to the coach station now you will still have a chance to catch him, but let me call him first!”
Sophia watched as Caroline dialed Harry’s number. She prayed for him to pick up. Caroline bit her lips. She shook her head after a moment
“He is not answering,” she said.
“What is he planning, Caroline? What about his probation?” asked Sophia, panicking.
“He doesn’t care about prison or probation. He told me that he wasn’t going to come back until he found you.”
“Vanessa,” said Sophia, “we need to get to the coach station fast. I need to stop him before he ruins his life.”
“I know he will listen to you, Sophe, I will keep trying his phone,” shouted Caroline while Vanessa put her foot down and spun the car around the street, slamming on the gas. They were driving through the city, violating every possible motoring offence, ignoring the traffic lights. The rain was pouring from the sky and the view wasn’t clear. The gloom spread around the city and the evening begin to suck away the day. Unease unfurled in Sophia’s stomach, quickly spreading its icy stems into every nook and cranny. Panic exploded in her mind as the tiny voice in her head kept saying, What if it’s already too late, what if he is gone?
“Calm down, Sophe, we will be there is a second,” muttered Vanessa wiping the sweat away from her face. “Even if he leaves we can get through to him, tell him that you are in Belfast!”
She was right because a minute later she pulled up to the coach station and Sophia jumped out of the car, burying her feet in the water. The rain obscured her vision as she run inside the building. It was already dark; the crispy wind blew tangling her wet hair. She rushed to the information centre, but when she asked the man with the mustache about the bus to London, he laughed and pointed at the white coach that was driving away. Sophia stumbled, pure terror crumbling through her. She ran outside in the heavy rain and stopped staring at the bus that was slowly disappearing in the corner. The hope had evaporated from her body, the fear of losing him again kept hitting her in the stomach. She felt air trapped in her lungs as she watched the empty station. She didn’t care that her clothes were soaking wet and she was shivering with cold. She was standing in the darkness, staring and thinking that maybe she could catch up with him before the bus reached the ferry. They spent three months together, so she knew that he wasn’t going to come back from London until he found her. What if he r
efused to talk to his family? He could just cut them off, change his phone number.
The tears mixed with rain were streaming down her face as she turned around.
“Sophia.”
She didn’t want to look up, someone probably wanted to check if she was all right, but the voice sounded familiar.
“Sophia, oh God, is that really you?”
She lifted her head and looked up. Even in the heavy rain she could recognise him. Harry was in front of her, soaked from head to toe. Time stopped working as the blood drained from her face. She dared her eyes to meet his. Before she could react, he was in front of her, throwing his bag to the ground. He slid his hands to her side and pulled her forward. Her fingers dug through his wet shirt and their lips met. He kissed her deeply, sizzling her lips as his hands tightened on her waist. Harry pressed himself harder, kissing like a man who needed air, taking long, breathless drafts. The fireworks exploded in her stomach, warming every cell, filling every dark space within her that missed him. His kiss was violent and urgent but she wanted more. He pulled apart breathing heavily
“Harry, I am sorry ... I thought that I lost ...” Her voice trailed off and she touched his cheek, staring at those brown eyes.
“Shhh, my beautiful girl, nothing matters now, you are here. I love you and I won’t let you leave me again,” he said, scooping her face into his hands.
“I love you, too, Harry O’Donaghue”
He gave her a light smile and tackled her hair behind her ear. His eyes gleamed, holding her close.
“I know, Sophe, I always knew.”
Epilogue
Five years later
“Mon chere, you look stunning, he will hardly be able to keep his hands off you,” said Ramona, giggling and staring at my beautiful white wedding dress. My mother ordered it especially from Paris. When I received it I was over the moon. I smiled, staring at myself in the large mirror in our home in London. The happiness was bursting out of me and I couldn’t stop beaming. I looked beautiful today, my long curly blonde hair was styled in a bun and my make-up was immaculate. Harry liked it when I kept my hair long, but today it was our special day so I had to keep my curls under control.
“I can’t believe that this is happening,” I said, smiling widely as the heat swept over my cheeks. Ramona rolled her eyes.
“Yes, my beautiful cousin, you are getting married,” she sighed. “I know that I should be happy, but you are making me very depressed. Now I have to find myself a boyfriend to keep up.”
“Shut up, Ram, what about the guy that I saw you with yesterday?” asked Vanessa with amusement in her tone. My mum was smoothing the dress in the back when I met her eyes in the mirror.
“He was just the entrainment for a night,” chuckled Ramona and send me a quick wink.
“Maybe it’s time to settle down, Ramona,” suggested Mum, arching her eyebrows.
“Nah, I like to be entertained by a variety of guys too much.”
“Stop complaining then,” fumed Vanessa and when my mother turned around Ramona showed her a middle finger. I giggled hearing the loud knock at the door.
“If it’s him then I am going to lose my temper,” muttered Mum and peered through the door to see who was standing on the other side, making sure that no one could see me. Harry tried to sneak into my room all morning, but he couldn’t pass through my mother, Ramona, and Vanessa.
“Who is that?” I shouted. Then she opened the door and a tall man came through dressed in a suit. My heart fluttered between my ribs as I stared at Lennox. He smiled and drew a breath, staring at me proudly.
“Well, sis, I tell you what … I wasn’t expecting you to tie the knot with my bro so quickly.”
“Oh my God, Lennox, what are you doing here? I thought that you still had a year?” I asked, surprised, and gave him a light hug.
“They let me out early because I was such a good boy,” he laughed. “May I just say, you look beautiful, my brother is a lucky bastard.”
My mother cleared her throat, letting me know that she was still in the room.
“Lennox, this is my mum, my friend Vanessa, and my cousin—”
“Ramona,” cut through Ramona and smiled, fluttering her long eyelashes. I could see that my mum’s lips inclined in a small smile and Vanessa rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Lennox narrowed his eyes, staring at Ramona through his thick eyelashes, then his eyes began to fall downwards to her neck, breasts, and finally stopping on her exposed legs. He continued checking Ramona out and I noticed a mad gleam that started dancing in his eyes. Those two didn’t mind that the room was full of people. She winked at me and I already knew what she was thinking.
“I am sure you have, but don’t believe in everything people say,” he replied in a low, seductive voice.
Here we go again, I thought.
It’s been five years since I came back to Belfast and decided to stay. I still remember when I ran to the coach station hoping to find Harry. I nearly broke down not knowing that he never got into that bus.
“This was the best decision that I ever made,” he said later on still having me in his arms.
I stayed in Belfast and quit my final year at Uni. I couldn’t, and I didn’t, want to continue. My mother wasn’t happy about my decision but she supported me. Maybe it was stupid to throw it all away because I’d fallen in love, but I didn’t want to be away from Harry. We both had gone through too much. My father never accepted my decision. I invited him to the wedding, but he fobbed me off with some business trip aboard. We rarely talk but I am hoping to rebuild a relationship with him in time.
Two years ago I started studying sport’s science at the University of Belfast. This was always my dream and everyone encouraged me to pursue it.
“Come on, it’s time,” hurried my mum, pointing at the clock.
“Yes, let’s go,” I said and Vanessa opened the door.
“I am giving her an hour before she takes him away from us,” whispered Vanessa when I passed through. I couldn’t help to smile but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to worry about my cousin and Lennox. She always ended up being all right. Maxwell was already in the church with Harry. He was behaving so far and I was so glad that I finally met him.
When I stepped inside the church I felt that I was dreaming. As I laid my eyes on my future husband, who was staring at me, I was freed from anxiety and the beautiful pain. When his eyes met mine we both knew that we were always meant to be together.
The End
Other books by Joanna Mazurkiewicz
The Whispers of the Sprite (The Whispers Series #1)
The Dark Night Whispers (The Whispers Series #2)
Her Secret Whispers (The Whispers Series #3)
My Last Whisper (The Whispers Series #4)
£6.19 per Witching Hour (Paranormal Personnel Saga #1)
Connect with me online:
http://joannamazurkiewiczco.ipage.com
https://www.facebook.com/thewhispersofthesprite
https://twitter.com/joannamaz
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543523.Joanna_Mazurkiewicz
Beautiful Pain Page 26