The Woman Next Door

by Natasha Boydell

  ‘How very modern,’ Katie said.

  ‘I know. When Dad remarried a couple of years later, Mum even came to the wedding. Although she did have a few comments to make about the new bride’s age.’ He laughed at the memory.

  He doesn’t seem to harbour any anger or resentment, Katie thought. She couldn’t get her head around it at all. ‘Has your mum remarried?’

  ‘No. There’s been a bloke or two I think, but nothing serious.’

  ‘It must have been so hard for you all, having your parents split up.’

  ‘You know, it really wasn’t that bad. Mum and Dad made sure it wasn’t. They were very cool about it and they still are now. I think it probably hit Indie and Benji harder as they were that bit older. Indie and Mum had a difficult relationship for a while and she ended up leaving school and moving out when she was sixteen. She’s a model now,’ he added proudly.

  ‘Wow,’ Katie said, impressed. She vaguely remembered Freddy’s sullen and slightly terrifying older sister. ‘What about the rest of you?’

  ‘Benji’s an actor, he’s currently in that BBC drama, The Boys? Have you seen it?’

  When Katie shook her head, he shrugged. ‘It’s quite good. Ellie lives in New Zealand and works for a conservation charity. And here I am, the baby of the family.’

  A model, an actor, a charity worker and an Oxford University student. What a family of high achievers. Katie braced herself for the inevitable question that she knew was coming.

  ‘How about you?’

  ‘Well, Mum and Dad stayed together,’ she began. ‘We moved to Cambridge, that’s where Dad’s family is from. Mum’s a swimming teacher and she coaches the county youth team and Dad works in property. Tom’s at uni in Manchester. A bit boring really.’

  It all sounded horribly mundane compared to Freddy’s jet-setting, successful family and Katie felt self-conscious. She took a gulp of her drink.

  ‘And you’re at Oxford,’ Freddy said, raising his glass again.

  ‘Yes.’ She looked down at her drink and realised with disappointment that she’d finished it. She didn’t want to leave. Given everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours, he was probably the last person she should want to see but she was enjoying his company. There was something about him that made her feel at ease. ‘Another round?’ she asked, hesitantly.

  He nodded and she stood up and made her way over to the bar.

  When she returned, he was flicking through his phone. ‘Here,’ he said, showing her a photo. ‘Here are Indie, Benji and Ellie. We took this photo a couple of months ago when Ellie came back for a holiday.’

  Katie looked at the photo and felt another jolt of recognition. It may have been more than a decade since she’d seen the Taylors but looking at their faces brought back vivid memories.

  ‘And here’s Mum and Dad.’ He showed her another photo of Angie and Jack, looking at each other and laughing. They definitely didn’t look like divorcees.

  ‘It’s unusual I know,’ Freddy said again, reading her mind.

  ‘Fair play to them.’

  ‘Anyway, how are you feeling?’ Freddy asked. ‘I’ve had years to get my head around all of this, but you’ve only just found out. It must have been a shock.’

  ‘I’m not really sure how I feel,’ Katie confessed. ‘I’m upset, I’m angry. With Dad of course, but also with Mum for keeping it from me. And even a bit with her for standing by him after he betrayed her like that. I dunno, I feel like my whole life has been a complete lie.’

  Freddy nodded sympathetically. ‘I get that. But for your mum to forgive your dad for something like that, to be able to move past it, that takes strength not weakness.’

  He has a point, she thought grudgingly. ‘I know, it’s just, well, it’s a bit messed up.’

  ‘Have your parents always seemed happy to you?’

  ‘I’ve never really thought about it before,’ Katie said, ‘they were just normal parents. But yes, thinking about it now, they have always been happy as far as I know.’

  ‘And have they been good parents to you?’

  Katie thought back over the last few years, to her mum spending hours each evening helping her prepare for her university interviews, making her endless cups of tea while she studied, comforting her when she was feeling sad, tired or overwhelmed. Supporting her one hundred per cent without ever putting any pressure on her. And to her dad, picking her up from parties at midnight without so much as a murmur of complaint about having to stay up so late for her. Ferrying her to and from friends’ houses. Working extra hours to pay for her university tuition. Crying when she got the unconditional offer from Oxford.

  ‘The best,’ she said.

  ‘So from where I’m sitting, you’ve had a happy upbringing with parents who adore you, and each other, and now you’re at one of the best universities in the world, about to start the most exciting chapter of your life. Fuck the drama and move on.’

  ‘You’re not studying psychology by any chance, are you?’

  ‘Medicine.’

  ‘Oh excuse me, Dr Taylor.’

  ‘Quite right. If you call me anything else, I simply won’t respond.’

  She looked across at him. ‘Thanks for listening, I appreciate it.’

  ‘Any time, Brennan.’

  No one had called her Brennan before and she liked it. She smiled at him, feeling shy. He really was incredibly attractive. And easy to talk to. And not as cocky as she’d assumed. There was a connection between them, she felt, maybe because of their shared history. Or was it something else? She wondered if he had a girlfriend. What am I thinking? I barely know the boy and whichever way you look at it he’s bad news. And anyway, a boy like him would never go for a girl like me.

  She drained her spritzer and stood up. ‘I’d better be off.’

  ‘No worries,’ he said. ‘I’ll walk you back to your college.’

  ‘There’s no need,’ she protested, ‘I’ll be fine.’

  ‘I insist, it’s getting late.’

  ‘Okay thanks.’

  Just a walk home. Then I’ll never see him again. He was a nice enough boy but no good could come of having anything to do with Freddy Taylor. Too many lives, and hearts, were at stake. Right there, as they made their way out of the pub and onto the pavement outside, she made a promise to herself that she would forget all about him and get on with her life.

  Hi love, just me, how’s it going? Did you get that paper finished in time? Mum xxx

  Katie looked at the message and then put her phone down. She’d reply later. Her mum was still texting her all the time, even more so if that was possible. She was worried about her, Katie knew, but there was no need. She was absolutely fine. More than fine.

  She had just completed her first university assignment and was feeling great about it. She’d worked all hours researching, writing and polishing the paper until she knew that it couldn’t get any better. She’d almost felt a bit emotional when she submitted it earlier that afternoon.

  The past few weeks had been a whirlwind. She had immersed herself in learning and had loved every second of it. This was what she was here to do, to study and to challenge herself. Nothing else mattered. She spent most of her time in lecture halls, the library or working in her room. But tonight she was going out with Freya and some of the other students from her college to celebrate handing in her paper and she was looking forward to letting her hair down.

  She grabbed her things and made her way downstairs to the quad, where they were all gathering to go out. She spotted Freya and made a beeline for her. The two girls had become good friends, saving each other a seat at breakfast, meeting for coffee between lectures and generally looking out for each other. It felt lovely to have someone to talk to. She had even told her about the whole affair thing and Freya had listened to it all, wide-eyed with disbelief.

  ‘So let me get this straight. The hot boy who we saw in the café is the son of the woman who had an affair with your dad?’


  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And you didn’t know about any of this.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Christ, Katie. And what about hot boy? Have you heard from him again?’

  She had. Freddy Taylor had texted her twice asking if she wanted to meet up and she had ignored both messages. No good could come of seeing him. It would distract her from her studies, cause unnecessary distress to her parents and probably end in heartbreak when she fell madly in love with him and he just wanted to be friends. It was altogether just a bit icky.

  But late at night, when she was alone in her new room, trying to get used to the unfamiliar surroundings, smells and sounds, she thought about him. She couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  Katie didn’t believe in fate; she was too pragmatic. But even she had to admit it was pretty freaky that they had bumped into each other after all this time, that they were studying at the same university. Why was it that when she was finally leaving home to start her new life, the past had decided to catch up with her? It made no sense. She could only hope he had finally got the message that she wasn’t interested in seeing him again and would leave her alone.

  Once everyone had assembled, they slowly started making their way to a nearby pub to start their evening. As they walked, Katie chatted easily with Freya and a couple of the other girls. She was feeling light with the anticipation of a well-earned night out and her face lit up with the pure joy at being here, with these people, in this amazing city.

  When they reached the bar, a few of them broke off to see if there was a table free and she headed to the bar to get the first round in. The queue was two people deep and she waited patiently for her turn. Finally she saw her opportunity and squeezed her way through to the front, propping her elbows on the bar and looking absentmindedly across to the other side. Her stomach flipped. There he was, Dr Bloody Taylor, pint in hand, chatting with a glossy-haired girl.

  She couldn’t not look as the girl threw her head back and laughed, putting one hand on Freddy’s arm. As she stared at them, she could feel her good mood slipping away from her until she was left with nothing but misery. It was one thing ignoring his messages and pretending he didn’t exist, but it was quite another seeing him in the flesh with his girlfriend.

  She felt a sharp jab in her side and looked at her neighbour in indignation. He was pointing at the barman, who was waiting for her impatiently. ‘Are you going to order?’ he asked her.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said, leaning forward to give her order. As she paid and piled the drinks onto a tray, she risked one last glance across the bar but Freddy had gone. She took a deep breath and turned around, making her way through the crowd, drinks balanced precariously on the tray. She scanned the room, looking for her friends, trying to perk herself up again. It can still be a good night, she told herself. Don’t ruin it by getting into a funk.

  ‘Need some help with that?’ She swung round to see Freddy, standing inches away from her, holding out his hands.

  ‘No thanks,’ she said, holding the tray protectively to her.

  He rolled his eyes and gently took it from her. ‘Come on, Brennan, where are we going?’

  Finally spotting her mates in a far corner, she beckoned for him to follow her and they made their way over to the table. Freya raised an eyebrow when she clocked Freddy but Katie pretended that she hadn’t seen. Freddy put the drinks down, passed her white wine spritzer to her and then studied her for a long time, until she was feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.

  ‘Hello, Brennan.’

  ‘Hello, Dr Taylor.’

  ‘So, I’m starting to get a bit of a complex.’

  ‘Why’s that?’

  ‘The unanswered messages?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I’ve just been really busy, you know, what with the course starting and having lectures and so on.’

  She knew he didn’t buy it but he didn’t push her either. ‘Fair play, how’s it all going?’

  ‘Wonderful,’ she said, grinning with pleasure. ‘I love it here. How about you?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s great,’ he said. They shuffled around a bit, unsure what to do next. She didn’t want him to leave but she knew that she had to hold firm. She remained resolutely silent.

  Eventually he said, ‘It was nice to see you. I’ll leave you to it.’

  ‘Have fun with your girlfriend.’ She cringed as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

  He smiled at her, a frustratingly smug smile, as if he could see into her mind and knew exactly what she was really thinking. ‘Not my girlfriend.’

  ‘Well, if you play your cards right, she might be by the end of the evening.’ Why on earth had she said that? What was wrong with her? She wanted the ground to swallow her up.

  ‘Well, in the unlikely event that does happen, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up with a punch in the face. She’s my friend Noah’s girlfriend.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Oh indeed.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, rubbing her face self-consciously.

  ‘For what?’

  ‘For not replying to your messages. For this horrific awkwardness.’

  He grinned. ‘I’ve had worse.’

  ‘It’s just a bit much really.’

  ‘What is?’

  ‘Seeing you again after all this time, hearing about what happened to our parents, not speaking to Dad, barely speaking to Mum.’

  ‘Ah I see,’ he said. ‘So I bring back bad memories, right?’

  ‘No, it’s not that. Well, it is a bit, I guess.’

  She glanced at her friends, who were all watching her curiously. Freya gave her a thumbs up and a wink. Freddy noticed it too and she groaned inwardly as he made an unsuccessful attempt to suppress a smile.

  ‘Look,’ he said. ‘If you don’t want to hang out, I totally get it. But I like you, Brennan. I enjoy spending time with you. So, I guess the ball is in your court.’

  She looked at him, and she looked at her friends, and in that instant, she made her mind up. If she couldn’t take a risk at university, when the hell could she?

  ‘Do you want to get out of here?’

  He grinned. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

  23

  ‘Brennan, wake up, you’ll be late for lectures.’

  She groaned and put a pillow over her head. ‘Nooooo, it’s too early.’

  ‘Katie!’ He was shaking her gently now. ‘It’s 8.45.’

  ‘Shit!’ She leapt out of bed and started rummaging around for her clothes. ‘Why didn’t you wake me before?’

  ‘I’ve only just woken up myself.’ He was brushing his teeth, wearing nothing but his boxers and her tummy gave a little flip, as it always did when she saw him. But there was no time for any of that, she was going to be late for class and she had never been late for anything in her life. Well not until recently anyway.

  Freddy Taylor had floored her. He had broken down every one of her protective barriers, piece by piece, until she was completely helpless. She couldn’t keep away from him even if she tried. She was completely in love with him. All of the teenage crushes and brief relationships she’d had in the past seemed silly and juvenile now, as though she’d been wearing learner plates, just practising for the real thing. This, here, was the real thing.

  For the last six weeks they had been inseparable. When she was with him nothing else mattered. When she wasn’t with him, he was the only thing she could think of. Even when she was walking down the street, she was looking for him, searching the crowds for his face, hoping to bump into him even though it had only been a few hours since they had parted. Leaving him in the morning to go to lectures was torture. She had aced her first assignment but she knew that she had been distracted since, she was off her game when it came to her studies and it couldn’t go on for much longer. But she was infatuated with Freddy and it thrilled and terrified her.

  She had only just started speaking to her dad again and the ceasefire was delicate. She couldn’t even imagine the fall out if he found
out who she was sharing her bed with almost every night. She hadn’t even told her mum and it was probably the first time she had kept a secret from her – if you didn’t count the time when she stole a mascara from Boots and felt so wretched about it that she snuck it back into the shop. It didn’t feel right, keeping something this important from her, yet she tried to reconcile herself with it by reminding herself that her mum had kept an even bigger secret.

  It was always there, the elephant in the room between them. They were in the shouting from the rooftops stage of their love yet neither of them had told their families about the other. Sometimes it was easy to forget about it, as they strolled hand in hand through the streets of Oxford together or wrapped themselves around each other in bed, listening to music and drinking cheap wine. But then one of their phones would ring and they’d look at it guiltily before tucking it away under a pillow and it was always obvious who had called. One of them would change the subject but by then it was too late, the mood in the room had changed.

  Occasionally it was thrilling, this illicit affair between them. But the thrill was always replaced with dread in the end. The secret was fast becoming a burden that she was struggling to bear and what was even more frustrating was how annoyingly blasé Freddy was. They’d had a row the previous evening about it, their first ever, and it had left a bitter taste in her mouth even after they had cleared the air.

  They had been discussing going home for Christmas and Katie had finally spoken the words that had been on her mind since they first got together.

  ‘Are we going to tell our parents?’ she asked, as they had a pint together after lectures.