by Nikki Ashton
“I’m not jealous, I just don’t want Maxwell Tanner anywhere near her. He’s a prick and a fucking man whore, who has no idea how to treat women. Amy doesn’t need a fucking knob like him in her life.”
“And don’t you think Amy would have more sense than to go there? She was around when he and I knocked about together, she knows what a dick he is, so give her some credit.”
I took in a deep breath and looked up to the pale blue sky. There wasn’t a cloud around, yet all I could see was greyness as a gentle breeze blew against my face, soothing the red-hot anger I was feeling. An anger that I had no right to feel.
“Sorry,” I said, finally looking at my brother. “He treats women like shit and I can’t stand him.”
Sam rolled his eyes and was just about to grab a box, when his phone buzzed again. He pulled it out and read the text, before grinning and passing it to me.
Maxwell:Fucking crashed and burned. Did your bro split with her because she’s a lesbian? Rude bitch asked me if I’d got rid of my knob rot. Half the fucking pub heard.
I breathed out a sigh of relief and started to laugh.
“Typical Amy,” I muttered, giving Sam his phone back.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Told you to trust her.”
“I suppose I should have. She’s not stupid.” The ache between my eyes thudded a little harder. “Just the thought of him and how he’d treat her.”
“Yeah well, it’s not happening, so stop stressing about it. Anyway,” Sam said, hauling the box further into his arms. “Ask yourself this; would you have felt the same if it’d been Mia he was coming on to?”
I didn’t respond but narrowed my eyes at him.
“Yep, thought so.”
With that he walked away toward the garage, leaving me wondering what my answer would be.
Amy
aged 28
I couldn’t believe that bloody Maxwell Tanner had the damn cheek to come on to me, while I was having lunch with Rachel. Did the stupid idiot not realise that I knew all about his reputation for being a dick – everyone did, so why on earth would he think that I’d be stupid enough to jump at the chance of making a fool of myself with someone who had a season ticket at the local VD clinic?
“What a dick,” I grumbled to Rachel.
“I didn’t realise that you knew him personally.”
“He used to hang around with Sam. He came around to the flat a couple of times when the three of us lived together.”
“I’m surprised Sam hung around with him. I know he’s a bit of a player, but Maxwell Tanner is on another level.”
“Apparently, they only became friends when Sam gave up swimming. Elijah’s mum told me once that Sam was a county champion, almost Olympic standard, but when he was nineteen he just gave it up and started partying instead. He was teetotal, in bed before ten every night, before that.”
“No way, really?” Rachel looked shocked.
I nodded and took a sip of my wine. “Yes, and while he likes to think he’s a player, I’m sure if the right woman came along, he’d be happy to settle down.”
“You think?” Rachel asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow, scepticism written all over her face.
“Yeah, I do. You know he once told me he envied what Elijah and I had. Admittedly, he was a bit pissed at the time, but he still said it.”
“Really?”
“Hmm, it was just after -.” I stopped, remembering when Sam had given his confession.
The words stopped at my lips as I drew in a breath, trying to steady myself enough to say them. Rachel looked at me expectantly, but as I lifted a hand to my throat, understanding flashed in her eyes.
“You okay?” she asked, reaching across the table.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It just feels a little painful at times, but it happens to lots of people Rach and it was a long time ago.”
“It doesn’t mean you can’t grieve or still feel it.”
I let out a long breath. “I know and mostly I’m fine, but sometimes it hits hard. I think going pushchair shopping with Matty and Carla at the weekend brought it all back.”
“It was bound to. Offering to buy it must have been hard, never mind actually going into the shop. Apart from which, those things cost a bloody fortune.” She rolled her eyes. “I know how much Mum and Dad paid for the one they bought Ali and Declan.”
Ali, Rachel’s sister, had a cute ten month old, Isla, who after one night of babysitting had appeared to have put Rachel and Adam off parenthood for a little while.
“I can afford it, so I wanted to do it. I know that they’re going to be okay, but I want to give them as much help as possible. Carla’s parents have been such idiots about it.”
“They still don’t want anything to do with her?”
“No. They’re so narrow minded and old-fashioned, they’ve told her she’s on her own. Thank god Mum and Dad have been so amazing with them.”
Rachel smiled warmly and turned to look over at the bar. “Ooh it looks like Maxwell has already found someone to help him get over you turning him down.”
I followed her gaze, to see Maxwell laughing and joking with a blonde girl who appeared to find him extremely interesting.
“Maybe I should warn her.” I laughed and watched as she pushed her chest out. “Actually, I’m not sure she’d listen.”
I finished my drink and picked up the sweet menu.
“You want one?” I asked, waving it at Rachel.
“Of course,” she cried with a mock frown. “Fudge brownie with ice cream, please.”
It was my turn to roll my eyes, wondering why I’d even bothered asking and got up to go to the bar where I ordered a sweet for each of us. Picking up two more glasses of wine, I turned to go back to Rachel and bumped into a rock-hard body. I managed to hold on to the glasses, and keep my purse tucked under my arm, but lost a fair amount of the wine down the shirt of the tall, dark haired man standing in front of me.
“God, I’m so sorry,” I gasped. “I didn’t see you there.”
Blue eyes twinkled as his lips broke into a grin.
“Hey, it’s my bad,” the man replied. “I shouldn’t have been standing right behind you. Let me get you a couple more.”
I shook my head. “Honestly, it’s fine. I spilled it on you, I should be the one buying you a drink.”
“Nope, no way,” he replied, shaking his own head and reaching for the two glasses. “I insist.”
“Really, it’s not necessary.”
“It really is,” he protested, looking down at me with soft eyes. “Please, I want to.”
I sighed and gave the glasses to him with a thin-lipped smile. “Okay, thank you. They’re both Pinot Grigio.
I handed him the glasses and then waited, awkwardly looking around the pub, trying to catch Rachel’s attention, who was now messing with her mobile. Finally, the guy turned back to me and handed me two full glasses of wine.
“There you go.”
“Thank you, although it really wasn’t necessary.”
“Like I said, I wanted to.” He ran a hand through his hair and blew out his cheeks. “I’ve had a crap morning so doing a good deed might wipe out any bad vibes that are following me around.”
I smiled, noticing how blue and bright his eyes were. “Well I hope your day improves.”
“It has already,” he replied. “I’m Leon, by the way.”
“Amy. Nice to meet you.” I nodded down to the drinks I was holding. “I’d shake your hand but…”
“Yeah, I can see how that’s a problem. It was lovely to meet you Amy and enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You too and hopefully the afternoon is better than the morning.”
“Well I almost killed my boss, so it can’t get any worse.”
I must have looked horrified, because he held his hands up, palms facing me, in surrender.
“No, nothing like that. It was an accident. I was backing my car into a space on the staff car park, this morning, and didn’t
realise he was behind my car.”
“Well,” I said with a grin. “I’d say that was all his fault. He shouldn’t have been standing there.”
“Yeah, but maybe I should have looked in the rear-view mirror. Hence why I’m here, treating him to lunch.” He nodded toward a large, balding man, talking on his phone at a table close to mine and Rachel’s.
“But it was an accident.”
“Yeah, but I also sat on his sandwiches during our team meeting.” He shrugged, his blue eyes twinkled even brighter, making my stomach do a little flip.
Feeling a little weird, I cleared my throat. “Well, I’d better get back to my friend.”
“Yeah, I need to order lunch before I get fired. Great meeting you Amy.”
I turned to leave and had only taken a couple of steps, when I heard Leon call my name. I turned back to see him looking a little tentative, running a hand through his hair.
“I don’t suppose I could have your number, could I? Maybe we could go out for a drink, or…” He winced. “Maybe not?”
He looked nervous and unsure, the total opposite of Maxwell Tanner earlier. I wasn’t sure what to say, but then I thought of Elijah and Mia walking through town, holding hands and smiling.
“That’d be lovely,” I replied, feeling heat on my cheeks.
Leon grinned and with his phone in his hand, took a step toward me, giving me a smile that made my heart beat a little faster.
Elijah
aged 28
I moved the three pairs of lace knickers from the bathroom radiator, and placed my towel in their place. With red, pink, and black lace screwed into my palm, I looked around for a place for them, finally marching back to the bedroom and adding them to the collection of bras and socks on the radiator in there.
Yep, things were going great with Mia moving in.
To be fair to her, she’d only been in the house two days and we were still getting used to each other’s habits. She had no idea that I hated seeing washing on the radiators, or that I wiped the toothpaste from the sink as soon as I’d cleaned my teeth, or that I couldn’t stand used teabags being left next to the kettle. It was all new to us and I was sure we’d navigate our way around everything soon enough.
I was straightening the duvet, when Mia came into the bedroom. Her eyes were red and she had her mobile clutched to her chest.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, moving to take her into my arms.
“It’s my mum,” she sobbed against my t-shirt. “She’s fallen and been taken to the hospital. They think she’s broken her hip.”
“Oh my God.” I gently eased her chin up so I could look at her. “You need to go down there.”
She nodded. “I do. She doesn’t have anyone else, she was lucky her neighbour noticed that the curtains were still closed at the lounge window. Mrs Berry has a key, so she let herself in when Mum didn’t answer. She’d been on the floor all night and most of the day, thankfully she was on her way to bed, so she was fully clothed and it’s been mild weather, otherwise it could be much worse.”
“God yeah. Do you want me to take you?” I asked, thinking I’d have to call Marty and get him to hold the fort for a few days.
Mia shook her head. “No, I’m going to go by myself. You’ve still got to finish Darren Baker’s garden as well as start the groundwork for that couple in Chester. Plus, I have no idea how long I’ll be there. If she’s broken her hip, she’s going to need help for at least a couple of months.”
“A couple of months,” I echoed, my heart dropping. “You could be gone that long?”
Mia bit on her bottom lip and nodded. “If it’s not broken then it might only be weeks, but I can’t leave her.”
“What about work?” I asked.
“I’ll speak to Frank and hopefully he’ll be fine about me working from home. It’s not as though I actually need to be in the office. I can get everything emailed to me and I already have the customer’s accounts in hard copy, so I should be okay for a while.”
Mia buried her face in her hands and started to cry.
“Hey, come on,” I soothed, pulling her back into a tight hug. “It’ll be fine. Your mum is going to be okay.”
“I know,” was her muffled response. “But it’s such a worry and I don’t want to leave you, we’ve only just moved in together.”
“I’ll still be here when you get back.” I kissed the top of her head. “And if your mum has an operation, she’ll be in hospital so maybe you can come home for a few days.”
Even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t likely. Mia was originally from Barnstaple in Devon, and her mum still lived down there, so it was a hell of a journey to make.
“Maybe I could come for a weekend,” I offered, desperately trying to think of which weekend I could make the journey without it affecting work too much.
As it was spring time, I was extremely busy and had been working weekends to ensure we didn’t get behind. I’d have to make an effort though, because Mia was right, we’d only just moved in together and being parted so soon, for what could be a couple of months, wasn’t a great way to start the new phase in our relationship.
“That would be good,” Mia said, nuzzling against me.
“Is there anything else you need me to do?”
With a sniff, she looked up at me and she looked so lost, I wanted to hold and squeeze her tight.
“Could you unpack the two boxes with the red labels?” she asked tentatively. “Put the books and photographs out – whichever you want, or as many as you can.”
“Of course I can,” I replied, kissing her nose. “Now, you go and get packed and I’ll make you some food and drink for the journey. Do you need me to go and put petrol in your car?”
“Would you?” Mia grasped my hand, linking our fingers together. “It would mean I can get on the road pretty much straight away and break the back of it before I need to stop.”
I glanced at the bedside clock, it was almost three in the afternoon and she had a four hour journey at least, and that was only if the motorway was clear, which hopefully it would be on a Sunday afternoon.
“Okay,” I said, disentangling myself from her. “You do what you need to do, and I’ll sort your car and some food.”
“Thank you, Elijah,” Mia said, wiping at her eyes. “I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, that’s what boyfriends are for, now get packing.”
As Mia threw her handbag onto the passenger seat of her car, I let out a long sigh, watching her and wondering when she’d be back. I felt bad that she was having to drive hundreds of miles alone, all while worried about her mum. I was worried for her, but I was also worried for us. We were still getting used to living together and weeks apart would only serve to stall things. That scared me, because deep down, I knew our relationship had moved to a place I wasn’t really ready for, but had been too much of a pussy to admit.
I was going to miss Mia, of that there was no doubt, but we’d gone from meeting up two or three times a week to moving in together and a tiny part of me was relieved that we’d been given a big, shitty barrier to deal with. I needed to know whether moving Mia in was the right thing to have done and having Sam telling me it wasn’t, was not the best way to come to that conclusion. It was something I had to understand for myself and being apart would certainly give me time to think, because after all, what didn’t break you made you stronger – right?
As Mia gave me a gentle smile, I felt like a complete twat for even having an ounce of relief about the situation. She was beautiful and sweet and loved me and I loved her and there really shouldn’t be any doubt in my mind, but I couldn’t help feeling that maybe this would be a good thing.
“Don’t forget to stop and take a rest,” I said, pulling Mia into my arms. “And don’t speed. You’ll get there when you get there.”
She giggled and kissed me softly. “Okay, I’ll make sure I stick to the rules.”
“Seriously Mia, please be careful.”
Her smile
dropped and she nodded. “I promise.”
“Good.”
I kissed her this time and with more urgency than she’d kissed me, wanting to convey how I felt about her, how I’d miss her despite my worries.
“I love you,” she whispered against my lips.
“I love you too and I’ll miss you.” Because I did and I would. “Call me when you get there.”
“I will.”
Mia kissed me again and then walked away to her car. I stood on the driveway and waved, until she disappeared around the corner and then I went back inside and closed the front door with a heavy sigh.
Amy
aged 22
“My gorgeous wifey,” Elijah slurred as he and Sam flopped down on to the sofa. “Isn’t she gorgeous Sam?”
Sam’s head lolled as he looked up at me through extremely heavy eyelids. “She’s alright.”
“She’s more than fucking alright,” Elijah cried, poking Sam in the arm. “She’s fucking beautiful.”
“What am I supposed to say, dick head? If I agree you’ll punch me in the nuts.”
I giggled quietly and got up from the armchair. As I went to move past Elijah, he grabbed my hand.
“Where you going, baby?” He started to giggle. “Hah, baby, I meant you, not the baby in your belly.”
My hands instinctively went to my stomach, although at only just ten weeks you couldn’t really see that I was pregnant.
“I know what you meant,” I said, leaning down to kiss him. “And I’m going to get you both some water.”
“I don’t want fucking water,” Sam groaned. “I want alcohol. Get the vodka, Ames.”
“No,” I replied, not even looking at him. “You’ve had enough vodka. I don’t want to be mopping up puke from either of you during the night.”
“I don’t puke, it’s pansy boy Eli that pukes.” Sam pointed at Elijah with a wavering finger and one eye closed.