have heard his voice when he called me, Gina. It felt like my heart had been wrenched from my chest. I feel so terrible.”
“It’s okay,” says Gina, sitting next to Rose and pulling her close. “Seriously, you should be celebrating right now. Danny was a brute, you don’t need him in your life. Tom will come round, and if he doesn’t then it’s his loss. You guys weren’t even dating, were you?”
“No, but—” she cuts off mid-sentence, shaking her head. “I just feel so terrible, Gina. I never wanted to put anyone through what I had to go through.”
“First of all, Danny cheated on you on three separate occasions. Secondly, you weren’t even in a relationship with this Tom guy, were you? It’s not like you made a commitment. And finally? That relationship you had with Danny died a long time ago. Technically, it’s almost like you’ve been single ever since he cheated on you.”
Rose exhales loudly, relieved to have someone to rely on in her time of crisis.
“Would you like something to drink?” asks Gina, but Rose shakes her head.
“I’m pretty tired, I think I just need to try and sleep to clear my head. Is that okay?” her voice is timid, almost squeaky.
“Of course,” smiles Gina, taking her hand and leading her up a set of stairs. “It’s just the spare room so it’s not much, but you can stay here for as long as you need. Okay?”
“Okay,” smiles Rose, following her up the old fashioned staircase. She’s been to Gina’s house many times before, but never upstairs. It’s much different to what she’d expected — so much more homely and comfortable.
Once they’re upstairs, Gina leads her to the end of the corridor and pushes open the door slightly, turning on the light to reveal the tiny room. The single bed almost reaches across to either side of the wall and there’s a pile of what seems to be dirty laundry stashed in the corner, but Rose’s smile stretches right across her face.
“Thank you so much, Gina. I really appreciate it.”
“Any time at all,” says Gina, smiling and looking a little embarrassed. “Just let me know if you need anything, right?”
“Of course. Good night, Gina,” says Rose, smiling appreciatively at her.
“Night,” she says, turning and walking out, pulling the door to a close behind her.
Rose waits until she’s certain that Gina is downstairs before she lets herself go again. As soon as she hears the door to the living room slam shut the tears come falling, this time even faster and heavier than before, and there’s nothing at all she can do to stop them.
She strips off her clothes and climbs into bed, burying her face into the pillow and clutching her phone so hard that her knuckles turn white.
This time last night she was lying safely wrapped in Tom’s arms, giggling while he showered her with kisses and told her how much she meant to him. She’d been so wrapped up in her whirlwind emotions that she hadn’t even had time to shower, and when she brings up her arm to wipe the tears away from her sodden face, she can still smell his stale cologne on her skin. Clamping her eyes shut, she tries to forget about him…but she can’t.
She had managed to survive over a decade without seeing or hearing anything at all from Tom, so why is it suddenly so hard to get through an hour without hearing his voice?
Chapter 20 - 5th November, 2013
Tom reaches for his phone for the tenth time in the past five minutes, his finger hovering over Rose’s name.
Just one click, he thinks to himself. Her voice is only one click away from me.
But for the tenth time in the past five minutes, he hesitates. No matter what Rose says or what she does, he can’t stay mad at her. His brain is telling him to call her immediately, to tell her he never wants to see her again and whatever they might have had is over — but he can’t. He’s just going to have to face that he will always be madly in love with this woman, no matter what the hell he
“It’s okay,” says Gina, sitting next to Rose and pulling her close. “Seriously, you should be celebrating right now. Danny was a brute, you don’t need him in your life. Tom will come round, and if he doesn’t then it’s his loss. You guys weren’t even dating, were you?”
“No, but—” she cuts off mid-sentence, shaking her head. “I just feel so terrible, Gina. I never wanted to put anyone through what I had to go through.”
“First of all, Danny cheated on you on three separate occasions. Secondly, you weren’t even in a relationship with this Tom guy, were you? It’s not like you made a commitment. And finally? That relationship you had with Danny died a long time ago. Technically, it’s almost like you’ve been single ever since he cheated on you.”
Rose exhales loudly, relieved to have someone to rely on in her time of crisis.
“Would you like something to drink?” asks Gina, but Rose shakes her head.
“I’m pretty tired, I think I just need to try and sleep to clear my head. Is that okay?” her voice is timid, almost squeaky.
“Of course,” smiles Gina, taking her hand and leading her up a set of stairs. “It’s just the spare room so it’s not much, but you can stay here for as long as you need. Okay?”
“Okay,” smiles Rose, following her up the old fashioned staircase. She’s been to Gina’s house many times before, but never upstairs. It’s much different to what she’d expected — so much more homely and comfortable.
Once they’re upstairs, Gina leads her to the end of the corridor and pushes open the door slightly, turning on the light to reveal the tiny room. The single bed almost reaches across to either side of the wall and there’s a pile of what seems to be dirty laundry stashed in the corner, but Rose’s smile stretches right across her face.
“Thank you so much, Gina. I really appreciate it.”
“Any time at all,” says Gina, smiling and looking a little embarrassed. “Just let me know if you need anything, right?”
“Of course. Good night, Gina,” says Rose, smiling appreciatively at her.
“Night,” she says, turning and walking out, pulling the door to a close behind her.
Rose waits until she’s certain that Gina is downstairs before she lets herself go again. As soon as she hears the door to the living room slam shut the tears come falling, this time even faster and heavier than before, and there’s nothing at all she can do to stop them.
She strips off her clothes and climbs into bed, burying her face into the pillow and clutching her phone so hard that her knuckles turn white.
This time last night she was lying safely wrapped in Tom’s arms, giggling while he showered her with kisses and told her how much she meant to him. She’d been so wrapped up in her whirlwind emotions that she hadn’t even had time to shower, and when she brings up her arm to wipe the tears away from her sodden face, she can still smell his stale cologne on her skin. Clamping her eyes shut, she tries to forget about him…but she can’t.
She had managed to survive over a decade without seeing or hearing anything at all from Tom, so why is it suddenly so hard to get through an hour without hearing his voice?
Chapter 20 - 5th November, 2013
Tom reaches for his phone for the tenth time in the past five minutes, his finger hovering over Rose’s name.
Just one click, he thinks to himself. Her voice is only one click away from me.
But for the tenth time in the past five minutes, he hesitates. No matter what Rose says or what she does, he can’t stay mad at her. His brain is telling him to call her immediately, to tell her he never wants to see her again and whatever they might have had is over — but he can’t. He’s just going to have to face that he will always be madly in love with this woman, no matter what the hell he
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