An Unforgotten Bet: (A Contemporary Romance) by Emily Marcucci Page A
Authors: Emily Marcucci
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does.
He moves his finger over to her name one final time, but this time he doesn’t hesitate. By the time he’s pressed ‘call,’ there’s no going back. Every second that she doesn’t answer seems to drag out longer, and he can physically feel his heart pounding in his chest. Eventually, though, she picks up.
“Tom?” her voice is weak and hoarse.
“Hello,” is all he can manage.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she whispers.
He tries to reply, but the words get lost in his throat. He can hear her breathing on the other side of the line, and his heart begins to ache. Just tell her that you never want to see her again.
The silence is agonising, even for Tom, whose turn it is to speak. He takes a deep breath to prepare himself, and then lets all the words come rushing out at once.
“I love you, Rose,” he croaks, his hands sweating as he clutches his phone.
Then there is more silence.
“Tom,” she whispers eventually. There’s another short pause before she continues with her sentence. “Tom, will you come and meet me?”
He glances at the clock. 1 am.
“Yes,” he whispers, this time without hesitation. “Where?”
“I’m at a friend’s house. I left my boyfriend. I’m sorry.”
His stomach somersaults. There are so many emotions going through his head right now that he’s not even sure what causes it, but his heart starts beating faster.
“Where?” he asks, standing up and grabbing his keys from the arm of the sofa.
“I’ll meet you at Jennings Street? It’s quite far away, it’s in my town, but I don’t have a car right now, and—”
“I’ll be there,” he mutters, cutting off the call and heading straight for the door.
Chapter 21 - 5th November, 2013
Rose tiptoes down the stairs and pads over to the door. It’s late and everyone is already asleep, so she decides not to wake Gina. Thankfully the door is unlocked, and she opens it just wide enough to slide through, closing it as gently as possible behind her.
The sky is black, the only sources of light coming from the dim orange streetlamps as she wanders past the houses. It’s so peaceful, she thinks to herself, closing her eyes to and listening to the wind whirling around her. It’s during moments like these that people remember to appreciate the true beauty of nature.
Jennings Street is only a ten minute walk from Gina’s house, so Rose gets there with plenty of time to spare. She sits alone on a crumbling brick wall while she waits for him, hugging herself with her arms to try and protect herself from the bitter November wind and chewing her lip.
After sitting for ten minutes, she decides to pull out her phone to check up on the time and text Tom to let him know she’s here. But as she reaches into her pocket, her stomach sinks as she realises that she left her phone on her bed.
“Shit,” she hisses to herself, her hands delving into every pocket she can think of. She redoes the process at least three times before sighing and sinking back down onto the wall, cursing to herself. She can’t go back and get it — everyone’s asleep, and besides, Tom could show up at any minute. But what if he’s trying to call her? What if he gets lost? What if he has an accident? He seemed pretty eager to get here. What if—
“Rose.” Her head snaps up at the sound of his familiar voice, and she can’t stifle her smile as their eyes meet for the first time.
“Tom,” she breathes, heaving her cold body up from the wall and running over, throwing herself up into his arms when she reaches him. He holds her close, warming her body against his and breathing his warm scent into her face as he stares into her blue eyes.
“I’m never losing you again,” he breathes, bending his neck to hiss her on the forehead. She lets out a giggle and throws her arms around his neck, this time completely unafraid to hold back. She can feel him smiling as he kisses her, and those all too familiar tingles return to her
He moves his finger over to her name one final time, but this time he doesn’t hesitate. By the time he’s pressed ‘call,’ there’s no going back. Every second that she doesn’t answer seems to drag out longer, and he can physically feel his heart pounding in his chest. Eventually, though, she picks up.
“Tom?” her voice is weak and hoarse.
“Hello,” is all he can manage.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she whispers.
He tries to reply, but the words get lost in his throat. He can hear her breathing on the other side of the line, and his heart begins to ache. Just tell her that you never want to see her again.
The silence is agonising, even for Tom, whose turn it is to speak. He takes a deep breath to prepare himself, and then lets all the words come rushing out at once.
“I love you, Rose,” he croaks, his hands sweating as he clutches his phone.
Then there is more silence.
“Tom,” she whispers eventually. There’s another short pause before she continues with her sentence. “Tom, will you come and meet me?”
He glances at the clock. 1 am.
“Yes,” he whispers, this time without hesitation. “Where?”
“I’m at a friend’s house. I left my boyfriend. I’m sorry.”
His stomach somersaults. There are so many emotions going through his head right now that he’s not even sure what causes it, but his heart starts beating faster.
“Where?” he asks, standing up and grabbing his keys from the arm of the sofa.
“I’ll meet you at Jennings Street? It’s quite far away, it’s in my town, but I don’t have a car right now, and—”
“I’ll be there,” he mutters, cutting off the call and heading straight for the door.
Chapter 21 - 5th November, 2013
Rose tiptoes down the stairs and pads over to the door. It’s late and everyone is already asleep, so she decides not to wake Gina. Thankfully the door is unlocked, and she opens it just wide enough to slide through, closing it as gently as possible behind her.
The sky is black, the only sources of light coming from the dim orange streetlamps as she wanders past the houses. It’s so peaceful, she thinks to herself, closing her eyes to and listening to the wind whirling around her. It’s during moments like these that people remember to appreciate the true beauty of nature.
Jennings Street is only a ten minute walk from Gina’s house, so Rose gets there with plenty of time to spare. She sits alone on a crumbling brick wall while she waits for him, hugging herself with her arms to try and protect herself from the bitter November wind and chewing her lip.
After sitting for ten minutes, she decides to pull out her phone to check up on the time and text Tom to let him know she’s here. But as she reaches into her pocket, her stomach sinks as she realises that she left her phone on her bed.
“Shit,” she hisses to herself, her hands delving into every pocket she can think of. She redoes the process at least three times before sighing and sinking back down onto the wall, cursing to herself. She can’t go back and get it — everyone’s asleep, and besides, Tom could show up at any minute. But what if he’s trying to call her? What if he gets lost? What if he has an accident? He seemed pretty eager to get here. What if—
“Rose.” Her head snaps up at the sound of his familiar voice, and she can’t stifle her smile as their eyes meet for the first time.
“Tom,” she breathes, heaving her cold body up from the wall and running over, throwing herself up into his arms when she reaches him. He holds her close, warming her body against his and breathing his warm scent into her face as he stares into her blue eyes.
“I’m never losing you again,” he breathes, bending his neck to hiss her on the forehead. She lets out a giggle and throws her arms around his neck, this time completely unafraid to hold back. She can feel him smiling as he kisses her, and those all too familiar tingles return to her
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