by Anna Samuels
‘Oh my goodness! No, Seren! That’s so far from the truth it’s unbelievable,’ I told her, emotionally. ‘These past few days have been absolutely incredible,’ I revealed. ‘I’ve never enjoyed time with anyone as much as I have with you. It was so natural…so…right,’ I decided.
‘Ah Abby. It’s such a relief to hear you say that. That’s how I feel-but I worried that you had possibly changed your mind.’
‘No way!’ I told her. ‘And at the next possibility, I’ll be back down to see you…if you’d like me too,’ I added.
‘Like you too! I’d have you here twenty-four, seven if I could,’ she told me, happily.
I smiled to myself. ‘I thought of you the whole drive home,’ I said then; very quietly.
‘You did?’
‘I couldn’t stop. Meeting you has been amazing, Seren. I knew I had to come home but I desperately didn’t want to leave at the same time. I was so looking forward to spending this week with you and getting to know you even more.’
‘I was too,’ she murmured, speaking quietly.
‘I’ll spend some time with Ella and then try and come back down soon,’ I promised.
‘Yeah…but I mean, if she needs you, why don’t you bring her down too? It could be a little holiday for her-getting away from everything that’s happening at home. My son is actually coming down to stay on Friday for a week. He could show her round the local area if you like? He wouldn’t mind…he’s a good lad.’
Possibility rushed through my mind. Could we do this? ‘I…wow, Seren! That’s one hell of an idea!’
‘It is, isn’t it?’ she said, and I could hear her smiling.
‘Well, I want you here-and why not bring your daughter? It’d be good for her.’
‘Actually, tonight she told me she wanted to go away from here. She’s feeling humiliated and doesn’t even want to see friends so maybe going away for a little while would be good for her.’
‘Exactly! A break away always puts perspective on everything.’
‘I’ll talk to her in the morning,’ I promised. ‘If we come back down, is there space for us?’ I asked.
‘Yes! Definitely! I mean, your room is waiting for you and there’s one spare next door at the moment. I can book it out for your daughter to use.’
‘Ah thanks, Seren. That would be wonderful,’ I said, then smiling. ‘I won’t bother unpacking tonight!’
‘No don’t! Make it happen, Abby! It’d be good to have both of you down here.’
‘Yeah, I know…I hope she goes for it,’ I murmured. ‘Something tells me that she’ll like the idea…to get away for a bit.’
‘I hope so. I miss you already,’ she told me, softly.
‘Me too. I’ve missed you since driving away earlier,’ I murmured.
She chuckled. ‘We’re quite a pair…’
‘Yeah,’ I sighed. ‘Isn’t it funny,’ I mused, ‘you go through long, long relationships in life struggling through it and then you meet someone and within a few days it’s like you’ve known them forever…’
The end of the line went silent for a moment and I wondered if I’d gone too far. When Seren did speak, her voice was low and husky. ‘I feel exactly the same way…which is why I don’t want to lose this when it’s only just begun.’
I nodded to myself, even though she couldn’t see me. ‘I’ll talk to Ella in the morning.’
‘Come down as soon as you can. We’ll be waiting for you whenever you can get here.’
‘Okay,’ I said, softly.
‘I’ll miss having you here tonight,’ she told me, quietly.
‘I know. I’ll miss you too. But hopefully I’ll be back down to yours quickly.’
‘I hope so. Will you give me a call? Even if it’s a no-just let me know when you can?’
‘Oh course. I’ll call you after a I speak to Ella tomorrow letting you know our plans.’
‘Okay…well, are you okay? Where are you now?’
‘I’m in my bedroom. To be honest, I’ll probably just get an early night. I’m pretty tired from the long drive home. I’ll go to sleep soon.’
‘Good. Get some rest. Definitely don’t go and do any work! Okay?’ she laughed.
‘I won’t. I promise you. Actually, that’s the last thing on my mind right now-and that’s rare. I can’t tell you how much I would do normally. Probably up until eleven each night on my laptop.’
‘Well, don’t even turn it on,’ she said, softly. ‘Still think of yourself on holiday…okay?’
‘Okay,’ I agreed. ‘I don’t want to anyway. I want to go to sleep and dream about the time I spent with you.’
She went quiet for a moment yet again. ‘Have you got any idea…’ she said, in a near-whisper, ‘just how easy it would be…to fall for you,’ she murmured.
I felt the breath catch in my throat. My heart started hammering in my chest and I couldn’t speak for a minute. ‘I…well, that’s good,’ I told her softly, ‘because I think I’m already half-way there…’
‘Ah God, I wish we were together tonight,’ Seren breathed, emotionally.
‘Me too…but I’ll aim for tomorrow.’
‘Okay. Well, I’ll let you go.’
‘Okay,’ I replied. ‘Have a good night…don’t work too hard,’ I smiled.
‘I won’t,’ she promised. ‘Don’t work at all yourself!’ she warned.
‘I promise. Talk to you tomorrow?’
‘Yeah…bye Seren.’
‘Bye Abby,’ I said, and hung up the phone. Staring down at the handset, I released the breath I was holding. Seren was such an incredible woman and yet it scared me just how much I was feeling for her already. I hadn’t been looking or wanting to get involved in another relationship whatsoever and yet, here I was, falling for the most amazing woman I had ever met. It felt so natural, but deep down, a fear rested inside me. Would I be able to open myself up to the chance of getting hurt again? I lay down on my bed, thinking. It was a long time before I managed to fall asleep.
The following morning, I awoke late. It was already nine by the time I surfaced and I headed straight for Ella’s room to check on her. She wasn’t there so I headed downstairs to find her.
‘Ella?’ I called, walking down the stairs.
‘In the lounge!’ she called.
‘Okay.’
I hurried down the rest of the stairs and headed into the lounge. I found Ella sat on the sofa, still in pyjamas and on her phone typing away rapidly.
‘Hey,’ I said, sitting down beside her.
‘Hey,’ she replied, looking up.
‘How are you feeling this morning?’ I asked, looking at her closely.
She frowned. ‘I don’t know…he’s been messaging me since late last night.’
‘No!’ I exclaimed. ‘Saying what?’ I demanded.
‘He’s begging forgiveness, claiming it was a one-night thing, it was a mistake, blah, blah, blah…’
‘You’re not buying it, are you?’ I asked, worried.
She shook her head. ‘No! Of course not, Mum! I’ve spoken to lots of other friends now and some of them have heard from people they know that this has been going on a long time-and not with just one girl!’ she said, bitterly.
‘Oh God!’ I exclaimed, angered. ‘Seriously?’ I exclaimed.
‘I know,’ she said, miserably. ‘I’m going to talk to him today-but for one last time, Mum. I want to put this behind me, so I want the closure of hearing it from him face to face.’
Alarm bells rang again. ‘Honey, if you do that, you know he’ll do everything in his power to get you back? Say and do anything! I don’t know if it’s a good idea, if I’m honest. Plus, I have news!’ I told her.
‘Yeah?’
‘Yes. I spoke to Seren last night just to explain why I had to leave so quickly. She invited us both back down there. I’d like us to go, honey. We can have a holiday by the sea, enjoy the beach and it’d get you away for a bit. It might be just what you need right now.’
Sh
e sighed. ‘I’d like that, Mum…I really would-but I want to do this first. Can you see that? I want closure. I want to speak my mind to him first hand, instead of doing it over a phone…I need that, Mum.’
I nodded. ‘Can I be there with you?’ I asked.
‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘But you could be around? In case of any heated arguments or anything. Would that be okay?’ she wondered.
‘Of course. Why don’t you invite him here for the conversation? Then I can stay out the way but also be around if you need me.’
‘Okay. Good idea, Mum…and yes to the holiday by the way! I’d love to go down to Devon and spend some time at the beach. That’s just what I need right now! Get away from this place!’ she said, angrily.
‘Okay, well great…also, one more thing, honey…and I can’t be exactly delicate about it…’
‘What?’ she demanded, back to no-nonsense Ella.
‘If he’s been sleeping around, you’re vulnerable to a whole range of sexually transmitted diseases. Even if you’ve been using protection, which I hope you have, you’ll still need to go to the doctor’s and get tested. He’s put you at risk by his selfish, prick-like behaviour,’ I snarled.
‘Oh my God!’ she exclaimed. ‘I hadn’t even thought about that!’
‘I know,’ I said, sadly. ‘I’ll book an appointment for early this afternoon so you can get checked before we go away. Then later, if you’re up for it, we’ll head down to Devon.’
‘I’d love that, Mum.’
‘Okay…well I’ll go make a few phone calls and make some breakfast.’
‘Thanks Mum. I’ll phone Lee and get him over here to talk.’
‘Okay, honey,’ I replied. ‘I’ll leave you to it and make some breakfast.’
‘Okay,’ she told me. ‘Thanks, Mum.’
I smiled at her and then turned to walk away.
Once in the kitchen, and in privacy, I pulled my mobile out of my pocket and called Seren.
‘Abby!’ she answered, almost immediately.
‘Hey,’ I said, smiling to myself.
‘I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,’ she said, happily.
‘What can I say? I missed you,’ I told her, huskily.
‘Me too,’ she replied, softly. ‘It’s so quiet here without you. I’ve gotten used to having you around…not to mention how lonely it is sleeping alone.’
‘I noticed that last night,’ I said in a quiet voice, ‘but good news…we’re planning on travelling back down later this afternoon.’
‘Oh that’s amazing news!’ I exclaimed. ‘I’m so glad. Is Ella okay?’
‘Not really,’ I told her, with a sigh, ‘but I’m hoping the breakaway will be just what she needs to get her back to normal.’
‘I’m sure it will be. I called Danny and he’s driving down today too. Maybe our two could keep each other occupied a bit too while we spend some time together?’ she questioned.
‘That sounds like a good idea,’ I smiled. ‘Let’s just hope they get on!’
She chuckled. ‘Most girls like Danny,’ she told me, sounding amused.
‘Oh yeah?’ I questioned, curiously.
‘Yeah,’ she said, clearly smiling. ‘He’s gorgeous,’ she told me. ‘Typical surfer type, shaggy blonde hair, tanned as can be and muscles everywhere. He’s stunning, even if I do say so myself.’
I smiled to myself, picturing him. ‘I’m sure he is. Well, at least that’ll prove a good distraction for Ella.’
‘Exactly. That’s why I asked him to come down earlier than planned.’
‘Thanks for that,’ I told her and sighed. ‘So; I’m going to get on with the things I need to do before we can come back to Devon. I reckon we should be down by four or five ish.’
‘Okay, no worries. I’ll make sure everything’s ready for you both and I literally can’t wait to see you, Abby.’
‘Me too,’ I said, softly, and felt like I could easily say more.
‘Well…I, uh…’ she sighed, ‘I…I can’t wait to see you,’ she repeated, rather than saying anything else.
‘Me too,’ I smiled, again repeating myself. ‘I’ll see you this afternoon.’
‘See you later, Abby.’
‘Bye Seren.’ I hung up, smiling to myself, feeling things which I couldn’t quite believe were running through my system. In the space of a few, long days, I felt like I was falling for the woman who was changing my life. It seemed so natural to me…as if it were meant to be. As I busied myself with the tasks of the morning in front of me, I was completely and utterly distracted by thoughts of Seren. It didn’t seem wrong though-it felt truly and completely right in every way.
Chapter 11
The morning passed agonisingly slowly. After a quick and simple breakfast for Ella and I, I made myself scarce into the kitchen as Lee arrived for their conversation. I didn’t want to witness it-or get involved-but I did want to ensure I was around for Ella’s sake.
I sat at the kitchen counter, staring at my laptop, whilst listening to raised voices in the lounge next door. I looked at the computer, wondering whether to turn it on or not-as was my habit. It would be so easy to slump back into the same old routines, but is was making me ill. Walking away from where the laptop lay, I made the decision to leave it where it was. I was not going to go back to that mental space just yet. My head needed clearing. I needed time to figure out how to make changes for the best.
Everything had gone quiet next door so I decided to venture out and see what was going on. They had been alone for about an hour so it was fair enough, in my eyes, to check on Ella.
After poking my head around the door gingerly, I saw that Ella was sat on the sofa alone. She looked completely and utterly dejected.
‘Hey,’ I said, quietly.
She looked up, somewhat dazed, and then gestured me in. ‘It’s okay…he’s gone. You can come in now.’
‘Are you okay?’ I questioned. ‘How did it go?’
She shrugged, looking down and away. ‘Pretty crap,’ she muttered.
‘Yeah?’ I said, softly, coming to sit beside her. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ I asked, carefully.
‘No,’ she said, shaking her head, miserably.
‘Okay. When and if you do, I’m here, okay?’
She nodded, a single tear slipping from her eye. ‘Okay,’ she whispered.
‘It’s shit, right?’ I said, slumping back against the sofa.
She looked over at me on the sofa and met my eyes.
‘When I found out what Kate had been doing, I can’t even begin to describe just how shitty I was feeling, Ella. Work was my distraction from just how upsetting it was, but believe me, I know…’
She eyes brimmed with tears.
‘You can’t believe that someone who’s meant to love you could do something quite so horrible…so devastating…it’s hard to understand it…’
She nodded, sniffing and crying more now.
‘But it does get easier…not at first, of course, but in time…’
‘I know,’ she said, quietly, her voice shaky and weak.
‘And I know you don’t want to hear it right now, but there’s other men…better men out there for you. You’ve got so many choices and options coming your way. Frankly, you’re going to have much more fun when you go to Uni now!’ I told her, reaching for her hand and smiling at her.
‘Yeah! Too right,’ she said, managing a shaky smile. ‘I’ll be single and ready to mingle,’ she joked.
‘Exactly! You know Seren-the woman I’m getting to know down in Devon?’
‘Yeah?’ she replied, interested.
‘She has a son. His name’s Danny. Apparently he’s some kind of surf-God-all blonde, fit and muscular. Anyway, he’s going to visit Seren this weekend too, so you’ll get to hang out with someone your own age while we’re holidaying.’
‘Oh, good! Are you trying to set me up, Mum?’ she laughed.
‘No, honey! I wouldn’t dare…but it may be fun to spen
d some time with another teen…’
‘How old is he?’ she asked.
‘Same as you-eighteen. Seren tells me he’s off to Plymouth Uni in September!’
‘No way! How weird is that? I’ll have to ask him some more questions about the campus-just in case I don’t get my first choice…’
‘Yes, definitely. It’s worth asking for sure. It was a nice Uni.’
‘It was,’ she said, thoughtfully. ‘I wouldn’t mind if I got into either of the Uni’s to be honest…’
I nodded. ‘Well, that’s good then…’
‘So,’ she sighed, ‘do I need to go to the doctor’s then?’ she asked, clearly not enthralled by the idea.
‘Yeah, you do. It’s important, honey. However, why don’t we both go and get packed so that once we’ve been to the doctor’s, we can head straight off?’
She nodded. ‘Alright. You’re pretty keen to get back down there, Mum. She must be pretty special…’
‘She is,’ I told her, quietly. ‘I’m going to take it all cautiously-but I really like her, Ella.’
Ella smiled at me.
‘Hey; I spoke to Ethan yesterday,’ I said, suddenly remembering.
‘You did? How is he?’ Ella asked. ‘Did he have any news?’ she wondered, curiously.
I knew in that moment that Ella knew already. ‘Yes, he’s fine. He was telling me all about his job interview and the possibility of staying in London this summer. He also told me about his new relationship…’
‘Oh yeah? What, exactly did he tell you?’
I laughed. ‘It’s okay, Ella. I can tell you already know. He told me all about Rich.’
‘He did! Oh, yay! I’m so glad he’s told you now. I wanted to talk to you about it but felt it was his place to tell you first. What do you think? You’re happy about it right?’
‘I’m over the moon,’ I told her, warmly. ‘I’ve suspected since he was a little boy. I’m just so glad it turned out so well for him in the end. He sounded so happy on the phone. His new boyfriend sounds lovely.’
‘Yeah, he seems to be. I haven’t met him in person but I’ve face timed with him a few times and I really like him.’
‘Ah…I can’t wait to meet him,’ I smiled.
‘I know. It’s so good for Ethan. I sometimes wonder if it’d be easier if I had ended up being gay,’ she mused. ‘Men can be such dicks…surely it’s easier with women?’
