Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance)

by D. G. Torrens

  At eighteen years old, Angelina had left Six Form with many A-levels and a bright future in front of her. She applied for a job in a little town outside Windermere, as far away from her mother as possible, and no one was more surprised than her when she received the all-important letter informing her that the position of junior editor for a local newspaper was hers. She had four weeks from the date of her letter to find somewhere to live in Windermere and settle in before she started her position. She scoured the papers but to no avail so Angelina decided to register with an online letting agency local to Lake Windermere and prayed that something would come up. It would be two weeks before she received a phone call advising her a very small cottage had just come on the market for long term let in the marketing town of Kendal, situated in the south Lakeland district, just seven miles from Lake Windermere. It was reasonably priced and was on a six month rolling contract.

  Without hesitation, she snapped it up and paid a month’s deposit and a month’s rent up front as required to secure the cottage. It came fully furnished and was just two miles from the large town where she would be working. She had saved all her money from part time jobs and her Saturday job proofreading for a local automotive magazine over the past two years while she had been at college and had quite a tidy sum saved up already. Certainly enough to keep her going and aid her new independent life for a few months.

  Recalling those first couple of years after she left home saddened her and she came over all emotional. It was not easy setting up home by herself at such a young age with no parental support behind her. Looking back, she felt proud of herself. She loved her cottage, which she still rented, and her position with the local newspaper had gone from strength to strength, securing her promotion just one year later and a much needed salary increase. This enabled her to purchase her own second-hand car and laptop and from there she was able to fulfil another long awaited dream to start writing in her spare time. By her second year in Windermere, she had completed her first romance novel and was way into her second. Angelina spent a lot of time alone, writing at weekends, with just the occasional lunch date with Lucy and a monthly dinner date with the girls. Angelina had cultivated a happy life for herself, one she was very satisfied with.

  Looking through her wardrobe and flicking through her rails, Angelina picked out a pair of skinny blue jeans and a fitted sweater. She tied her hair in a French knot at the nape of her neck and grabbed her three inch heel boots. Not one for wearing too much makeup, Angelina dressed her lips with a splash of sheer gloss lipstick and, after checking herself over in the hallway mirror, she was satisfied that she looked presentable. She smiled to herself. “That will do for lunch.” She picked up her purse and headed out of the door.

  The roads were fairly busy at the weekends, with many tourists heading to Kendal town for weekend breaks. Angelina turned on the radio and Josh Kumra’s haunting voice filled the car with his debut song, “Don't go.” This was her favourite song right now and one that evoked all kinds of emotions inside of her. She was still singing along as she approached the Hare and Hound pub, the car park was half empty and she clocked Lucy parking up on the opposite side. She tooted her horn and Lucy waved frantically and over enthusiastically as always as she climbed out of her car.

  “I hope you’re hungry because I’m starving. I didn’t bother with breakfast today and filled up on tea instead, now my stomach is making me pay. It’s been rumbling away for the past hour.” Angelina hugged her friend as they walked into the quaint village pub arm in arm. “So what have you been up to this week? Stumbled upon a tall dark handsome man by any chance?” teased Lucy.

  “Men are the last thing on my mind Lucy, you of all people should know that, and anyway they just toy with your heart or leave you broken one way or another. I have no intentions of getting close to anyone for a long time. I need to concentrate on my career, especially my writing.”

  Angelina picked up the menu and perused its offerings. “I just think it would be good for you to go on a date, dip your toe in the water, so to speak! It’s not like a marriage commitment or anything. You need to start dating, have some fun, let someone spoil you and make you feel like the beautiful woman you are. It's been three years, Angelina, you need to move on. I know it's not easy for you but you're still in your twenties and you have your whole life in front of you. Don't spend the rest of your life alone. There is someone else out there for you if only you would open your eyes and your heart.”

  Angelina smiled and nodded and then handed Lucy the menu. She knew she meant well and wanted the best for her, but Lucy was not the one with a tortured heart. She was not the one tormented by nightmares night after night, and she was not the one who bore an inch long scar on her face, a constant reminder of what happened every time she looked into the mirror.

  “I will have the lasagne with salad and my usual glass of rosé.” Lucy put the menu down, already decided on her lunch.

  “Lucy, truth is I am afraid, afraid I will give my heart away only for it to be shattered again. It has taken me three years to get over Daniel; he is still in my dreams, he occupies my thoughts daily and I still miss him. It may be three years to everyone else but it seems like only yesterday to me. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I swear he is in the room with me for those brief few moments before reality kicks in. It really feels like he's with me. I don’t ever want to feel that kind of loss again, not ever. So please, Lucy, just for me, drop it, will you?”

  Lucy considered her friend for a few minutes while she took a trip to the Ladies. She wanted nothing more than to see her friend happy again, to see the tormented look that occupied her eyes daily disappear completely. The last time Lucy had coerced Angelina into a date was a total mistake and one that she never wanted to repeat again. She understood Angelina was not ready to settle down again; however, she felt a male friend would be good for her. Angelina’s mind was set though and no amount of wine over lunch would sway her from that. She was stubborn and becoming more and more set in her ways as the years passed by. At only twenty six years old, Angelina had suffered pain most people would never have to endure.

  Before they knew it, dusk was setting in and they had been in the pub lunching all afternoon. “Angelina, once again time has run away with me. I have to dash back as Richard is picking me up at six o’clock! It’s going to take me the next two hours to transform this face.” They fell into uncontrollable bouts of laughter as the waiter approached. “Please can we have the bill now?” asked Lucy, still giggling. The waiter smiled coyly, took Lucy’s credit card and turned on his heel towards the bar.

  The nights were drawing in earlier each day and winter was only a whisper away. Angelina and Lucy hugged each other tightly and went their separate ways. Just a mile down the country lane, Angelina’s car started coughing and spluttering until it just simply stopped. There was smoke coming from the engine and Angelina could not believe this was happening right here, right now, as night was closing in on a dark country road. She slammed her hand down on the steering wheel and climbed out of the car in a huff. She retrieved the torch from the boot and proceeded to lift the hood and take a look at the engine. She had no idea about cars, or why she even bothered to take a look. She slammed down the hood, locked the car and started walking towards the town.

  She felt uneasy, as the sky was dark and hanging low. There were no stars visible and the moon appeared to be sleeping. The wind was up and she only had her torch as a guide. Up ahead she could see lights from a car approaching. She stood back on the side of the road, waving frantically. As the car approached, it didn’t slow down but carried on speeding past. “Great, just great. I DON’T NEED YOUR STUPID RIDE, IDIOT,” she shouted out as she watched the tail lights disappear around the corner.

  After walking for about half a mile, she noticed another car approaching. “Hell, why not, what do I have to lose?” Angelina once again started waving her arms frantically. This time the car slowed down, and then pulled up alongside her
. She waited while the driver wound down the window.

  “Hello, can I help you? Do you need a lift?” asked the handsome young man, who seemed genuinely concerned.

  “Thank you, yes, yes please, that would be great. “My car died a death about half a mile up the road. And as you can see, it’s pretty dark out here and my mobile phone is flat so I could not call anyone either.”

  The young man studied Angelina curiously as he beckoned for her to climb in. As soon as she slammed the car door shut, he pulled off. “So where can I drop you?” he asked.

  “I live in Kendal town about a mile up ahead if it’s not too much trouble,” offered Angelina.

  “No trouble at all, I was heading that way myself.” For the rest of the short journey, they both sat in relative silence until they reached Angelina’s road.

  “Okay, you can drop me off here if you like. I can walk the rest of the way,” she said cautiously.

  “If you’re sure, I really don’t mind dropping you off home.” The young man looked to Angelina, and waited for her response.

  “No, really, thank you, I can take it from here. Thank you so much for the lift, I really appreciate it.”

  Angelina went to close the door, but the young man shouted after her, “Can I at least have your name?”

  Angelina pondered his question for a few seconds before answering. “Angelina, my name is Angelina.”

  The young man smiled. “Joshua, my name is Joshua.”

  “Thank you again, Joshua.” And with that, Angelina headed off down the road towards her cottage which was situated at the far end.

  “Damn car,” she cursed to herself as she fumbled with her keys in the door. The first thing she did once she closed the door was to call the RAC Breakdown and Vehicle Recovery. Following a lengthy call with the operator, Angelina then ran herself a hot bath, lit all the candles around her bathroom and poured herself a large glass of wine. Feeling exhausted and fed up, she picked up her wine, grabbed her book off the table and made her way up the stairs to the bathroom. There was nothing she loved more than to relax in a steamy hot bath with a good book and a glass of wine on a Saturday night. Losing herself in a book was great escapism and right now she was escaping into the wonderful works of William Blake’s breath-taking poetry. His words were like magic to Angelina, his poetry like a perfectly woven blanket, every last stitch intricately and perfectly sewn into its rightful place.

  Chapter Three

  The following Sunday morning, Angelina jumped out of bed as she heard the Breakdown Recovery pulling up onto her driveway. She wrapped herself in her soft white robe before heading downstairs and opening the front door. She watched curiously as the two men struggled with her old car. Note to self, make this the year I buy a new one. She smiled at the thought, wondering how on earth she was going to get the money to finance a new car. One of the two men approached her with a form to sign. “If you could just sign here please.” Angelina placed her signature inside the little box on the form, thanked the man and hurried back inside the house.

  She gulped down her coffee, placed it down onto the kitchen table and ran upstairs to put on her running clothes. Every Sunday morning without fail, Angelina went for a long run up to the lake. At least she didn’t need her car for that, she thought. As she closed the door behind her and braved the cold, it was a beautiful crisp autumn day and the sun was peeking through the clouded sky. She did a few warm up exercises before heading off down the road towards the lake. Angelina often ran the distance of a half marathon at weekends. The morning was still, not a soul in sight and that was just how she liked it. Taking deep breaths now, she picked up a steady pace until she reached Lake Windermere. On arrival, she stopped and did some more stretching exercises and ran a further two miles to her marking point. The ground was perfectly crisp and she loved the sound of the grass crunching beneath her feet; as cold as it was, the winter sun was shining from afar and its warmth was welcoming. The early morning birds were chirping away and Angelina was lost in her run.

  Without warning, she slipped on a rock on the grassy bank and lost her footing completely. She tried desperately to claw at the frozen grass unsuccessfully as she slipped into the ice cold water. Fear took over and she panicked as she tried with all her might to stop herself from submerging into the water. Before she knew what was happening, she felt a hand grab hold of her arm and pull her water-logged body out of the freezing lake.

  “You again? What is it with you? You really should be more careful,” teased Joshua as he pulled her onto the bank.

  Mortified and embarrassed, Angelina looked into his eyes for the first time; they were mesmerizing, “Thank you so much, I am not usually so clumsy. I run up here all the time and nothing like this has ever happened to me before.” She was shivering now, the lake was sub-zero and she was wet through.

  Joshua took off his sweatshirt and handed it to her. “Here, put this on before you catch your death of cold too.” Smiling, Angelina gladly took the sweater and pulled it over her head as she stood up with the aid of Joshua. For a brief moment, their eyes locked, neither one saying a word, until a dog broke the silence as he came up sniffing behind them, swiftly followed by an embarrassed owner who quickly ushered the dog along.

  “I guess you will need another lift home then?” Nodding her head and feeling rather embarrassed, Angelina followed Joshua back to his car and was glad to be in the warmth. “Okay, now this time I am going to take you to your door, I don’t want any arguments! I promise you I am not a serial killer, just an ordinary guy wanting to do the right thing…” Joshua turned on the stereo and headed off down the road, back towards the town. On arrival, Angelina gave him directions to her house and Joshua slowed down as he pulled onto her driveway. “Glad to see your car made it back to you in one piece!” he said, laughing.

  “That car is the bane of my life, and I plan on replacing it as soon as I can afford to,” she retorted jovially. “Look, I can’t thank you enough, Joshua. I am sorry to have caused you so much trouble again.”

  “Not at all, don’t mention it, you have livened up what would otherwise have been a pretty dull Sunday morning, and for that I thank you.”

  Angelina started walking towards the house, but she slowed down. Mmm, should I ask him in? No, no, no, don’t even go there. Angelina, keep on going and don’t turn around, just take the key out of your pocket and open the door! But something was preventing her; she turned around and watched as Joshua climbed into his car. Well if he wanted a coffee, he would have asked for one! She convinced herself and opened the door, slamming it behind her and berating herself for having entertained the idea in the first place. She peeked through the dining room window and watched as he disappeared off down the road.

  For the rest of the day, she could not get Joshua out of her head. Much to her annoyance, his rugged good looks had not gone unnoticed. She tried to get into her writing but the words would not flow at all; her thoughts were clouded by this man she hardly knew. She recalled his deep brown eyes and sighed as she rustled up a salad for herself. “I just don’t need this,” she said out loud to herself.”

  After lunch, she tried once again to slip into writing mode but no words were flowing through to her fingertips. She sat staring at her laptop until she gave up completely and shut it down. “Great, the last thing I need is a distraction,” she mumbled to herself as she stood up and left the room. She wondered why she'd never come across Joshua in the town before; he clearly likes to run along the lake too, she thought. Maybe he works away or something. The afternoon passed by uneventfully and slowly. She spent the rest of Sunday getting her work clothes ready and finishing a write-up for the paper before heading off to bed early.

  Chapter Four

  Angelina stretched her arms before rolling over to check the time; Monday morning had come around far too quickly for her liking. “Oh no, it can’t be.” Jumping out of her warm bed and tripping over her feet, she darted to the bathroom. Angelina cursed to herself for over-sleep
ing. “How did I sleep through my alarm? It could wake a bear up,” she muttered to herself. It was 9:30 a.m. by the time she reached her office. Her boss checked his watch as she made her way hurriedly to her desk. Jayden shook his head in mock concern.

  “Couldn’t you get up this morning Angelina?”

  “Don’t start, Jayden; I’m not in the mood this morning.”

  “Oh dear, someone’s in a grump today.”

  Jayden both admired and resented Angelina; he had been overlooked for promotion in favour of her some years before and this had never sat well with him. He had been attracted to her from the first day she'd walked into the office all those years ago. Unlike most of the women in the office, Angelina was very private; she never discussed her personal life or gossiped. She was different and he liked that about her. She fascinated him. He knew deep down she had been the best person for the job, however, this hit is pride hard and he hadn’t felt the same way about the company since.

  Angelina threw her jacket over the back of her chair, ignoring Jayden, and went to grab herself a coffee from the small sparse staff kitchen. Idiot, she thought. If he put as much effort into his job as he did in taunting her, he would have been promoted long ago. She could never understand why he was always on her case; one minute he was making her life as difficult as possible and the next she would catch him looking at her in a way that made her feel self-conscious. She could never figure him out.

  As she flicked through her emails, she smiled as she noticed an email pop up on her screen from Lucy, asking her to meet for lunch at around one o’clock at their usual coffee shop. Thank God for Lucy, thought Angelina, smiling.

  “I’m surprised you have anything to smile about; not only are you late this morning, you also missed the 8:30 a.m. meeting regarding our new client,” said Geoffrey her boss in a rather curt manner.