Restart (The Revival Series)

by Claire Thake

  “Hello,” Leah said, trying to catch her breath, from the sprint to the phone.

  “Lee, you just run a marathon?” Giggled Carrie on the other end. Leah smiled; she loved hearing her best friend voice. She missed her so much and wish they got to speak more than they did.

  “I had to run in from the car, I’m not as young and spry as we used to be.”

  “Oi, I’m not old!” Carrie teased, “Anyways, I was just calling to check you were still coming down this weekend? So I can make sure the barn is all set up and ready for you.”

  Leah rubbed her hand over her head, she had totally forgotten she had arranged to visit Carrie, whilst the kids were off school next week, and although she couldn’t wait to see her best friend, she also felt torn at not being around to see Greg.

  “Of course Hun, wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Leah replied, the smile beginning to fade from her face.

  “Are you sure Lee? You sound a little put on the spot?”

  “Don’t be silly Caz, you know I can't wait to see you all and the kids will love the break too”

  “Okay, well I will make sure it's all ready for you then. I will text you Friday to check things and times you’re coming etcetera. I gotta run, before Tyler and Daniel both die of hunger, as they are both apparently starved!” Carrie giggled.

  Leah said her goodbyes to Carrie and placed the phone back on the handset, just as Ryan came through the front door.

  “It’s very quiet in here?” Questioned Ryan,

  “The kids are having tea at Cara’s,” Replied Leah, leaning against the door to the kitchen, watching as Ryan kicked off his shoes and dropped his work bag down.

  “Busy day?” she asked trying to make conversation,

  “Isn’t every day?” answered Ryan, walking towards her, and giving her a peck on the cheek as he walked into the kitchen. Leah, stood up straight, confused by the show of affection, which was very out of character, and at the same time she got a huge smell of expensive perfume.

  “Ryan, why do you smell like a perfume counter?” Leah asked, trying to make it sound funny, and not as if she was questioning him, the last thing she wanted was to cause another argument by accusing him of something when there could be a perfectly good reason….maybe.

  “Do I?” replied Ryan, lifted his shirt to his nose to take a sniff, “Melissa, hugged me before I left, for getting the paperwork she needed to her today, it could be hers, you know how she always drowns herself in the stuff.”

  Leah, felt her breath catch in her throat, doubts about her husband’s relationship with his boss, once again rising to the surface, yet she tried to shake them off as the guilt of her own infidelity raised its ugly head.

  Turning away so he couldn’t see her face, Leah walked over to the kettle, before filling it with water and putting it on to boil.

  “Coffee?” she asked Ryan, without turning to look at him. “Sounds fab, I’m just going to grab a quick shower and will be back down.”

  Once Ryan had left the room, Leah let out a loud sigh, and carried on, making the coffees, gathering cups from the cupboard and milk from the fridge.

  When the drinks were made, she grabbed her handbag from the hallway and retrieved her phone, to text Cara to see what time to pick the kids up, and on the screen was a text message from Greg.

  Greg: I had a great time today Leah, miss you already. Gx

  Leah quickly cleared the message, smiling to herself and made a note to check her settings as she couldn’t have messages from Greg appearing on her phone, just in case Ryan saw them appear on the lock screen, and then typed out a message to Cara.

  It wasn’t long before Ryan joined Leah again in the kitchen, retrieving the coffee she had made for him and taking a large mouthful.

  “What time are the kids back?”

  “Cara said she’s feeding them at six, so about seven would be good” Leah replied, recalling the reply she had to her message.

  “I’ll grab them if you want, and stop and get a Chinese on the way home if you fancy it? saves you cooking,”

  Leah nodded, shocked at her husband offering to pick up the kids instead of disappearing in his office or lounging in front of the television.

  “Go and get yourself a warm bath and have a relax, you deserve it.”

  Leah began to wonder if someone had swapped her husband, but decided not to pass up the opportunity, and nodded.

  Ryan leant forward and gave her a gentle peck on the lips, before turning and digging out the takeaway menus from the kitchen draw. “What do you want to eat Lee? I will call and order it, so it’s ready when I get there instead of having to wait for it.”

  *****

  Lying in the bath, Leah closed her eyes and replayed the day’s events. She could still feel and taste Greg’s lips on hers and his arms around her, as she talked herself into ignoring the guilt. Just because Ryan was being nice for once didn’t change how life was on a day to day basis, and she knew her husband wouldn’t change; she deserved some happiness, didn’t she?

  Drying her hands on a towel, she picked up her phone and typed Greg a reply to his earlier message.

  Leah: I miss you too, today was amazing. I forgot to mention but I’m going away on Saturday for the week to Devon to see Carrie.

  She wasn’t waiting long for a response

  Greg: Carrie? As in Carrie Warren?

  Leah: Well it's Carrie Caine now but yep the same one

  Greg: Wow it’s been a long time! How is she? Caine? Did she not end up with Ian Summers then? That shocks me.

  Leah: She did marry Ian, but lost him in a car accident. She’s now married to a farmer called Daniel.

  Greg: Carrie Warren married a farmer? OMG! I never could see Carrie with a farmer!

  Leah giggled, he was right, Carrie was always so fashion conscious and hated getting dirty, so imagining her on a farm was a bit crazy.

  The more she thought about going away to Carrie’s, the more excited she became, she might miss not seeing Greg, but at the same time she needed this break so badly, she needed to get away from Ryan and to put things into perspective and have a good hard think about her life, and what was best for her and the kids.

  Time flew when Leah was soaking in the bath, and before she knew it, Ryan and the kids were banging about downstairs, and she realised she needed to get out.

  When she came downstairs, Ryan had dished the food onto plates, and the kids were nowhere in sight.

  “I’ve sent them to their rooms to do their homework,” Ryan muttered, guessing her thoughts from her expression.

  “You do realize that they are probably on the PlayStation or laptop, and not doing it though don’t you?”

  Ryan giggled, as he licked sweet and sour sauce from his thumb, and smiled up at Leah.

  “Yeah, most probably but it's nice to have some peace for one night. Come and eat.”

  Leah took a seat at the table and starting poking a fork into her food. She hadn’t realised until that moment that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and she was starving.

  “So are you looking forward to going to Carrie’s?” Ryan asked between mouthfuls.

  “Yes, yes I can’t wait to be honest. It feels like ages since I’ve seen them all, and it will be a nice break for the kids as well,”

  “Yeah, I can tell how much you’ve missed her since she moved, it will be nice for you. It’s going to be very quiet with you all gone for that long, but as long as you have a good time. Take the joint account card with you and don’t skimp whilst you are there. Just make sure you all have a good time.”

  Leah was very confused at the change in her husband. For starters, they were sitting down and eating a meal together, just the two of them, and having a civil conversation. They hadn’t done that it what felt like forever. He was also being very generous with money and Leah didn’t know whether to be grateful he wanted them to have plenty of funds to enjoy themselves or suspicious of him being so generous.

  Leah shook her
head trying to clear any bad thoughts and took small bites from a chicken ball, dipping it in the sauce between mouthfuls, although not really tasting what she was eating as she was too much in shock over Ryan’s words.

  *****

  The rest of the week went passed in a blur of washing and packing, and secret meet ups with Greg in between. Leah had spent the whole week with a grin plastered on her face, and she even had to admit that even though she felt guilty about it all.

  It had also improved her mood so much that life was easier to cope with at home, and the relationship she had with Ryan was improving, or, at least, it seemed to be. Either that or she wasn’t taking things to heart as much as normal, but either way, she felt happy.

  Friday morning came around, and Leah took the kids and Cara's son Oscar to school, before coming home and getting all the cases and things she needed into the car, before driving to the petrol station and filling up in preparation for the long drive she had ahead of her that evening. She could have chosen to go the following morning, but she figured if she went tonight, it gave them a full day tomorrow, and the kids could sleep in the car tonight anyway.

  After getting herself organised for the trip, she drove to Greg's brothers house and parked directly outside. She gave her reflection a quick check in the mirror before jumping out and going up to the door. She felt very unsure pressing the bell. Every time this week, Greg had been standing waiting for her at the door, and he knew she was coming to see him, as she had messaged, but today he was not standing there with his cute smile. Shaking her head, she told herself to stop being silly and to just ring the bell. He probably hadn’t noticed the time that was all.

  After a minute, the door swung open, but it wasn’t Greg’s face looking at her, but his older brother Henry. Leah found herself stuck for words, it had been years since she had seen Henry and didn't know what to say to explain to him as to why she was there.

  "Come in." Henry said bluntly, and turned and walked inside, leaving the door ajar for her. Not wanting to stand on the step like an idiot, Leah, gingerly walked into the hallway and kicked her shoes off by the door.

  "Erm, Henry - Sorry is Greg here?" She asked just as Greg jogged down the stairs, a look of anger on his face. When he reached the bottom, he learned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Come on, let's go for a walk," he muttered, and turned and slipped on his trainers.

  Leah followed suit and gave a quick glance at Henry, who stood at the entrance to the kitchen staring at the pair of them, a look of disdain on his face. Leah was taken aback by how similar Greg and Henry were, they had the same eyes and hair both in shape and colour, despite a slight difference in their mouths and Henry having a few grey hairs, you wouldn’t know they weren’t twins.

  Following Greg out of the house, he walked ahead, and they walked in silence and over the road to the small pathway that leads down to the country park, eventually after walking for ten minutes, Greg stopped and flopped onto a bench, and put his head into his hands.

  "Greg, what’s going on?" Leah asked, confused at the situation and why Henry had seemed so hostile towards her.

  "I had to tell Henry, Leah - About us,"

  "Oh." Leah sat down next to Greg on the bench and dropped her bag by her feet on the damp grass.

  "He came home early from work today, said he wasn’t feeling great so decided to work from home, I had no choice as you were already on your way and I know you don’t look at your phone when you are driving, so I had no way to stop you coming over."

  "I'm guessing from his reaction then, he doesn’t approve." Leah sighed, and the reality of everything was hitting her. There was no way they would be able to keep this a secret, it wasn’t as easy as that and the situation hit her hard, a knot forming in her chest and she didn’t know whether to scream in anger or burst into tears.

  "No, no he doesn’t. He thinks I'm setting myself up for a fall, and that this cannot end well, and that someone will end up hurt, and he’s worried that someone will be me."

  "You know I would never hurt you, Greg, not intentionally"

  "I know you wouldn't Leah, and as I've told you, I am willing to wait for as long as it takes, as I know your situation is difficult, but he can't understand that. He doesn’t understand that love is worth waiting for, no matter how hard things are."

  Leah felt as if she had been hit by a great force, things seemed to be going from naught to sixty in hardly any time at all, and hearing the 'L' world, made her stomach turn. Not that it hadn’t crossed her mind, and she knew she had strong feelings for Greg, but love was something she took very seriously and a word she didn’t use lightly.

  "I know this is going fast Leah, but I need you to know how I feel, I am in love with you, in fact even after all these years, I don't think I ever fell out of love with you."

  "I - I don't know what to say, I'm sorry Greg but this is such as shock, and so fast, I just wasn’t expecting it -"

  "It’s ok Leah, I don’t expect you to say it back, the fact that you are here and have been spending time with me this week, says a lot. I'm not expecting the world from you, but I need you to know how I feel and I need you to know before you go away. I am going to miss you every minute you are gone."

  Leah didn’t say anything in response, just leaned into Greg, who put his arm around her shoulders, his eyes darting around the green surroundings to make sure they weren’t spotted, and they just sat in silence for what felt like hours, just taking in the enormity of the conversation.

  Leah, however, couldn’t get the thought out of her head, that this was no longer their little secret, and that someone else was in on it, and could she trust that someone not to break it and shatter her life into a million pieces.

  Chapter 8

  The drive to Carrie's was a long way, and Leah made sure she had an energy drink with her in case she started tiring, but with so much going on in her mind, it was too preoccupied and Leah wondered if she would even sleep tonight. Halfway there, she pulled into a service station and got the kids some dinner at the restaurant, and picked at a burger and chips herself, although Ben finished it off after she gave in that she didn’t have a big appetite.

  Finally pulling into Carrie's gravel courtyard, just before midnight, Leah suddenly felt guilty for putting herself on her friend at such a late time, it now occurred to her that being on a working farm, that Daniel and Carrie would be early risers, and staying up so late to see Leah and the kids arrive, would mean they would be getting less sleep.

  Turning off the engine and the lights, Leah stepped out of the car, and caught a glance of her best friend by the door to the barn, a huge grin on Carrie’s face as she ran over and enveloped Leah in a warm hug.

  "It’s so good to see you!!" Carrie screeched, practically jumping up and down. "How was the journey?"

  "Hit a small bit of traffic, and got caught behind a tractor or two, but generally, it wasn’t bad. Caz I'm so sorry for arriving so late, It’s only just occurred to me, that being on a farm you are probably in bed by now normally-"

  "Oh ssh Lee! Don't be silly!" Carrie cut Leah off, "I think it’s great you came tonight, it means I get to spend more time with you, and we get a full day tomorrow, let’s grab your bags and get you settled."

  It didn’t take long to get the bags and cases from the car, and to unload everything into the barn. The kids, who had been too stubborn to sleep on the journey, instead opting to play on their tablets, practically fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow!

  Carrie made hot chocolate in the kitchen, before being joined by Leah, once she had settled the kids. Leah took in her best friends appearance, and once again, as she was every time she visited, she was shocked at how much her friend had changed. Gone were the suits, smart dresses and heels, and they were replaced with jeans, jumpers and boots! But despite it being different, it suited Carrie now, and Leah could tell how much the lifestyle now fitted Carrie.

  For a while Carrie had made trips back and forth to London, keepi
ng up with her roots and keeping in touch with her job and career as much as she could, but slowly her career had taken a back seat, especially after her son, Tyler was born. She still worked freelance for her old boss Angela, but the majority of it was now done by email and it had been over a year since Carrie had travelled back to London for business.

  "Please don't let me keep you up Caz," Leah said, taking a seat at the wooden table that adorned the middle of the quaint little country style kitchen.

  "Oh don't be silly Leah, I've always been a night owl, you know that. Just cos I live in the country now doesn't change that. Daniel sleeps early but I use this time to get my work done or catch up on TV or reading." Carrie passed Leah a cup of hot chocolate and joined her at the table. "Daniel gets up early, I sleep in till 7 and then get Tyler up for school. I might be married to a farmer, but trust me farm work isn't for me, I'm still a city girl at heart. Daniel has plenty of staff to do the dirty jobs, he doesn't need my help."

  "It's so good to see you Caz." Said Leah, as the emotion of everything, hit her like a ton of bricks. Carrie was the only person in the whole world, that she felt she could really talk to, but yet although she wanted to tell Carrie everything about Ryan and Greg, she held back, worried that her best friend would be disappointed in her, and so she kept it all to herself, and instead a single tear fell down her cheek.

  “Oh Lee, what’s going on?” Carrie questioned, sliding her chair closer to Leah and putting a protective arm around her shoulders.

  “Nothing Caz, honestly,” Leah mumbled, sniffing back her tears. “I’ve just been fighting a bit with Ryan, and I really need this time away, not only that but I’ve missed you so much, and it really does feel wonderful being here.”