Me. Her. Him - Chapter 32

Background: Angela is shocked when William, an old friend from her past, who she hoped never to see again, comes back into her life, after he applies for a role at her work and successfully secures the job. William’s sudden reappearance puts Angela on edge. She’s terrified he’s discovered her secret, which she needs to protect her family from. William’s convinced Angela knows what happened to his former girlfriend, Caz, who hasn't been seen for twenty years, and that something terrible happened to her. The only person, who can help Angela, is her once best friend, Michelle, but Angela hasn’t seen Michelle for more than a decade. Faced with the threat of William’s return, they know they’ll need to work together to save their future, even if this does mean reopening old wounds, and revisiting a past they'd rather keep buried.

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June 1999

I reach underneath the mattress of my bed, and pull out the wad of notes I’ve kept there for the past few months, little pin pricks of excitement racing up my spine. There’s a good five hundred pounds here now, that’s pretty much half the money I need. I’m nearly there.

‘You know you should consider depositing that in a bank account.’

‘Jesus Christ,’ I say, looking round to see Michelle standing in the doorway of the bedroom, her arms folded. My heart’s slamming against my chest. ‘Can’t you at least knock?’

I shove the wad back under my bed, my head spinning. She’s always had a habit of creeping up on me like that.

‘Lauren and Hayley don’t know you’re keeping it here, do they?’ Michelle says, dropping her voice and stepping further into the room.

‘No, I don’t go flashing it about,’ I hiss. They know I’m saving up, but they don’t know I’m keeping it under my bed in my room. The only reason Michelle knows, is because she shares the room with me. ‘And I will put it in the bank, I just haven’t got round to it yet. I suppose when it comes to actually paying for the course, I’ll have to send them a cheque.’  

Michelle slips away. I stand up from my position, where I’ve been crouching by the side of the bed, my knees aching as I do. I smooth the creases out of my bed, before I leave the room. Perhaps I should think about putting the money in my drawer, and locking it. At least Michelle will stop banging on at me about keeping it safe. I look back to make sure the envelope isn’t in sight, and shut the door.

‘What are we going to do for your birthday next week?’ Lauren asks, my heart still thudding from when Michelle made me jump.

‘Oh of course, I forgot it’s my birthday coming up. Bloody hell, I’m going to be twenty-four, that’s scary. My eighteenth feels like a lifetime ago.’ I slump onto the sofa next to Michelle, she’s already got a book in her hands.

‘Quarter of a century next year,’ Hayley says. ‘That’s even scarier. I’m sure Caz will join us if we do something, won’t she?’

My eyes seek out Michelle’s. Her expression remains neutral, but I wonder what’s going on in her mind. She’s slumped on the sofa, with a book in her hand. I like to think she’s beginning to warm to Caz, despite her warnings to me a short while ago, about not getting too close to William, and about Caz in general.

‘Yeah definitely, let’s get somewhere booked up. We’ve still got a week, so that should give us plenty of time to find somewhere; a rooftop bar will be nice. Although we’ve had a pretty wet month so far, haven’t we?’ I say.

‘I’m sure Caz will be able to come up with some recommendations. She’s taken us to some pretty cool places so far,’ Lauren remarks. ‘And I’m sure William will want to join us for Angela’s special day.’

My cheeks flush. I know this is a slight dig at the way how I behave whenever I’m with William. Michelle murmurs something, but I don’t press her on what she’s said. Michelle raises her book higher so it covers her entire face. There’s no way she’ll be concentrating on the words on the page.

‘I don’t know what you mean by that, Lauren,’ I say, my cheeks straining. ‘Yeah, I’m sure Caz will be up for joining us. I’ll give her a call tonight and see what she says. What do you think, Michelle?’

Michelle slaps her book shut, without marking the page, and places it on the side of the sofa. I watch it slide off. It hits the floor with a thud, which makes me wince. Perhaps she’s just not getting into it. Unlike me, Michelle will stop reading a book after a few pages if it’s not for her, but I always have to finish it, I feel like a failure otherwise. How can I give someone a solid opinion of a book, if I haven’t read the whole thing?

‘Yeah, a rooftop bar sounds great, if the weather holds up, of course. I’m going to flick the kettle on if anyone wants a drink.’

Michelle picks herself up from the sofa and heads over to the kitchen. Hayley says she’d like a cup of tea, but I’m sure Michelle’s pretending not to have heard. She only gets one mug down from the cupboard.

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Character List:

Angela Watkins - Protagonist 

Paul Watkins - Angela's husband

Rebecca Watkins - Angela's daughter 

Michelle Blake - Angela's former best friend 

Kirsty - Receptionist (Angela's friend) 

Olivia - Angela's boss

William Harris - Angela's former friend 

Caroline (Caz) - Angela's friend 

Hayley - Angela's former friend

Lauren - Angela's former friend