FanStory.com - Me. Her. Him - Chapter 65by Jacob1395

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.

Michelle was right about her parent’s place. It’s idyllic; it wouldn’t look out of place in a Grimm fairy tale. Ivy snakes up the stone walls curling around the edges of the window frames. The cottage sits on its own at the end of, what I can only think must be a farmer’s track, except I’m not sure there’s a farm anywhere nearby. The last house I saw was about ten minutes up the road. We really are out in the sticks here.

Caz is jiggling Rebecca on her knee, who’s staring around the car with big curious eyes. Caz barely spoke for the whole journey, and spent most of it with her head lolled against the window, her eyes half closed. If I’d managed to pass my driving test, I would’ve offered to take over the driving halfway here, but then I haven’t even sorted out lessons. There’s really no need to drive in London. Michelle had to rent a car for the trip up here. She only decided to take lessons a few years ago, to help with her job prospects. She couldn’t stop looking at her licence for days after she passed. She passed first time, of course.

We only had to stop a couple of times during the journey from London, which was a big relief. I was beginning to think it was going to be a bit of a nightmare being in the car with Rebecca for so long, when we started the journey, but she was good as gold. She really is perfect.

‘So, what do you think?’ Michelle asks, cranking up the hand break, and sitting back in her seat.

‘I love it, you definitely shouldn’t have kept this place from us; it would’ve been great to have come here with Lauren and Hayley, we could’ve had a right laugh.’

‘Well, I’m sure we can always arrange to come up with them another time. How about you, Caz, like it?’

Caz is leaning forward slightly, so she can peer at the cottage through the windscreen. I see the faint hint of a smile on her lips. It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile in days actually. At least that’s something.

‘Right let’s get out and get unpacked. My parents always have loads of wine here, so we can open a nice bottle of red tonight.’

I watch Caz hold Rebecca tight, and then she slips out of the car without another word, carrying only her bag in her other hand as she heads towards the house. She doesn’t look back over to us, to see if we need any help.

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