Me. Her. Him : Me. Her. Him - Chapter 72 by 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. ************** August 2002 My legs jitter up and down in the front seat of the car. Michelle’s in the driver’s seat beside me. This is so wrong. Only a couple of days ago the four of us were leaving here to go for a weekend of fun in Norfolk, now only three of us are returning. It’s as if Caz has been wiped off the face of the earth. No one cares. This weekend, it . . . it shouldn’t have ended up in us disposing . . . Caz’s body. As much as I love Rebecca, and as much as I yearned to have children of my own one day, I feel like I’m not going to be able to cope with this. I’m not going to be able to keep the secrets, especially from Rebecca. My stomach contracts as I remember the very first day we saw her in the club all those years ago. I want to reach out into the memory. I want to stop myself from going outside to have a cigarette. I want to stop myself from striking up the conversation with Caz. Just let her use your cigarette lighter, and let her go. Don’t invite her inside for a drink with you. ‘Feels weird, doesn’t it?’ Michelle says, breaking the silence. We’ve sat here in silence for most of the three hour journey back to London. The image of Caz’s body keeps coming back to me. In my head I hear her telling me I need to own up to what we did, and tell the police, let her have a proper burial, instead of leaving her there, cold and forgotten. Will anyone ever think to report her missing? According to Caz, her family certainly wouldn’t care. That’s why Michelle said her plan was fool proof. No one would ever need to know what happened this weekend. I know now Michelle’s going to be keeping an extra close eye on me. It will be me, I’ll be the one who ends up cracking, and she knows it. But I can’t stop thinking that someone, perhaps a few weeks, months, or even years down the line, will discover Caz’s body, and our secret will be out. We won’t be able to control that. Perhaps Michelle will return to the scene at some point, and dispose of the body in a more final way. I swallow. ‘Yes,’ I say, but I don’t look at Michelle. My legs wobble as I get out of the car. I just want to put Rebecca in her crib, lie down on the sofa, and close my eyes. I don’t want to think about anything. It’s as I approach the front door, that in my mind’s eye, I see Caz, arriving here months ago, begging me for help. I have to hold my hand out to the side, to stop myself from crashing to the ground. ‘Michelle, this will be impossible.’ Michelle guides me in, settles me on the sofa, and then she brings the rest of the stuff from the car inside with her. ‘Angela, we talked about this, didn’t we?’ Michelle says. Her voice is fierce. Tears blur my vision. ‘I can’t live with what we did. I’ll . . . I’ll tell the police my part in it, I won’t say anything that you . . . we can’t leave Caz there.’ ‘They’ll find out I was involved,’ Michelle says, managing to keep her voice calm. ‘Give it a few months and things will be better. You’ll see what a good mum you are to Rebecca, and I’ll be here every step of the way with you. I’ll support you. You won’t want to give this up, Angela. This is sort of what Caz wanted. She wanted to give Rebecca to you.’ The last part of her sentence sends a cold chill racing through my body, as I think back to the conversation Caz and I had, the night before last. But Caz wouldn’t have wanted to die. She wanted to go off and live her life, without the ties of motherhood bearing down on her. She didn’t want things to end like this. ‘I need to sleep,’ I say. Really, I just want to be out of this room, there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to sleep again. I can’t bear to look at Michelle. I pick myself up from the sofa. Every bone in my body is aching, as I begin to make my way towards the bedroom. Michelle grabs my arm. ‘We will make this work, but I’m afraid, we’re also going to have to cut ties with everyone. I’ll start looking as well for a new place for us to live.’ ‘Everyone, what do you mean, everyone . . .’ I say. My brains trying frantically to process what she means, but I can’t make sense of her words. ‘Your family, Lauren and Hayley, and my parents. They’ve all got to go. Do you think they’re not going to ask questions if they suddenly see you with a baby, when you haven’t told them that you were pregnant in the first place? They might get suspicious, and that’s when people start asking questions.’ ‘But they’re my family,’ I cry, Mum’s face appearing in my mind as I speak, my sister, my nephews, Dad. They won’t understand. ‘I’m your family now, Angela,’ Michelle says, her eyes not leaving mine. ‘I’ll always be here for you.’ *********** 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
|
| ©
Copyright 2024.
Jacob1395
All rights reserved. Jacob1395 has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |