Healing Together

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is let someone see you properly.

Alex
I know my reputation. Charming, a bit too confident, happier flirting than settling. It used to suit me. Then Emma turns up in Fellside with her soft curves, cautious smile and a habit of underestimating herself, and suddenly I am tripping over my own clever lines. She brings out the part of me that actually wants to try. I tease because it makes her blush. I stay close because she relaxes when I am around. And the more time I spend with her, the more certain I am that I would move mountains to keep her safe.

Emma
Most of my life I have been surrounded by people who made me feel slightly wrong, slightly too much or not quite enough. Moving to Fellside is my attempt to finally breathe without waiting for someone to tell me I am doing it badly. I expected peace. I did not expect Alex. He is confident and irritatingly charming, the kind of man who sees straight through my awkwardness. Even worse, he actually seems to like the body I have been taught to apologise for. I don’t know what he sees in me, but every time he smiles, I want to believe in it. I want to believe in him.

A blossoming romance, a village that refuses to mind its own business, and a moment on the fells that will test everything they are building. Healing takes time, but sometimes the right person walking beside you makes all the difference.