AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She let herself into his flat, feeling safe in the knowledge that he was still thousands of miles away in Dallas. It had been months since she’d been there, but, as she stood in the quiet hall, all those days faded as the familiarity of the place welcomed her back. She closed her eyes, letting the memories seep into her mind, but they weren’t enough to live on in the future. She wanted David, the real man, the man who had helped her, held her, kissed her, made her fall in love with him. She wanted David back in her lonely life under any terms. She had been a fool to refuse to come back to him. She could have lived with him and maybe some day have taught him to love her in return.
She walked through the flat, recalling snatches of conversation they’d had, moments which had seemed insignificant then, but seemed so important now they were all she had. But it was when she stopped in the doorway to the room she’d used that everything crystallised into bitter-sharp focus when she saw the work-box lying on the bed.
She went over to it, trailing her fingers over the silky smoothness of the polished wood, tracing the pattern of roses wound round her initial. David had made this for her; surely it must mean something?
‘Beth.’ His voice was from the past and the present, linking them both. It didn’t startle her, just fitted in with her thoughts. Beth turned slowly, aware that if he looked close enough he would see everything she felt for him, but it didn’t matter. Now wasn’t the time to hide.
‘What are you doing here?’ There was ice in his deep voice and some of the memories started to disintegrate and re-form into far more bitter ones. She drew herself up against the ensuing pain, facing him across the room, but it might as well have been across a huge chasm. There was such hostility in his eyes that it would be impossible to bridge such a huge gap with memories and wishes.
‘I didn’t think that you would be here,’ she said quietly.
‘I only got back this morning.’ He raked his hair back from his brow, his eyes flat. ‘What did you want, Beth? Why did you come here?’
Beth drew in a shuddery breath as the last of the warmth faded. What if Maggie had been wrong in her advice? How could she just stand there and tell him that she loved him and hope that it would all turn out right? That was the stuff of fairy-tales, not real life.
Fear tied her tongue so that she could only stand and stare at him, and she heard him mutter something harsh under his breath. He swung round and left the room, his footsteps echoing as he moved along the hall. Beth stood still, listening to her heart pounding in the silence. What should she do? Leave, or stay and face this out? Was she really such a coward that she wouldn’t fight for what she wanted from life?
Her heart was thumping hard and fast, but she made herself walk steadily into the sitting-room. David was standing by the window, his arm raised against the frame as he stared out. He didn’t look round when she entered the room, but she could tell that he had heard her by the way his body tensed.
‘Well, ready to tell me what this is all about?’ His voice cracked like a whip and Beth jumped. She glanced round, then went and sat down on a chair, forcing herself to remain calm.
‘It was just an impulse that brought me here,’ she said softly. ‘I never expected you to be home, but, seeing as you are, I think we should talk.’
‘Oh, do you, indeed? That makes a change. The last time we met you stated quite clearly that you couldn’t see any reason for us to talk as everything had already been said! What makes you think that things have changed, Beth?’
His cold sarcasm hurt, but Beth steeled herself to ignore it. ‘I remember what I said, David. I was wrong. We need to talk.’
‘About what? The weather, the balance of payments? Name the topic, Beth, then we can have this “talk” before you leave!’
The pain she felt was intense as she heard the diamond hardness of his voice mocking her, but she blocked the pain from her mind. ‘Us.’
He turned then, his eyes skimming over her in a swift, all-encompassing glance that seemed to strip her to her soul. ‘Us? I didn’t think there was an “us” any longer. I asked you to come back to me and you refused. End of subject.’
