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Lorenzo’s gone back to Italy? Just like that?
He’s left me? And our baby? Alone? Without even calling? Without even telling me?
I don’t understand. I need to sit down.
No. I needed to speak to him. Maybe he hadn’t left. Maybe he was still there. If I hurried, I could catch him at the flat.
I rushed towards the main street, hailed a black cab and headed straight to his place. I buzzed his flat first. No answer. Then again. Still no answer.
What number did Gino say I should buzz? Four. No, no. Five. I pressed down on the buzzer.
‘Hello?’ said the male voice coming through the intercom.
‘Um, is that, is that Jack?’ I asked.
‘Yep, that’s me,’ he said suspiciously. ‘Why? Who’s this?’
‘It’s Sophia,’ I replied quickly. ‘I, I had a message from—’
‘Oh yes,’ he interjected. ‘You’re after Lorenzo. Come up.’ He buzzed me in.
Yes! Maybe I’d just managed to catch him.
By the time I’d climbed the stairs and reached the first floor, Jack was already standing by Lorenzo’s front door.
‘Here,’ he said, pointing to the door. ‘I’ve opened up. I’ll come back later to lock up.’ He disappeared into his flat across the hall.
I pushed the door and tiptoed inside.
I scanned the flat. It was empty. Cold.
No!
He can’t be gone!
Why?
I checked his wardrobe. Nothing inside. Just hangers. I went to the bathroom. The shelf normally filled with his aftershave, toothbrush and toothpaste was bare.
All that was left was some of my stuff, neatly folded on the bed. A black dress, a pair of light blue jeans, an orange jumper, some red underwear and a spare make-up bag.
From the bed, I could see some fruit on the kitchen worktop—a couple of oranges and an overripe banana. The cushions were propped up on the sofa, and there was some post on the coffee table that Jack must have brought in, but apart from that, the flat was empty.
The enormity of everything hit me at once. I didn’t do crying. I’d eventually managed to cry a little over losing Albert, which was understandable. I’d shed a few tears when I’d told Rich we needed to break up but had put a stop to that as soon as I’d realised. That too was justified as I’d been with Rich for a decade and a half. But crying over a man I’d only known for less than a year leaving me? I’d never imagined I would. Even though I knew I loved him, I would have assumed that I could just soldier on. But it wasn’t that simple. With Lorenzo, it was as if I didn’t have control of my emotions.
This was too much to take in. I crashed down on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. How could he leave menow? I needed him more than ever.Weneeded him.
I must have cried myself to sleep, as when I woke up and fished my phone from my bag, it was 10.30 p.m.
The fact that I’d cried this much meant this wasbad.It must be the hormones and changes in my body. Or maybe it was the emotions I’d suppressed from Albert’s passing, my break-up with Rich and Lorenzo leaving, all rolled into one. Either way, I needed my friends. I had to speak to someone.
Bella. I’ll call Bella. It’s still too raw with Roxy. No answer. Shit. Maybe she’s looking after Paul? Or sleeping?
My eyes were stinging. Everything was so blurry. All this upset couldn’t be good for the baby. Thinking about that just made me feel even more emotional.
My phone started ringing. Thank God. Bella had called back. Although I could barely see, I clicked on the green phone icon to answer the call.
‘Sophia! I wasn’t sure if you’d answer. It’s been so long since we’ve spoken. And, well, I was thinking about you this evening. Well, I think about you all the time, but particularly this evening, and so I thought, what the hell! Sod this messaging nonsense. Throw caution to the wind. Be adventurous. Call her!’
