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Caroline laughed. “You and I have been through this before, Edie. I don’t recall a time when I’ve ever been angry with you.”
“Can we all go home now?”
Home. Caroline’s body fizzed at that.
“Yes, we can.” With Hannah on one side of her, Edie on the other, they moulded into one perfect family as they strolled along the stretch of road that would take them to their cars.
“Can I go back with Caz, Mum?”
Hannah placed her head on Caroline’s shoulder and sighed. “Yes. You can.”
Chapter25
With a bunchof flowers cradled in her arms, Hannah pushed her hip against the front door, almost falling through it. Caroline was due here in the next thirty minutes…and Hannah was far from prepared. She wanted to go all out this weekend to make Caroline feel special. Hannah strived to make Caroline feel that way daily, but this weekend was going to be incredible. Edie hadn’t been well for the first three days of this week, the common cold thriving in their household, so Hannah really hadn’t had much of a chance to see Caroline. They’d spent Sunday with one another, but once Caroline had left for work on Monday morning, Hannah had suggested she avoid the house for a few days. She didn’t want her to catch whatever Edie was spreading around the place.
Thankfully, Hannah hadn’t caught it.
With a feeling of euphoria pumping through her veins, she hummed along to a song she’d been listening to in the car and slammed the front door shut. She wanted to at least start dinner. That way, when Caroline arrived, her girlfriend could relax for the rest of the night. “Oh, you’re so in for a good night.” Hannah grinned to herself, pushing the back living room door open with her foot.
But as she did so, she almost dropped the flowers in her arms. The dining table had been set, candles lit, and wine breathing on the table. But it wasn’t Caroline standing before her. No, it was Kirsty.
“Thank God! I thought you weren’t going to show up!”
Hannah’s lips parted, her gaze cast on the beautiful table. Rose petals lay scattered between the cutlery, a huge arrangement set down in one of Hannah’s vases. “W-what’s this?”
“I know I fucked up, babe. I know you’re probably not at all happy to see me. But…I’m sorry. I’ll explain everything.”
Hannah turned and walked towards the kitchen, lowering Caroline’s flowers to the counter. She slung her bag onto the small kitchen table, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. What…the hell?
“Hannah, would you at least hear me out? Please?”
“I have nothing to say to you. I owe you absolutely nothing. Quite frankly, I’ve no idea why you’re in my house.” Hannah held out a hand. “And I’ll have my keys back, too.”
Kirsty lowered her chin to her chest, sniffling. But Hannah wasn’t interested in any of this. Kirsty being here…meant nothing to her. And if she didn’t get rid of her soon, her weekend would well and truly be ruined.
“Don’t start with the tears.”
A sob escaped Kirsty’s mouth, but Hannah only rolled her eyes.
“Hannah, please. I’ve been having a really tough time.”
“That’s not my problem. I came home to find you gone. I don’t know what you could possibly have to say to me that would make any of this okay.”
“I lost my head. Mum is sick, and I got the call from her when you were out. Terminal. Brain tumour. She just called me and told me down the phone. Like it was nothing. And then she expected me to just get on with things and pretend it wasn’t happening.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hannah said, genuinely saddened by that news.
“I packed my stuff, bought a bottle of vodka on the way to the station, and then sat on that train like some alcoholic. I knew I was going to lose it, and I couldn’t have you with me for it. I knew exactly what I was turning into the moment I got that call. I just…it was for the best.”
Kirsty had always struggled to deal with the things life threw at her. Hannah had known that from the moment they met. But these…excuses? Well, they weren’t good enough. “I would have been there for you.”
“I know that. I really do. But I was disgusting. Mum even told me to get it together within a week of being home.” Kirsty stepped forward, taking Hannah’s hand. “I know I hurt you, but please…give me a chance. I wanted to call. To show up here. But I had to get my life together again before I even considered being in the same home as you and Edie. How I was, I’d never allow Edie to see me like that.”
Hannah had to smile at that. Even though Kirsty had disappeared, she had loved her. Before all of this, they’d had a happy life. Quiet and content. They’d been good together. “You really upset Edie when you left.”
“Is she with Dylan tonight?”
Hannah nodded. “As always. It’s Friday.”
