Unknown: Did you get home okay?
Me: Who is this?
Unknown: You deleted my number then?
Me: Reid? Is that you?
Unknown: Yes, it’s me. Did you get home okay?
Me: Erm, yes thanks I did. You didn’t delete my number then?
Reid: Why did It take so long for you to reply to my first message?
Okay, so he’s ignoring my questions.
Me: I was sleeping
Reid: Are you okay?
What is with his sudden concern?
Me: I’m fine, are you okay?
Reid: I’m good, see you around becks
Okay, so that was weird, why is he checking up on me? After two years of no contact, now he messages? He’s the one who threw us away for whatever reason. Feeling more confused than ever I decide to call Sherri, she picks up on the fourth ring “Hey girl, how did it go with your mum last night” she asks, oh yeh, I forgot about that “Erm, well I maybe told you a little lie in the moment” deciding to come clean “It wasn’t my mum who messaged me. it was Reid’s mum” I scrunch my face up prepared for the screech I know is coming “WHAT!? Tell me everything!” I’m kind of glad I did lie to her last night, otherwise I would have had to do all this explaining when she was wasted “Well…. Hayley message me asking if I could come see her. I used to go over all the time before I moved in with dad, well we kept in contact while I was in Suffolk” I say “Ok, so you went to see her for a bit then went home?” she asks, by the sound of her voice she knows that wasn’t where it ended. “Erm, not exactly. We had a brew and chatted for a while, then I found out I left my headlights on on my car. The battery was dead” I explain “Okay…. Anything else?” she quizzes “Well Hayley didn’t want me walking home that late at night. I did protest as I was only a few doors down, but then she played the lonely card. So, I ended up staying the night” rushing through the last part, I was met with silence on the other end of the line “Shez? You still there?” I ask “Yeh I’m here, I’m just taking this all in” she says “So you stayed on the sofa? Was Reid there?” she asks, “Well no, she said Reid wouldn’t be back that night, so she offered his room…..” I admit “Go on, this is very entertaining” she laughs “Thanks friend. Well Reid came back during the night and was met with me in his bed, in his t-shirt” I say, knowing how crazy this sounds “YOU WHAT! Let me get this straight, you went to sleep in his room, he comes home and finds you in his bed in nothing but a t-shirt? Have I got that all correct so far?” she asks “Yes, but that’s not all. I went to leave, but he told me to stay. So, we slept in the same bed” I admit “Ha! This is like a reality tv show, what else happens?” she asks eagerly “Well when we woke up, he was actually polite. Offered the shower first so I went, but I was a twat and left my clothes in the bedroom. I came back out thinking he had left and he was laying on the bed…. With me standing there in a towel” I say, “What did you do!?” she asks “Well I panicked! I grabbed my clothes and ran back into the bathroom. Luckily when I came back out dressed, he was gone” I explain “Well, you had a way more entertaining night than I did. Damn Brady” she curses “Why, what did he do?” I ask her “What didn’t that giant douche do! After manhandling me away from Gavin he proceeded to stuff me in his car, force me to drink two bottles of water then drove me home and made sure I went straight in. Where does he come off!” she huffs. Trying so hard not to laugh I say “Well I did ask him to make sure you got home okay, so I guess he was keeping his word” she huffs some more “Well I’m not a child and Gavin was more than happy to take me home!” she screeches “Okay, okay. You at home? I can come over if you are free?” I ask not wanting to be in this house for a while, “My mums got people over right now, but we can go to the café for dinner while we wait for the house to clear out?” she says, “That sounds like heaven about now, see you in 45?” I ask “Be there with sauce on babe” she says as she hangs up, its official, my best friend is a weirdo.
Chapter Three
Pulling up at the cosy little café my car clunks as I park it. One day this baby is going to die, then I don’t know what I’ll do. My car is my freedom, it’s my ticket out of this little town once I save enough money from teaching my classes. The café is pretty busy for a Sunday evening, but that’s probably down to it being the only one around here open this late on a Sunday. Mersea island is a quiet little place, only one way in and one way out, there is a bridge to be able to get off the island, but when the tide is up, you’re stuck here until it recedes. I see Sherri’s green fiesta parked a couple of spaces down, what sits next to it makes me stop in my tracks, a black golf, Reid’s black golf…..great.
To add to my misery, Sherri is sitting at Reid’s table. She’s talking to Gavin which by the looks of it, is making Brady who sits next to him, very upset. What am I saying, he’s
