Me before you

chapter 1

"Sana Jeon?"

"Speaking. Although it's Minatozaki now, if you don't mind. Who is this?"

"Of course. Ms Minatozaki, my name is Sarah Y/l/n. I was wondering if you'd be free to come down to my office at the Town Hall for an interview tomorrow? Three o'clock. In regards to the caretaking position."

"That -" Sana looked at her watch and frowned. She should be picking Louis up from school at three. Granted, their house was about a five minute walk from the building, and he wouldn't have to cross any roads. He'd walked by himself all the time back in Boston, but... She sighed, resigned. "That will be fine."

"Great!" The woman on the other end of the phone chirped. Her voice was unsettlingly upbeat. "Thank you. I'll see you then."

"Right." Sana nodded distractedly as the line went dead.

She huffed, clicking her phone off and burying it back in her back. Right at the bottom. She was not running the risk of getting a call from anyone else today. She was not in the mood. Right now, all she wanted was to go home, cook dinner and sink into a nice hot bath.

Home.

The thought was beyond strange, this being her home. She'd grown up on the outskirts of Boston, in a pretentious upper-middle-class neighbourhood mostly filled with old white men, which had been hardly ideal, particularly on top of living with her mother, but she'd moved into the city to go to university as soon as she could. That was where she'd met Wonwoo and the rest was history. They'd moved to Boston for his job, and lived there for... Well, until now.

She really needed to stop thinking about Wonwoo.

Sana breathed in sharply, shifting her bag on her arm and focusing on the neat grey streets all around her. Barely a car had gone by in the last five minutes. To say that Lincoln was small would be around the same level as saying the sun was hot. Lincoln, Maine was tiny, the kind of town where everyone knew everyone's grandparents and baby stories and said hello in the street. It was almost twee, which would have made her vomit and stay far, far away a few years ago, but right now, for her and raising Louis and their fresh start... It was perfect.

She couldn't help looking around as she made her way back to the house, hands in her coat pockets, heels clicking on the pavement. There was the vintage-looking diner they'd driven past on the way, the squat sheriff's station, a friendly-looking comic book shop on the corner she made a note to tell Louis about. They could be happy here, she thought. They would be happy here. They had to be.

It only took a few minutes to get back to the house from the grocery store, and a few more minutes of irritably fumbling and struggling with her key and her handbag and the grocery bags before she actually managed to get into the house, but the instant she did, there was a high pitched yell and a pair of warm arms wrapped like a skinny vice around her middle. "Mommy!"

"Louis," Sana felt a smile curve across her lips, chest flooding with warmth at the sudden affection. Her son certainly hadn't been like this before the divorce. Maybe she had done something right. She breathed in and rolled her shoulders back, fixing on a bigger, more convincing smile for him.

"Mom, did you get the ice cream? Did you get it with the cookie pieces I like?" Louis detached himself from her, hundred-watt grin fixed on his face. "Can I have some for desert?"

"Only if you're a good boy and eat all your vegetables first." Sana allowed, looking down to his level. His light brown eyes were wide and bright, fixed on hers with the most adult seriousness in his expression. It made her heart tighten in her chest. This had to work. This had to work, for him. She conjured up another smile. "Were you a good boy for Aunt Chaeyoung today?"

"Of course I was!" Louis remarked, screwing up his face into a duh expression.

Sana raised an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with her friend, who was currently standing by the door. "Was he?"

Chaeyoung pretended to consider for a few seconds. "He was okay." She flashed a grin at the boy's outraged expression. "I think he deserves some ice cream."

"Very well." Sana turned her attention back to her son, bending down to look him in the eye. "Now. I'm going to go unpack the shopping. Why don't you put the TV on ready, and I'll be in with you in a minute. Okay?"

"Okay," Louis shrugged his narrow shoulders, charging off back to the living room. Just like that. Sana watched him dart around the door.

She motioned for Chaeyoung to follow her through to the kitchen, weaving a path between the half- unpacked boxes and lifting the grocery bags onto the counter. Sana sighed, tucking a dark wave of hair behind her ear as she slowly, methodically started filling the empty cupboards. "That woman Sarah called today."

"Seriously?" Chaeyoung stared at her, brow furrowing. "What'd she say?"

"I have an interview tomorrow. Three o'clock." Sana told her, ducking to arrange the cleaning products in the cupboard under the sink.

"Wow. I mean, when I put you forward for the job I was hopeful, but I didn't think it'd be so soon." Chaeyoung shrugged, opening another grocery bag. "The Y/l/n family is kind of... I don't know. I'm sure it'll be fine. Where'd you want the pasta?"

"Top shelf." Sana nodded at the cupboard, depositing the bread in the bread box. Shooting a sideways glance at the blonde woman, Sana sighed and leaned against the kitchen side, suddenly excruciatingly self conscious. She cleared her throat. "Thank you, again, for doing all of this. You've got so much going on yourself, the last thing I want is to weigh you down with all my..." Fingers clenching distractedly against the kitchen counter, Sana glanced around at all the full bags and boxes. "Baggage."

"Sana. Sana, look at me." Chaeyoung's voice was sharp and precise. Sana sighed, clenching her jaw and turning to meet her friends wide gaze. "You do not have baggage. You are not being a pain. And I really don't mind helping out. You'd do the same for me." She paused, stare firmly fixed on the brunette's uncertain face. "Anyway, your kid is ridiculously polite. And smart. How'd you do that?"

"He takes after me," Sana deadpanned. She breathed in. "I suppose you wouldn't mind calling him tomorrow to make sure he gets home from school? My interview's at three."

"That is exactly the sort of thing I'm here for." Chaeyoung informed her earnestly. Sana watched her friend cautiously, gaze catching on her fidgeting hands. "If you don't mind me asking... Are you doing okay?" Her earnest stare sought Sana's.

Sana's heart sank a little. She breathed in sharply, staring at the bare fridge standing across the kitchen from her. Am I? Honestly... She wasn't sure. Leaning back against the counter, she felt her brows knit, searching for some way to explain it. The truth was, she and Wonwoo had fallen out of love a long time before they signed the papers. The only second thought, the only tiny, niggling doubt lodged in the back of her mind was Louis.
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The second chapter is out now- 🏃🏻