Piece By Peace

Who Are You?

Niamh could see Leah's slender frame as she made her way to arrivals, feeling that rush of happiness that she often got when she set eyes on Leah. It wasn't often that Niamh allowed herself to feel real emotion, having been trained to be robotic for situations that happened in work. It felt good. The second Leah saw Niamh approaching, she opened her arms out to her, already stood with her hood up to stop them being spotted.

"Hey." Niamh breathed into her frame as she held her.
"You came." She whispered.
"I told you I would."

As soon as they entered the car, they connected their lips for a short peck, both exhaling deeply as their separate worries about their lives seemed to float into the distance. They headed to Leah's, ending up in the bedroom for longer than the allocated getting ready time, as they attempted to make up for their brief argument earlier that day. As promised, Niamh took Leah on that date; expecting Leah to want so much more than a simple trip to the first restaurant the two of them had attended in London together, followed by watching a movie at a private cinema that meant they wouldn't have prying eyes on them.

They returned to Leah's house, laughing and joking with one another as they found themselves tangled together like they were the perfect fit. Niamh couldn't quite believe how in love she was, Leah couldn't quite believe she'd managed to stop those three words leaving her mouth.

But then everything changed.

A light ringtone in the distance, muffled by the fabric of Niamh's carry bag made Leah screw her face up a little as the two were locked in a deep kiss. Leah reluctantly pulled away, trying to think of any other reason that the ringing wasn't coming from Niamh's phone that lay between them.

"What's that noise?"
"It's my - my phone." Niamh gulped.
"Your phone? Your phone is right beside you."

Leah could feel herself beginning to tremble, a severe nausea building in her stomach as she wondered if her entire trust in Niamh had been nothing short of stupidity. Niamh, on the other hand, couldn't understand how she was getting another emergency work call just one night after her previous one; they happened once in a blue moon.

"It's a work phone."
"For a call centre manager?"
"I really need to get this, Leah."

Niamh knew it was unfair to just leave Leah with her thoughts, but duty called and Niamh's duty was to pick up the phone. She left the room, making sure she was far enough away from Leah's earshot before pressing the answer button.

"Hey Kev."
"Sorry Niamh, I know it's your day off. We need an emergency warrant for the premises from today's raid. The landlord is refusing to comply because he's worried he'll be seen as a grass, any chance you could sign the one I've emailed you?"
"Yeah."
"Did you get the email?"
"Eh - I'll check."
"Thanks."
"Yeah. Got it. You know what to do next?"
"Yeah, Niamh. All good this end. Do you want a rundown?"
"No, you've got this."
"Cheers, Niamh. Have a great weekend."
"You too."

Niamh knew that she had some explaining to do, but still no idea what she would say. Leah on the other hand had lost all composure, she had lost her ability to not seem like a psycho, and her broken heart had left her emptying the contents of Niamh's bag onto the bed, desperately hoping that she wouldn't find anything that incriminated Niamh more than a second phone already had.

That's when she saw it.

It was obvious that Niamh's old iPhone that Leah had taken the mick out of her for wasn't her main phone, and that's why it was so old. Right in front of her lay the latest model of iPhone, fully charged with Niamh and her friends as the background picture. Leah wanted to scream at her, but she knew that the only sound leaving her body in the next few minutes would be the sounds of her sobs. And they came thick and fast. By the time Niamh had reentered the room, Leah's chest was heaving as her body jerked unimaginably with every tear that fell. She was heartbroken.