"Yeah. Just, um, last night, Charlie drove me home because I was too drunk to drive myself..."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"Yeah. It is. He decided that he was going to crash here with us for the night in case Abby needed anything and I wouldn't be able to do it for her."
"I'm confused. Why do you sound like you're about to tell me the world is ending?"
"Because I'm scared."
"Scared? Of what? Of me?"
"Of what your reaction will be."
"To what?"
"Well, you know how I am when I'm drunk?"
"What? All lovey and clingy?" Her smile was affectionate as she clearly remembered some of our drunken nights earlier in our relationship.
"Yeah. Well, I was missing you and I wanted you to be here, holding me so I got the next best thing: Charlie."
"What do you mean?" Her smile was gone in an instant and my heart skipped a beat.
"I asked him to just hold me till I fell asleep, which he did, but then he fell asleep too."
"So you slept together?"
"No! God, no. Imogen, we were both fully clothed the entire time. I swear. Nothing even slightly inappropriate. He was just being a good friend and looking after me."
"That's what I was worried about in the beginning." She mumbled and I felt tears spring to my eyes.
"Imogen, it was completely innocent. He didn't mean to fall asleep. He was going to stay in the guest room with Nathaniel. But I guess he was just tired."
"I'm sorry, Nick." She barely got the sentence out before the screen went black. I was left staring at the blank screen with tears running down my face. My phone beeped beside me and I snatched it up, my heart instantly soaring when I saw that it was a text from Imogen.
I'm sorry. Just give me some time to process. I'll call you later. xx ~ Imogen
I didn't understand what she was thinking. Did she really think I cheated on her? I wanted to call her back but I knew she'd just decline the call until she was ready.
To distract myself, I decided to do a cooking spree so I raided the cupboards, searching for anything I could use. I ended up with a stack of old cookbooks covered in flour and sugar and sprinkles in one corner of the counter while the entire rest of the counter was covered with boxes of cookies and cakes. Now I had the task of putting them all away. I was about to start when my laptop started ringing; Imogen was calling.
"Imogen, I'm so sorry, I didn't think it would hurt you so much. I just wanted to tell you so that it wasn't a big thing in the future, I-"
"Nick." She cut me off and my mouth snapped shut as I looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm not mad. I just needed some time to think. You know how I felt when we first met Charlie. And when you told me that he was the one who held you as you fell asleep the jealousy came back, stronger than ever."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. I just had to fight the jealousy back and we both know how that ended last time. So I wanted to do it where I couldn't hurt you."
"I love you, Imogen. And I miss you. I know it's only been a few days but I can't wait for you to come home."
"I love you too, Nick. And I'm counting down the days. At least you still get to be in our bed where you can hold my pillow if you want. The bed in this hotel doesn't smell like you."
"Now you're getting sappy."
"Am not. Hey, where's Abby?"
"Watching TV. I'll get her." I pushed myself back from the counter and went to the living room where Abby was still enthralled by the TV. "Hey, Abby, mummy's on the computer and wants to see you."
"Mummy!" Abby cried and jumped up, running into the kitchen. I followed quickly behind, dragging a stool over so that Abby could see properly. "Hi, mummy!"
"Hey, sweetie. What have you been up to today? Have you been a good girl for Papa?"
"Yes. I been watching princesses on TV."
"Oh? The one with the pirates?"
"No. The princesses that fight bad guys, daddy." Abby rolled her eyes as if it was obvious.
"Okay. And have you been having fun at school?"
"Mm-hm. We're making paintings in art, mummy. So I'm making one for you so you can have it when you come home."
"I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'm sure it's very good."
"It's got lots of colours, mummy, like a rainbow!"
"Well then it has to be good."
"Abby, tell mummy what happened last night," I said, picking her up and moving her to sit on my lap as I sat on the stool she'd been kneeling on.
"Amber came over. And Nate and Lexi. We all played pirates till bedtime."
"That sounds like it was fun. And papa tells me you had a sleepover with Lexi."
"Yep. Lexi slept in my room after Amber went home."
"Cool. Did you girls stay up late talking?"
"No. I don't even remember papa coming home."
"He must have been very quiet." Imogen laughed and I heard a beep from her end of the call.
"What's that?"
"My phone's about to die. Sorry, guys. We'll have to talk more another time."
"That's okay. Abby, say 'bye' to mummy for now."
"Bye, mummy. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart. And you, Nick."
"Love you, Imogen. Talk to you soon." She smiled at us before the screen went black again and Abby looked up at me.
"Papa, I'm hungry." And just like that, it was back to reality as I set about making up a snack for the two of us, music playing quietly in the background as I worked. I just wished Imogen could be here to make it even better.
Nick XX
Start from the beginning
