Chapter 11

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Chapter 11

Lola's point of view.

"Y'know, two weeks ago I didn't even know you were planning on leaving." Joe had tears in his eyes as he stood next to Marcus' car. The boot slammed shut, signifying that Alfie had finished loading it full of my belongings from the house. Zoe had also previously been with us, however she had been forced to say her goodbyes early in order to pick her children up from school. Jesse had also been left in the house, as we had both felt that it was best to avoid getting her over-excited - at six months old, she still wasn't very used to people.

I embraced Joe in a tight hug, kissing him tenderly on the lips. "I'm so sorry, Joe."

"No, no, you have no need to be sorry. This is what you want, right?"

"Right."

Again, Joe's arms tightened around me. I relaxed into him as much as I possibly good, however I was still tense due to the slight awkwardness that had hung in the air since I had first made him aware of my departure.

"Oh God, I love you, Lo. What am I gonna do without you?"

"Hey," I laughed slightly, rubbing his arm to reassure him. "You've got Jesse, haven't you?"

"Waking up covered in dog hair just isn't the same." I gave Joe a tender smile, my insides churning as I knew that this was one of our final moments together.

"I'll be back before you know it, Joe. It's only until Christmas, anyway." My fiancée grunted slightly in response, his fingers intertwining with mine. "I love you, Joe. So much. Never forget that."

"I won't."

Alfie shot me a smile, signalling that it was time to go. I gave Joe one last, chaste kiss, before hopping into the back of the van, with Marcus and Alfie occupying the front seats. As the engine revved and began to pull out of the drive, gravel crunching under the tires, I waved at Joe, who blew a kiss back.

Sad smiles plastered both of our faces that morning.

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I was welcomed warmly into my seaside flat after a seven hour drive to the small seaside town of Bude. We had been stuck in traffic for an extraordinarily long amount of time, and after Alfie and Marcus had helped me to lift the many boxes from the car to my doorway, I had quickly fallen asleep on my cheap mattress.

The apartment building was old-looking. Made of crumbling stone and a rustic, ocean blue wooden siding, it would've stuck out like a saw thumb amongst the stunning greenery that lined each country rode and the beautiful yellow sand and cobbles that littered the long beaches stretched out in front. I say would've, because luckily, the small school next door carried a similar colour palette, along with almost every other building along the seafront.

When I awoke, it looked to be around dusk, and the sun was setting behind the clouds while a fat seagull that had previously been resting on the roof of the next building flew off into the distance. My suitcases and few boxes of personal belongings sat next to the door, which reminded me that I was here to work, and not for a relaxing holiday, due to the school logo stuck on the back of it. In an attempt to busy myself and not break down in a bundle of tears, I unpacked the suitcase, and set my personal art supplies upon the kitchen table.

After a quick food shop at the local Spar down the road, in which I had grabbed only the bare essentials in the hope that there would be a larger supermarket somewhere nearby, I made myself the luxurious dinner of beans on toast, and sat down on the leather sofa, marking students' work during the boring parts of Strictly Come Dancing.

After a further hour of busying myself and taking care of basic needs, I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself. I'd never lived alone, going from my parents large bungalow in Australia to Alfie's shared apartment, to my current house with Joe. It was strange, eery almost. And I greatly missed the company of, well, anyone really.

It was a quiet knock at the door that shook me out of my contemplation. Two girls, only slightly shorter than I, stood in front of me, holding a plate of scones.

"Hi, are you the new teacher here?" I nodded in confusion, quickly remembering that since they had addressed me as a teacher, I should probably begin to show more professionalism.

"Yes, yes I am."

"Great, we're both students at Bude Community School, we came to welcome you."

I was rather flustered at their kind gesture, and set the plate on the counter.

"Oh, wow, thank you."

"If you've got any questions, feel free to ask us. Since term starts tomorrow, Mr Barton wants to see you and all the other teachers at half past eight, and then you'll begin lessons. Was that everything we needed to tell her?"

The girls had a hushed conversation while I leant against my door impatiently.

"Yep, I think that was everything. See you tomorrow, miss...?"

"Woodley." They nodded and stumbled down the stairs, while I quickly shut the door.

Before bed, I called Joe, forgetting how much I longed to hear his voice again, however it went straight to voicemail.

"Morning, Joe. I hope you're well, I'm about to go to bed so maybe don't call me when you get this, and I'll need to be up early tomorrow, but hopefully we can talk soon? I love you."

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