Someone Like You

Part Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty Nine

"Are you sure you're going to be ok here?"

Nina looked at Lilah and was really relieved to see she was looking more like herself. It was almost two weeks since her meltdown in London, and Nina had immediately taken her home, but that wasn't enough. So the following day, they left Brighton and had been ensconced on Lilah's parents' estate in the hills outside Edinburgh since. The fresh air, the walks, the horse rides, everything seemed to have helped ease Lilah from her purgatory. She was a million miles from her vibrant and happy self, but she wasn't the pasty, pallid and terrified woman she'd found in the garden of Amelia's London home.

Lilah's response to her question was a shrug, she'd not shared her trauma with her parents, they knew something had happened, but their love for her was unconditional...as it should be, and they'd done everything in their power to help her. She was comfortable, supported and loved. No one could ask for more.

But Nina had deadlines, there were three sets of outstanding rings to be finished, and Amelia had been calling with more contacts. If interest in her work kept growing at the rate it was they'd have to employ someone to field calls, make appointments, neither of the three of them could give that time, they were all so busy. Lilah was the greatest advert for the business, there was no way that Nina could meet with potential clients, not in the same way. She hoped that her commitment there would go some way to draw Lilah out of her misery. But she wasn't sure, so Nina had to take advantage of the fact that Amelia was in town to do that job.

"I'll be fine; Ma and Pa are over the moon I'm here."

Nina nodded packing the remaining items into her bag; she had the task of driving her Beetle back to Brighton...literally the length of the country. When Lilah was at rock bottom there was no chance of Nina getting her onto a plane, or train, so she'd made the mammoth drive a fortnight earlier. Now she had the return version to look forward to.

"Talk to them? See a therapist. Do whatever it takes? Promise me?"

Lilah had started to come to terms with what happened, she was someone who'd lived a glamorous life, always jetting around, she presumed that she could cope with unwanted advances, and that single night changed all that. Suddenly she was vulnerable, and that scared her. And that for Nina was the most worrying; she only hoped that she'd regain that independence, the confidence that was such a trait of her friend. But at least over the last few days she'd wanted to try, she finally wanted to start to recover. A huge sign.

Nina knew that she couldn't do this for her, and now was the time to withdraw, leave her with her parents, but she also had work commitments, that was a convenient excuse.

As she threw the last bag onto the back seat of her Beetle, she turned back to Lilah, "I love you girlfriend, you know that?"

Lilah nodded, "I know, and I owe you everything...I mean you were...Theo..."

Nina smiled, Lilah was worried that she'd blown things with him, "ha! He had some afternoon delight; he has nothing to complain about." She blushed as the memories washed over her for a moment, "if he can't cope with me being absent, then he's not worth it. You come first darling, ok?"

Lilah chuckled, "but it's the first time you've dated..."

"This is NOT dating, I can guarantee. We've both got far too much baggage. We probably wouldn't have caught up in the past couple of weeks anyway."

As she opened the car door, Lilah wrapped her fingers around Nina's wrist, "don't make it nothing. You like him, he likes you. Don't let it dwindle to nothing, and don't make it cheap. Life is hard, but you can make it work. Really."