The Tale Of Broken Hearts.
Over the following week, I stop by the corner shop every day from work to pick up something, even if we don't need anything.
I find myself desperately needing to know that Alistair's okay and by the next Thursday, he seems to finally be warming up to me a little.
He gratefully accepts the hot chocolate I offer him before sitting down next to him.
It's now the beginning of December and Thanksgiving, which Oliver and I spent at my parents' house has been and gone. The New York air is chilly and unforgiving, so both Alistair and I appreciate the drinks.
On this particular day, the little boy finally decides to tell me something about him. I've told him a fair few things, regularly mentioning Oliver, who I'm convinced would love the little boy.
'My mom died,' he breaks the silence in the unnatural manner that he's always spoken in - slightly offhandedly. 'I don't remember it, but Dad never forgot. He never really treated me right and one day after he beat me bad, I ran away.'
Something flickers in the back of my brain and I can almost hear Ivan's voice correcting his grammar. Instead, I just nod, taking a bite of the biscuit in my hand. Alistair has never really been comfortable with me buying him the drink and biscuits but as long as I get them for myself as well, he seems to be all right with it.
'I've been living like this for a month now,' he continues. 'You know, finding money on the streets. The occasional person will see me and give me something but... but nobody's ever stuck around like you.'
I smile a little, curling my frozen fingers around the cardboard cup. 'I noticed you and you reminded me of my own son, you know? You also reminded me of me, I suppose. I couldn't just leave you. Besides,' I nudge his shoulder playfully with my own, 'Who wouldn't enjoy my company?'
A smile cracks the lines on his face and the fact this boy is so much more mature than he should be at his age kicks me right in the gut. 'I think everyone does.'
I can't help the laugh that spills out of my mouth. 'Thank you, Alistair.'
'My father hasn't looked for me since I left,' he tells me after a little silence. 'I often wonder if he even noticed that I left.'
My heart wrenches and I open my mouth to assure him that his father has noticed his absence but something in his expression compels me to keep my mouth shut. I know it's not really my place.
'I'm fine, though,' Alistair insists. 'I don't need him.'
I just hum, deciding not to agree or disagree with that statement. A large part of me feels like he should need his father but living with an abusive parent is never right.
We sit for a long time in the comfortable silence that often drapes us, only punctuated by our breathing and munching on biscuits.
'I've seen you before, you know,' Alistair murmurs after a while. 'In a magazine I found the other day by the trash can over there,' his eyes flicker to the other side of the shop door where an overflowing bin stands.
I suck in a sharp breath, somehow just managing to refrain from asking him why on earth he's reading that sort of thing.
'You were all dressed up,' he continues. 'You looked so pretty, at a charity event, they called it.'
A small smile graces my face at the memory.
'You were with a man.'
I bite my lip, looking away. 'Yeah, I probably was,' I admit quietly.
'You looked happy,' Alistair gazes at me. 'Much happier than you are now.'
Why are all the young children I'm surrounded by so intent on picking up on my misery?
'I probably was,' I repeat.
'Why aren't you that happy anymore?' he's shuffled closer to me and our shoulders are almost brushing. I can't help but smile at the small gesture of comfort he provides.
'Um,' my voice cracks and I laugh bitterly. 'That man and I fell out, I suppose. I don't know, but I haven't spoken to him in a while.'
He looks pensively for a while. 'You miss him.'
A sad smile covers my face and I glance down into my hot chocolate, where only the dregs remain. 'Yeah, I suppose I do,' I whisper quietly, the wind gently blowing my hair.
'What are you waiting for?' he frowns. 'Go get him.'
My heart lurches, pain kicking in because I know full well that if I went to his apartment right now, he'd open the door. He promised. 'It's not quite as simple as that, unfortunately.'
He exhales, running a hand through his flop of light brown hair. 'Why do adults just have to complicate things? If you miss him, go and see him.'
I drain the last of my hot chocolate and smile painfully. 'Maybe I will. We'll see.'
We sit in another long silence, before I finally sigh and stand up, brushing the dirt off my skirt. 'I should probably get going, or my son will wonder where I've been.'
He bids me goodbye and I smile, getting into my car and driving away.
I pick Oliver up from my parents' house and we arrive home fairly swiftly.
'Mommy,' Oliver whines, tugging on my hand. 'I'm hungry.'
I smile, walking through into the kitchen. 'Come on, then. There's a pizza in the fridge, how about that?'
He nods, yawning.
I glance affectionately at my son, laughing a little. I quickly prepare our pizza and once it's ready, we sit down in front of the television together, contentedly eating together.
He yawns again and I smile, reaching my hand up to lightly ruffle his hair up. 'I think you should be going to bed,' I comment.
He shakes his head adamantly. 'No,' he protests. 'I'm fine.'
I roll my eyes but leave him, turning my attention back to the television.
Soon enough, he's fallen asleep next to me, his soft little snores filling the room.
I tidy our plates away before taking him to bed.
Exhausted myself, I sit down in front of the TV again, deciding to just watch some trashy rubbish before going to bed.
However, my plans are interrupted when there's a banging on the door. I frown, standing up and walking cautiously towards the door.
Why didn't they just ring the doorbell?
I pull open the door just a crack to find Maddie sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall next to the door, tears flooding her pain filled face.
Immediately, I crouch down next to her, gently taking her shoulders and pulling her towards me. 'Mads,' I whisper. 'What's happened?'
'I... I-' she hiccups, sobs wracking her body. 'Bruce-' she cuts herself off, not able to finish her sentence.
I wince, squeezing her tightly. 'Come on, stand up. Let's get you inside and we can all eat lots of ice cream, okay? Then you can tell me about it.'
She just nods, her face still buried in my shoulder as she clings to me, unsteadily rising to her feet.
I finally manage to open the door with difficulty and lead her into the living room. 'Just wait here, I won't be a moment,' I say softly, helping her to sit down on the couch.
She just sniffles in response.
I quickly go back down the hall to the door, shutting it behind me. I make my way into the kitchen, where the freezer is, and locate two tubs of ice cream. I grab a couple of spoons and make my way back to my best friend, my heart hurting for her.
Maddie's sitting on the couch, her legs pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her knees.
Biting my lip, I sit down next to her. 'Mads,' I whisper, wrapping my arms around her, leaving the ice cream tubs on the floor.
She releases her legs and curls into me, painful sounds leaving her mouth.
I hold her for what feels like forever, letting her soak my clothes with her tears, determined not to let go of her.
Eventually, she pulls back, attempting to wipe her tears away with the back of her hand. 'We broke up,' she chokes out.
I lean down, picking up the tubs of ice cream and holding them up for her to see. 'Which would you prefer?'
She takes the chocolate one, leaving me with mint choc chip, and wastes no time in digging in.
'Do you want to talk about it?' I ask gently, prising open my own ice cream tub.
She closes her eyes in pain, fresh tears spilling over. 'He- h- he found a-another girl,' she wails, before shoving a mouthful of ice cream in her mouth.
I can't help the fury that pumps through my veins. 'What?'
'I- I don't know what I did wrong,' she laments, trying to get rid of her tears. 'He just told me today that a few weeks ago he met a woman and... and he knew she w-was the one.'
I don't know what to say, of course I don't. I just rest my head against her shoulder, trying to offer her some comfort.
'I thought I was the one for him,' Maddie exhales. 'I don't understand what went wrong. Things were going so well.'
I sigh. 'Some guys are just pricks, you know?'
She laughs bitterly, stuffing her face. 'I know,' she agrees through a mouthful of ice cream.
We sit in silence for a while, each caught up in our own thoughts.
'So now I've got to move out,' she blurts out. 'And I don't know what I'm supposed to do and I don't want to see him again, I don't want to go back and get my stuff.'
'I'll do it,' I offer. 'And you can stay here for now. I've got a double bed, so we can just share.'
Maddie looks at me through tear filled eyes. 'Are you s-sure? I don't want to be a nuisance.'
I refrain from rolling my eyes at her response, choosing to just shake my head instead. 'It's honestly fine,' I smile. 'It'll be nice to have you around. Oliver will love it.'
She lets out a whimper of pain. 'I- I wish-'
'Don't,' I interrupt her gently. 'Wishing that things were different, or spending a lot of time dwelling on what life would be like if things turned out differently only makes everything worse.'
She forces a bitter laugh. 'This is so ridiculous, isn't it? How have we both managed to be messed about by guys in the same few weeks? It's so stupid.'
I smile, my own tears threatening to spill over. 'It is, isn't it?' My laugh matches hers.
'We'd been going out for a year, Poppy! How has he suddenly just found the one now?' she whines. 'It doesn't make any sense.'
'No, it doesn't,' I agree, sighing.
We sit for a long time, discussing how we're feeling, before she turns to me. 'Do you think you could call Em and Ky? I'm in need of some of their words of wisdom too.'
I reach into my pocket for my phone, raising an eyebrow. 'What happened to your phone?'
She shrugs. 'I left it at his. I didn't bring anything with me.'
I nod, pressing on Ky's contact number. 'When they come over, I'll go and grab you some essential stuff, yeah? I'll go back tomorrow evening for the rest of your stuff.'
She smiles at me gratefully. 'You're the best,' she sniffles.
'Hello?' Ky answers.
'Hey, Ky, it's me,' I greet her. 'Are both you and Em home?'
'Yeah, we are,' she responds cautiously. 'Why? Is everything all right?'
I bite my lip. 'We're having a little bit of a crisis. Do you think you could come over to mine?'
She sucks in a sharp breath. 'What's happened? Is it him?' she asks, the distaste clear in her voice.
I shake my head. 'No, it's Maddie. Please just get here as soon as possible, all right? You'll see when you get here.'
'We'll be right there,' she responds immediately. 'Just give us a few minutes,' she promises, before hanging up.
I turn to Maddie. 'They're on their way.'
She nods, rubbing her nose. 'Okay. I'm just going to go to the toilet and clean myself up.'
'Okay,' I smile gently. 'I'll just put the ice cream away, all right?'
She manages to throw a weak smile my way, before turning and leaving to go to the bathroom.
True to their word, Ky and Em don't take long to arrive. They barge into my flat without ringing the doorbell and sweep Mads into a group hug.
I smile at my overprotective friends. I'm so glad we have each other.
Em and Ky sit down on either side of Maddie, so I take this as my cue to go. 'I'm just going to go round to Bruce's then,' I inform them. 'I won't be long.'
Ky's head snaps up, her eyes full of rage. 'That's what this is about? What's happened? Can I come with you, Pops? Can we smash his face in together?'
Somehow, Maddie looks a little cheered up at Ky's aggression.
I roll my eyes. 'No, it's fine. I'm just going to pick up some essentials. It really won't take me long.'
Ky pouts. 'But he's obviously been a prick, why can't we do something?'
'It's not worth it,' Mads denies. 'Seriously, just leave it.'
Her expression darkens further. 'Okay, so long as you tell me all about what happened.'
I throw them a brief smile. 'If Oliver wakes up, which I doubt he will, just tell I'll be back very shortly, all right?'
'Of course,' Em promises, smiling at me. 'See you soon.'
It doesn't take me long to drive to Bruce's flat, luckily. I ring his doorbell and try to smile at him reassuringly when he opens the door, his face dropping when he sees who it is.
'I'm not here to get angry,' I shake my head. 'Just picking some stuff up.'
Bruce seems to breathe a sigh of relief. 'Oh, okay. Um... she just kind of left, Poppy, I don't-'
'It's fine,' I cut across him. 'I get it. I'm glad you told her, rather than cheating on her, or whatever. She's just staying with me for a bit, don't worry about it. I'm really just here to pick up some essentials for her, because she left with nothing.'
He nods in understanding, stepping back to let me in, shutting the door once I've crossed the threshold.
'When's a convenient time for me to come back for everything else?' I ask, half glad that she moved into his place, so none of the furniture or anything is actually hers.
He shrugs easily. 'Just whenever, I'm not really bothered. Maybe just give me a text or something to make sure I'm in when you decide to come round.'
I nod, walking past him to their shared bedroom. 'Fair enough,' I agree, reaching into the closet to find a duffel bag.
'She's... she's okay, right?' he awkwardly rubs his hand across the back of his neck, leaning against the doorframe.
I shoot him a flat look. 'What do you think?'
Bruce winces guiltily. 'I'm sorry.'
'I don't need an apology,' I rebuke. 'I'm not the one you dumped like that. But either way, she'll be fine. She's strong.'
He doesn't say anything else, but waits for me to finish packing her stuff.
I smile wryly. 'You don't think I'm going to steal something, right?' I ask, mildly amused.
He shakes his head. 'No,' he protests. 'I don't.'
I shrug. 'That's everything I need for now,' I decide, putting her phone and charger in the bag, before zipping it shut. 'I'll let you know when I'm dropping by again. I'll keep her key until then, in case you won't be in.'
'I'd rather it was when I was here,' he responds stiffly.
I nod, running a hand through my hair and glancing around the room once last time to double check I haven't missed anything. 'Fine by me.'
Bruce shows me out. 'I am sorry.'
I shake my head. 'Like I said, I don't need an apology.'
I leave before he can say anything, shoving Maddie's bag in the back of the car, before heading back to my apartment.
When I arrive, I find the girls on the sofa with Oliver sitting in between them.
Ky looks at me a little sheepishly. 'I'm sorry, I think I was a bit too loud in expressing my opinion.'
I can't help the reluctant smile that spreads across my lips. 'It's all right,' I put the duffel bag down next to the sofa. 'You all right?' I murmur, crouching down in front of my son, who looks a little bit sleepy.
He nods eagerly. 'Yes, Mommy.'
'Do you want to go back to bed?' I ask quietly.
Oliver shakes his head. 'I'm not tired at all,' he proclaims.
However, despite what he says, it doesn't take Oliver long to fall back to sleep again. Once I've put him to bed, I rejoin the girls in the lounge again.
'We were just thinking we could go out tomorrow night,' Ky suggests. 'We seem to have accumulated a fair few broken hearts, so why not go out and forget about it all?'
I wince. 'I promised Oliver an evening in, I'm really sorry. I promise I'll come out with you soon. I swear, I would have come if I hadn't promised. You guys should still go, though. You'll have a good time.'
'I think we should,' Em agrees. 'It's a shame that you can't join us, Pops, don't get me wrong, but I think we could do with an evening out, don't you?'
Ky nods. 'Yeah, I think so.'
Mads winces. 'Do we really want to go out without Pops, though?'
'Please do,' I nod, sitting down next to Ky. 'Honestly, you guys will have a good time without me. I'll come out next weekend, how about that? We can toast to our broken hearts then.'
After a moment, she nods. 'All right,' she relents. 'We'll go out. You can still help me get ready, right?'
'Of course,' I agree. 'You can stay here as long as you want to.'
She smiles gratefully. 'Thank you so much.'
Ky grabs the TV remote. 'Come on, let's watch a movie before we go home.'
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So I've finished all my exams!!!!!! Here's an update because I feel so happy about that. It's not all that interesting, but I promise the next chapter will be good, you'll probably like the direction it goes in next. Let me know what you thought!