Nine Years: A novel (Beneath the Clouds Book 1) by Jessica Leed & Jessica Leed

Author:Jessica Leed & Jessica Leed [Leed, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2019-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

Twelve

It was the last time they saw each other before she left Aringdale.

As liberating as it had been reuniting after so long, they both knew it would be ephemeral. A collection of ephemeral moments where feelings were rekindled, all over again.

She never expected it would be so difficult leaving her childhood and everything it represented after just seven days. Saying goodbye to her parents had heightened emotions in the same way they had when she left home the first time all those years ago. After seasons of absence, a single week of connectedness had narrowed the gap inside her heart.

The drive back home was a complete blur—an out of body experience, her mind and body refusing to adjoin as one. With conflicting emotions strangling her, she felt numb as she stared out at the road ahead, the whirlwind of emotions inside her depleting with every passing kilometre.

By the time she pulled up she hadn’t wanted to get out. She glanced at the dash board. 8:47 p.m. With a heavy sigh, she turned off the engine and took her bag. Instead of getting out, she sunk down into the seat and dug her nails into the synthetic. She had sent Patrick a text that morning letting him know she would be back by evening. She hadn’t given a time, but he hadn’t asked for one either.

Eventually she emerged from the car, collected her belongings and made her way up the flight of stairs, catching herself braking as she neared the door. From the outside, she could hear the TV accompanied by loud voices, sending an echo down the stairwell.

Boys’ night.

The last thing she wanted to deal with. She turned the key, let herself in and shut the door behind her. Instantly, she came more alert at the sheer state of the place. Furniture had been shifted around, clothes sprawled everywhere, dishes piled up to the ceiling with a years’ worth of empty cans of beer stacked against the kitchen wall.

It looked as though a bomb had hit it.

She could already see herself spending the next morning cleaning up after his mess. She rested her head against the wall of the lounge room, peering in at his friends circled around the coffee table, submerged in a board game of some sort. The football was on in the background, the T.V framed by more empty cans of beer.

‘Hey babe,’ her voice came weak, lacking the enthusiasm she normally had whenever she would greet him. Especially after days apart.

‘What the hell man! I didn’t see that coming!’ He reacted to a move on the board. His head was down, immersed in the game. A couple of his friends noticed her standing there and nudged him.

‘Hey man, your girlfriend’s back.’

Girlfriend.

She felt her eyebrow lift at the comment. He rolled the dice and hovered his hand over the board like a magician.

‘Hey babe. How was it?’ He still hadn’t looked up at her.

She shifted her feet and stared at what might as well be a stranger before her.

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