When You Were Mine by Emma-Claire Wilson

Author:Emma-Claire Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2024-07-04T14:30:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Nicole

Dundee – October 2022

I lie in our bed, propped up by pillows, the duvet pulled high as I warm my hands on the mug of coffee Andy woke me with just ten minutes ago. Exhaustion fills each of my bones, the weight of it pinning me to the bed. Yesterday had been so tough. Andy and I had spent most of the day on rotation, each of us keeping an eye on Ben for hours at a time. Constant schedules of Calpol and cool baths. The GP had called, via Zoom again, and told us there was a ‘nasty winter cold’ doing the rounds; half of his school was down with it. Apparently that would explain his ‘clumsiness’ too. How he could be so sure just by looking at my son’s face over a camera I’ll never know, but with his temperature stabilising, what else could we do? It was more of a risk to take him to the hospital with infection cases on the rise again.

Andy is already bustling about; I watch him with a mixture of affection and admiration as he prepares for another day at work. For a long time, I wondered what my life would look like without him in it, without the predictability of his morning rituals – the clink of his coffee mug as he places it on the dressing table while opening the wardrobe, the soft murmur of his voice as he talks himself through his outfit for the day. I wondered what it would be like to wake up and not see his smiling face or hear the humming from the bathroom as he brushes his teeth. I wondered if I would be lonely without him.

As I watch him go about him pre-work routine, it occurs to me that it’s these small things I would’ve missed the most. Not the weight of his arms around me at night, but the way he warms the room with happiness each morning.

‘Wear the pink one,’ I say, as I watch him flit between the choice of two shirts. ‘You look great in that one.’

He models the two shirts in front of him, a cheeky smile across his lips.

‘Pink to make the girls wink?’ he jokes.

He doesn’t wait more than a beat before throwing the shirts over the back of the chair and walking with purpose over to the side of the bed. In one swift move he pulls back the duvet with one hand and takes my coffee cup from me in the other before taking my hand to raise me out of bed.

‘As long as it grabs your attention, that’s all that matters,’ he whispers into my hair.

His hands move to the back of my neck, holding me tight as he kisses me deep, full of wanting, needing. Passion was never the issue between us; before, the sex had always been good. Until I did what I did, and he pulled away. But this, this kiss is not lacking. This kiss feels like him again, like us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.