When Danny had died, it had been Claire who had sat with her and helped pull her from the black abyss that had been her life. She had made her see that Danny would want her to be happy, and she had been the one who had forced her to go on. It had been a terrible time for Kelly and she had pulled through thanks both to her friends support and to Max coming into her life. However, now Kelly was dealing with two losses, the loss of her beloved son, and the man with whom she had fallen so deeply in love with.
Now as then, Claire had insisted that she stay with her, concerned at the deep depression her friend seemed to be in, as she had waited for her to open up. For the first day Kelly had stayed curled up in her bed sobbing quietly. On the second day she had finally told her everything, lying curled up in a pathetic ball on the chair, her voice emotionless, her lovely eyes so dead.
“You did the right thing” Claire had consoled her friend softly. “It might not feel it now but you know you did” holding her as Kelly had once more started sobbing
That had been nearly a fortnight ago and Claire had wanting to cancel her holiday to New Zealand, Kelly insisting that she go, begging for some time alone
“Please Claire, it will give me some time to get my head together” She had said, before Claire had finally agreed to continue with her plans ensuring she had all of her contact information if she needed her.
As she couldn’t move back to her own flat which was still being rented for at least another month, Claire had insisted that she stay in hers, and so it was that she found herself painting in her friends large sun filled living room.
For the first week she hadn’t even bothered working, just sitting staring blankly at the television not taking in any of the programs being shown. All she could see were the faces of Max, smiling lovingly at her and Marc with his fringe falling over his eyes while flashing her one of those heart stopping smiles.
However, slowly she had returned to her work hoping that this return to some form of normality would help. She had only completed the designs for Philips job 2 days previously sending them off to his office, hoping that he would like them. However, she had not given him her address, requesting that he contact her publisher if he needed to speak to her. Deep down she knew that Philip would feel the need to talk to her and she couldn’t handle seeing him or ruining his happiness with Theresa. She had also included a card which she had created herself congratulating them on their engagement. With a small frown she had suddenly remembered that she had not even told her publisher where she was, with a mental note to herself to rectify that as soon as possible.
Claire would be home tomorrow she had thought to herself suddenly glad to have someone to talk to again. She had frowned slightly, once more thinking about the future, not wanting to live with Claire for another month. Her friend had her own life, and although she knew that she would insist on her staying, Kelly also knew she wanted to be alone. She had considered her possibilities, renting herself for a month or moving into a hotel, but with a sigh she had once more pushed the decision to the back of her mind.
When the door bell rang, she had considered ignoring it, having little interest in company. However, Claire was an avid online shopper and with a sigh she had moved to see what her friend had purchased this time.
Listlessly she had opened the door expecting to see the delivery man. However, her heart had fallen to her feet, her legs nearly buckling at the sight of Marc standing on her doorstep. Looking as handsome as ever and wearing a woollen jumper over jeans encased within a heavy leather jacket to keep out the biting cold, he had glared down at her
“Wh..what are you doing here?” she had asked in total shock
“What the hell do you think I’m doing here” he had snapped back angrily, pushing past her into the flat
Kelly could feel her heart beating so fast within her chest, the tears once more threatening to rise to her eyes as she wanted to run away only stopped from doing so by her feet refusing to move, rooted to the spot. Marc however had grabbed her arm beneath the elbow, and slamming shut the door, frog marched her into the living room before spinning her around so that he could look into her shell shocked face.
His was black with anger, his dark eyes flashing down on her with such intensity that she could feel her hands starting to tremble.
Max, she suddenly thought in panic “Is Max ok?” she had cried with real fear in her voice
“Max is fine” he had stated abruptly
“Not that you would care” he added cuttingly
“Then why are you here?” she once again had demanded in a small voice
“To take you home” his voice harsh “Now get your stuff”