One For Sorrow

Chapter Six

19:00

“Good evening, Dr Montage speaking.” She said into the phone, even though she knew who it was.

“Cecelia Jayne, its mother.” Came the unmistakable voice of Monica Martha Montage, Cecelia’s very upper-class mother. Oh, how Cecelia was going to regret taking this phone call.

“Hello Mother, what is the matter?” she asked with a sigh, rolling her eyes.

“Aunt Sylvie is visiting, dinner is at eight tomorrow night.” Came the order on the phone. Monica Montage didn’t ever ask you to attend something, she always told you to.

“Mother, I can’t, it is too short notice, and it is my shift this weekend.” She lied.

“Your aunt is here.” She said as if Cecelia hadn’t got the point the first time.

“Mother, I can’t help that I am busy. I might have been able to swap shifts if you had given me prior notice. Besides, you of all people should know what my hours can be like, Daddy’s were exactly the same.” Cecelia really didn’t want her mother to see the state she had gotten herself into, let alone her mother’s twin sister, who was twice as bad, and twice as snobbish. Her mother had been born into a poor family and had married into a rich one, as had Cecelia’s aunt Sylvie. Cecelia’s father had doted on Monica and had spoilt her rotten. She hadn’t worked a day since they were married.

“Fine!” Her mother declared like a child who couldn’t get their own way. Her mother’s end was slammed down, leaving Cecelia with the dial tone. She sighed and returned her phone to her belt. Turning around, her breath caught in her throat. He was as handsome as she remembered. It took her a moment to regain her composure. He was leaning against the wall, one foot crossed over the other, and his arms were crossed in front of his perfect chest.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, Cecelia, sorry.” He said, a look of sorrow on his face when he saw her pain. He pushed himself away from the wall and put his arms out, indicating he wanted a hug. It was worth a try anyway. She took a reluctant step forward before throwing her arms around him, sobbing into his chest.

“My, how I have missed you.” She mumbled into his shoulder. She hadn’t realised until she had seen him, how much she had truly missed him. She wanted him back, now more than ever. But she knew that was a futile thought. He would never take her back, not after the way she had left him.

“I thought I would come and see if you were OK, I got the feeling Sally was beginning to annoy you.” He said gently stroking her hair in a way which brought good memories flooding back. “I have missed you too, I didn’t think you would wish to see me when it was suggested I join you all this evening.”

She looked up at him, her eyes were wet with fresh tears. He ran his hand gently over the skin of her bruised face with a familiar tenderness. He leant forward until his lips met hers. She returned the kiss, and a sudden feeling of pure safety washed over her. She pulled away when he caught the scab on her lip. He cringed as fresh blood slowly seeped from it. He pulled a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“I have dreamt of this day for some time now, but you never looked like you had lost a fight with a train in any of them. What happened?” He asked. Trying a new tactic might be the way to go. He kept his voice soft and his touch tender.

“I said before, I fell down the stairs, why won’t anyone believe me?” She asked, she felt herself relax into his touch.

“I know you better than that Cee-Jay, please don’t lie to me.” He said, his voice portraying hurt.

“Can we please not talk about it?” She asked, aware that Riley was himself, a police officer outside of Cambridgeshire. He had been training when they split up. She didn’t know his rank but she would bet her car on it is a good one.

“We will discuss it.” He said before he could stop himself.

Cecelia took a step backwards away from him, her demeanour returning to its defensive stance. She lifted her eyes to his, her head c****d to one side like she always did when she was angry. “Oh? We will, will we? What makes you think we can just carry on where we left off? Riley, it has nothing to do with you, so just leave it. Why can’t people leave me alone and let me deal with it my own way and in my own time?”

Riley stared at her, a little surprised about her outburst. “Cee-Jay...” He started.

“No, that’s the end of it, Riley!” She seethed, pure anger in her eyes.

He threw his hands up in mock defence. “Fine! For your information, Cecelia, I had no expectations to carry on where we left off. I didn’t expect you to stay long enough to even say hello to me. I know you better than most people, Cecelia Jayne, and I damned well know you are hiding something. I am only trying to help you, your friends are worried sick about you. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have you back in my life, to be able to hold you again as I once did, to be able to comfort you through whatever the hell has happened to you, but I understand, the end of it for you was that night in the restaurant, and I just have to live with that. Don’t give me that crap about you falling down the stairs. I am no doctor, but even I know that is utter bullshit. But if you don’t want to talk about it, if you want to stew in self-pity, then so be it. There is nothing I can do to change your mind, I just want to look out for you, as do Sally and Julie.” His voice was raised by the time he had finished.

Why was the woman so damned stubborn? He had also managed to start pacing and now had his back to her. He rubbed his hands over his face before turning around and freezing. A look of horror spread across his face as he realised Cecelia was back against a wall, shaking violently, her eyes were full of fear and tears streamed down her alabaster skin. He gasped at the sight of her.

“Oh my.” He said in a whisper, taking a step back. He had seen this behaviour before, and in an instant, he knew what she wasn’t telling him. He knew exactly what she didn’t want anyone to know. “Who was it, Cecelia?” He said in a calm voice, suddenly becoming smaller and less menacing than he was moments before. The person who had taken that spark from her was going to regret it once Riley was finished with him. As soon as he got his hands on this arsehole, he was going to strangle him.

“L...Leave me alone.” She managed to stammer. He slowly moved closer towards her, and she fell into his arms and sobbed against his chest. “Please, let me tell you in my own time when I am ready to tell you, I cannot bring myself to relive it right now.”

He nodded as he hugged her to him. “But you promise you will tell me?” He asked, he just wanted to cry with her. He had never seen her in such a state and he hated it.

“I don’t know when, but yes, in time, I promise I will tell you what happened.” She said into his chest, her voice muffled.

“Come on, let’s calm you down and go back inside, they will begin to think we have eloped together.” He said, causing a small giggle to escape her lips.

“Don’t make me laugh, it hurts!” She mumbled.

He smiled as he continued to hug her to him. “Come on, I'm hungry,” he said, pulling back from her. When she looked up, he gently wiped the tears from her face. His touch sent tiny charges through her body.

“I can’t.” She said with a sigh. “Sally won’t leave it alone.”

“Oh she will do, I have quite missed kicking her under the table.” He said, smiling warmly, stroking some of her hair back behind her ear.

“Can I have a moment out here first please?” She asked.

“I am not going to leave you out here alone,” he said as he sat down on one of the picnic benches. Cecelia sighed and sat down on the other side so she could face him, but her back was to the wall, meaning no one could sneak up on her from behind.

“How is Bethany?” Cecelia asked, referring to Riley’s little sister.

“Beth? She is good, coming home next week for a bit. She’s Homicide now. She loves it out there, and she gets married soon.” Riley explained with a small smile on his face. He was close to his baby sister, even though she lived in Canada.

“Wow, I am glad she is happy. Toronto is treating her well then.”

“Yes, they love her out there. I think it’s her strong English accent. They seem to have a bit of an obsession with it.

“What does her Fiancée do?”

“Stevie is a surgeon, cardiovascular surgery.”

“Have you met him yet?”

“I am meeting her next week when they get here.”

“Her?” Cecelia asked, looking up in surprise.

“Yeah, surprise?” He said, a cheesy grin plastered across his face.

“Well, good on her.”

“Mum isn’t so happy.” He chuckled. “Uncle David has to keep on explaining to her that she needs to get her head into the twenty-first century.”

“She will come around, I am sure. What about your father?”

“He’s just impressed it’s not me who is gay.’ Riley grinned. “Right, are you ready to face the firing squad?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She replied, standing with difficulty. She let him guide her back into the restaurant.

“All ok?” Julie asked as they returned, noticing Cecelia’s bloodshot eyes and puffy cheeks, and the comforting hand Riley had on Cecelia’s lower back.

“Yes, it was just Mother demanding that I go and visit her tomorrow. Fortunately, I am on call this weekend, so I managed to get out of it. “ She said as she sat back down. Her food smelt delicious. They enjoyed their food and the company of one another whilst it lasted. Cecelia actually began to enjoy herself for the first time since that dreadful night a week ago. She started feeling more like her old self and began to put all the torment from the week before behind her.

“Right,” Cecelia said, looking at her watch as she stood up stiffly. “It is time I went home. I am absolutely exhausted, and it has been one hell of a long week.”

Suddenly, at that exact moment, Cecelia’s phone began to ring, followed closely by that of Sally’s and also Riley’s. This can’t be good. This only meant one thing.

“This is a bad sign,” Sally grumbled, speaking Cecelia’s thoughts aloud.

“Good evening, Dr Montage speaking,” Cecelia said into her phone as the others answered theirs also, much to the annoyance of the other patrons of the restaurant. Cecelia was silent whilst she listened to the caller. “OK, I am on my way now.”

Cecelia put her phone away, as did Riley and Sally, who both proceeded to stand. “I am so sorry Julie, but work calls.” She said, putting some money on the table.

“I know,” Julie said with a nod. “I am used to it from you now. I will meet you for lunch tomorrow, Cecelia.”

“It’s a date.” She said, with a painful smile. She turned and left with Sally and Riley. As they got to their cars, something occurred to her. She frowned and looked up at Riley who was just opening his car door. “Riley, why were you called?”

“Haven’t you heard the news?” He said over his shoulder as he started to climb into his car. “I am the new Detective Chief Inspector for B Division.”

He winked at her before sliding into the driver’s side of his car and driving off, leaving her staring after him, her mouth hanging open in shock. Oh, this wasn’t good, her ex-boyfriend is now her attacker’s boss.