‘I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that, Chloe. Because if you think that’s all you’ve been to me you’re wrong.’ He didn’t give her a chance to tell him that she was sorry and that the words had come out of nowhere. Jon marched out of the room, stomping upstairs.
* * *
He grabbed his shaving kit from the bathroom, throwing it into the holdall that wasn’t fully unpacked yet from yesterday. Sorting through the washing basket, separating her things from his, he tried not to notice that her scent still clung to his clothes, like a bitter-sweet memory.
The worst thing about it was that she was right. Chloe had been hurt badly, at a time when she’d most needed love and care, and it just wasn’t fair to expect her to continue a relationship without the security of knowing that he’d be there for her when she needed him.
But Jon couldn’t do that. Not yet, and maybe not ever. The thought of building something together and then watching it disintegrate, under the pressure of time and other commitments, was too much for him to bear.
The old feeling, that this was the way of things and that any relationship would cool given enough time, reasserted itself. His and Chloe’s may have burned a little hotter, but that just meant that it was more difficult when the flame was extinguished.
He zipped the holdall and straightened up, stopping for a moment to make sure he’d packed everything because he knew he wouldn’t be back. Then he walked back downstairs.
Chloe was standing in the kitchen doorway. It looked as if she’d been crying.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.’
He stayed at the bottom of the stairs. If he went any closer he might not be able to do this.
‘You meant it, Chloe. And you’re absolutely right. I meant what I said, too.’
She stood stock still. ‘And what you need from a relationship is pretty much the exact opposite of what I need.’
‘Yes.’ Finally they agreed, but it was the last thing he wanted to agree over. He turned for the front door.
‘Jon... Wait.’
When he looked back, he saw that she had her hand over her mouth in disbelief, tears running down her cheeks. And that look in her eyes, the one he knew so well, told him all he needed to know.
‘I know. I love you too. That’s why I have to go.’
He opened the front door and found Hannah standing right in front of him, searching in her bag for her keys. He gave her a nod, silently thanking the heavens above that she was back so soon, and slid past her, walking down the front path to his car.
* * *
‘What the blazes...?’ Hannah left the shopping on the front doorstep and rushed forward, enveloping Chloe in a hug. ‘What did he do?’
‘Nothing. He didn’t do anything.’ Chloe blew her nose on a piece of kitchen roll. ‘We... It was never going to work out. We both knew that, and... It’s okay. I’m okay.’
‘No, you aren’t.’ Hannah marched back to the door and picked up the shopping. ‘But you will be. I’ve got the very thing.’
She took a tub of chocolate-chip ice cream from the bag, and Chloe smiled, despite herself. ‘I don’t need that.’ At the moment she felt that she didn’t need anything, other than Jon, but that would pass.
‘Do me a favour, would you, and let me be the big sister for
a change.’ Hannah opened the cutlery drawer, took two spoons out and then reached up to get two glasses from the top shelf of the cabinet.
‘What are they for?’
Hannah produced a bottle of red wine from the shopping bag. ‘It’s you, me and the sofa for the rest of the afternoon. We’ll put the TV on, eat ice cream and drink wine.’
‘And then we’ll be sick?’
‘No, we won’t. Moderation’s the key with this. Eat the ice cream slowly and sip the wine.’
Chloe hugged Hannah, feeling her limbs tremble as she hung onto her sister. She and Jon had done the right thing, however much it hurt. They were never going to be able to make it work. It had been wrong from the start.
She kissed Hannah’s cheek. ‘Okay, big sis. Let’s do it.’