Fic: Tears Of My Heart [Part Five]
Author: miss_peg
Artist: tromana
Link To Art: Here.
Word count: 27206
Rating: R/NC-17
Warnings: Lots of swearing and a bit of violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own Skins...ah well.
Summary: When Cook gets out of prison having served time for absconding, he moves in with Naomi, Emily and Gina. After the death of his mother, Cook is faced with questions about his past. With Naomi's help, they go on an emotional journey which results in a revelation that could change both of their lives.
Notes: I was so excited to take part in the skins_bigbang and I am so glad that I finally took the time to write this story. I'd had it in my head for over a year and began it once, before realising that it needed more time than I was able to give it. I'm so proud of finally finishing it.
A massive thank you to tromana, who has literally been my everything throughout this whole process. My beta (you makes me a better writer), my cheerleader, my ideas bouncer, without you I don't think I'd have got through. Nor would I have the amazing art that you made for me. It's been a pleasure to do all of that for you too, in return. I can't wait for us to 'swap' art.
You should all check out her awesome skins_bigbang, which was her first proper Skins fic, not that you could possibly tell. Tick Tock.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
The photographs and papers felt like time bombs in her hands, ready to go off at any moment should someone find them. If Cook discovered what she’d done, he’d probably be pissed, understandably so. If anyone else found them, well, she’d have to explain and that was something she couldn’t do. So she placed them in an old biscuit tin that they hadn’t used in years before opening the cupboard under the stairs and hiding them at the back.
'What's that?' Emily asked.
Naomi jumped, almost falling backwards as the one thing she didn’t want to happen, had. She closed her eyes and chewed on her lip, maintaining a sense of calm before twisting round to face her girlfriend.
'Nothing,' she smiled, ignoring the fraught look in Emily’s eyes.
'You say nothing, but all I can think about is the last box I had to open,' Emily whispered, her expression running through fear and disappointment before landing on worry.
Naomi reached out to her, pulling her tightly into her arms. If only to avoid having to stare into her eyes, to feel guilty for keeping secrets that weren’t even hers to tell. She thought back to the first box that ever had a role in their lives, one that Emily had seemed ashamed of when her little brother revealed details of its content at a rare Fitch family dinner. Her lips curled at the edges.
'I’ll always love your box of fannies.'
'Not that box,' Emily said, her eyes downturned and her lips pursed together.
'Oh,' Naomi realised, walking into the lounge and sitting down on the sofa. Emily followed but her doubts travelled ahead of her like a knife to the heart. She’d thought they’d moved on, that Emily had forgiven and forgotten about her infidelity. Would she ever truly be free?
'I’m sorry,’ Emily sighed, sitting beside her and resting a hand on her thigh. ‘It's obviously not like that.'
'Do you even trust me?' Naomi snapped, frustrated and angry that Emily could even think like that. She hated the past, she hated her mistakes and she’d spent months trying to make up for them. The last thing she ever expected was for it to be thrown back in her face at the first sign of trouble.
'Of course I do. I know you wouldn't do that again, I get scared though.'
She grew more scared with each day that Naomi kept things from her, what did she expect her to do? She was hiding something. The last time that had happened, well, she’d been stood on a rooftop contemplating the many ways she could end her life. For a moment. Her heart fluttered painfully in her chest as she considered the options. She didn’t want to doubt Naomi, to feel the same fear and dread that she thought she’d put to one side. She wanted to trust her, wholeheartedly, but sometimes it was easier said than done. Love and apologies didn’t fix everything.
'It's Cook's,’ Naomi muttered. ‘He doesn't know I have it, he doesn't want it. But one day I think he will.'
'Right,’ Emily frowned, unsure whether to believe Naomi or not. She wanted to, desperately, but at the same time, she’d been in that position before. ‘You can't tell me anything more though?'
‘His mum died whilst he was in prison,’ she muttered, sighing heavily. She wasn’t sure she should have said anything, but she didn’t think she could keep everything in for much longer.
‘Oh.’
'I’m sorry, that’s all I can say.'
There was more? She couldn’t think that way, not any more. Naomi wouldn’t hurt her again. She’d promised. It wouldn’t happen, she knew that deep down. She knew how serious Naomi had been that day in Freddie’s shed. She wrapped her arms around Naomi and pulled her close, kissing her check softly.
‘It’s okay.’
‘Is it?’
‘I want to tell you everything.’
'I know.'
Keeping the truth from Emily was the worst thing she could possibly do and she’d known that from day one, she hated lying to her and she hated hurting her even more. The doubt she’d implanted by being secretive was tearing her apart as much as she could feel it tearing Emily apart too.
'I’m sorry.'
'I know you are.'
'I want to make it up to you.'
'How?' Emily questioned, a cheeky smile forming on her lips.
'Like this,' Naomi let out a sigh as she kissed Emily’s lips 'and this.'
She pulled her into her arms and planted soft kisses against her cheek, her fingers digging softly into Emily’s hips.
'A little bit of this,' she kissed her neck. 'Then quite a bit of this.'
Naomi stopped talking as her mouth sucked gently on Emily’s shoulder and her hands slid carelessly underneath her t-shirt. Her eyes remained closed as she got lost in the sweet scent of her body and the taste of skin.
'Is that all?' Emily laughed.
'You want more?' Naomi grinned, lifting her head long enough to speak before returning her mouth to Emily’s neck.
'Yes, please.'
'How about this?' Naomi muttered, succumbing to the husk of her voice and sliding one hand into Emily’s underwear as she nibbled the bottom of her ear.
'More,' Emily gasped, her hips lifting off the sofa and her head rolling back against Naomi’s shoulder.
'This,' she moaned pulling her hand out of Emily’s trousers and unlatching herself from her. Emily looked at her with longing and disappointment, until Naomi slowly removed her skirt, top and finally her underwear.
'Not quite,' Emily giggled, her come to bed eyes fluttering in Naomi’s direction.
Naomi bit her lip and looked up at her with her eyelids a flutter. 'It’s a good job mum isn’t due back for a while, you’re hard to please.'
'Or maybe I'm just a bit hot and bothered.'
'So you want this?' Naomi questioned, returning to the sofa where she reached out to the fasteners on Emily’s clothes before pulling them off one piece at a time.
'Almost there,' Emily groaned, hooking her fingers around the strands of Naomi’s hair.
'What about this?' Naomi whispered into her ear, lifting her into her arms and carrying her out of the lounge, struggling a little up the stairs and into the bedroom before attacking her with kisses as her hands moved all over her skin.
'Just move this hand here,' Emily grinned, taking Naomi’s wrist and sliding it across her stomach and down between her legs. 'And I'll be very happy.'
xxx
Emily kissed Naomi’s collarbone slowly as she unwrapped herself from her body, her nose twitched a little but her mouth remained semi-open and her breath continued at its usual sleep filled rhythm. She slipped into some clothes and returned to the kitchen where Gina stood at the counter pouring tea into a cup. Emily stood in the doorway and smiled when Gina placed a cup of tea on the table before pouring a second cup for herself.
‘Thanks.’
‘My darling daughter not with you?’ Gina questioned, her hand hovering over the spare cups.
Emily’s cheeks turned a distinct shade of red at the last hour and tried to ignore what Gina was asking. They were hardly a prude family, but having lived with Jenna Fitch all her life, she couldn’t help feel a little uncomfortable at the discussion. Sex was something you didn’t really discuss with your mother, or so she had always been lead to believe.
‘Ahh,’ Gina noted, with a raise of her eyebrow and a tiny smirk. ‘I did wonder why anyone would leave their dirty clothes in the lounge.’
If anything, it only made Emily’s cheeks redder. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Gina stirred her tea in silence, keeping one eye on Emily.
‘Sorry love, is she joining us?’
‘No,’ Emily whispered. ‘She’s asleep. She’s not been sleeping well.’
‘James?’
‘I think so.’
After everything he’d been through, she didn’t think she had much right to be wondering why Naomi was keeping things from her. Cook’s mum had died and though she knew he didn’t get along with her, it must have still been difficult. As hard as it was living with Jenna, to the point of her deciding to move out, she still couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.
‘His mum died, did you know that?’ Emily asked.
‘No,’ Gina uttered, staring down at her cup in discomfort.
Emily let out a sigh and watched her other-mother as she quickly distracted herself with a packet of biscuits. Sometimes Gina confused her. As level headed as she could be, she was also a bit scatter-brained and when she quickly distracted herself, it was usually because something was on her mind. Instead of sitting at the table, like Emily had expected, Gina unlocked the back door and carried her cup outside.
‘It was whilst he was in prison,’ Emily called after her, following her out onto the patio. ‘Naomi won’t tell me anything more, but I think there’s something else he won’t let her tell us.’
‘You’re worried,’ Gina said, her eyebrow raised with question as Emily shook her head. Nothing got past Gina.
‘How else am I supposed to feel?’ she asked. ‘It’s not the first time Naomi’s lied to me.’
Gina didn’t respond. Emily watched her, waiting for her words of wisdom, but for the first time, nothing came. She just sat there on the bench staring out into space like she’d been hypnotised.
‘I’m scared it won’t be the last.’
‘You know,’ Gina began, finally breaking her trance. ‘I don’t think Naomi is doing this to hurt you, I think she still feels guilty. He went to prison for her, he gave her her life back and that’s something you can’t repay with presents or money.’
‘She’s letting him stay, isn’t that enough?’ Emily gasped, wishing she didn’t feel so bad about the whole situation. It wasn’t that she wanted to throw Cook out on the streets, if anything, she enjoyed having him around. She just didn’t want the constant reminder pushing Naomi into things she didn’t necessarily want to do.
‘You know Naomi as well as I do, I don’t think anything ever will be enough.’
‘I hate that she’s lying to me,’ Emily sighed, sipping on her tea. ‘This is really nice, what flavour is it?’
‘Ginger and honey.’
‘How can you be so level headed about everything, all of the time?’ Emily said, placing her tea cup on an upturned plant pot and watching Gina curiously. The woman was marvellous and she could do nothing but applaud her, most of the time. Now, however, she couldn’t quite understand why she was always that way. Nobody was perfect, but sometimes it felt like Gina was.
When she didn’t respond, Emily honed in on the uncomfortable expression on Gina’s face. Her eyes hollowed out like she’d lost all life, a faraway expression all that was left and she chewed on her lip, like Naomi, but for what seemed like very different reasons. Emily reached her hand out to Gina’s which she covered in comfort. Gina’s eyes glossed over and Emily’s heart ached for the imperfections of her other-mother. She had so many questions that had suddenly forced themselves on her, like she hadn’t realised before that Gina could and probably would, one day, be as flawed as anyone else. In reality, she knew of what Naomi had told her, of the depression she’d fought with for years and the difficult childhood Naomi had suffered because of it.
‘Now I’m worried about you too,’ Emily whispered, her hand still attached to Gina’s.
‘I’m fine,’ Gina muttered, but her voice had lost its sparkle and her smile barely reached her cheekbones.
The front door banged open with some element of power that they could hear it right through the house and Cook marched straight into the garden lighting up a cigarette before he’d even reached the door.
‘How are two of my favourite ladies today?’ he greeted them, pulling a plant pot out of the corner of the garden and sitting down.
An awkward silence followed as Gina stood up and wiped a fear tears from her cheek. Emily tried her best to smile at Cook, whose toothy grin stayed fixed upon her face. He waited patiently for a response.
‘Everything’s fine,’ Gina finally answered, looking at Emily to reassure her. She was less than convinced.
‘Is Naomikins in the shower?’ Cook asked with the usual disgusting glare he got whenever he was obviously thinking about her naked. Emily rolled her eyes.
‘She must be,’ she replied, standing up. She didn’t want to leave Gina, not in the state she was in, but she wasn’t sure how else to deal with the situation. ‘I’ll go see what she wants for dinner.’
Gina nodded her head and watched Emily walk back into the house. The last thing she’d wanted was to scare the poor girl, she hadn’t intended to get upset and was actually quite fucking angry at herself for doing so. She picked at some weeds in the garden, anything to keep herself busy and distracted.
‘You sure you’re okay Ginakins?’ Cook asked again, standing up and resting a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump. She nodded her head. ‘Interview went well, not sure I’ll have got it, but at least it were good. They want to see me again.’
She twisted round with his hand still resting on her shoulder. What could she say that would get everyone off her back? She didn’t know. Her mind had reached a hazy state in which she didn’t think anything would help her to refocus. Instead she attempted to distract herself as she pressed a hand gently against Cook’s cheek.
‘I am so proud of you,’ she muttered, wiping a few fresh tears from under her eye as Cook stared back in confusion. ‘What you’ve done since leaving prison, it’s honourable. It really is. You could have crawled under a rock, or gone out there and reoffended, but you haven’t. You’ve come here and, and, I’m so proud of you James.’
He allowed his smile to curl back onto his face as she stared up at him with watery eyes. He hated seeing people cry, especially mothers. He rarely saw his own cry, expect when she got stupidly drunk and ended up a mess in the toilet.
‘I couldn’t have done it without you Gina,’ he assured her and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders, she responded, her tense body relaxing quickly in his arms as he held her there. She started to sob against his shoulder and though he didn’t quite know what to do with himself, he stayed with her. It was the least he could do.
[ Parts Six - Ten]
Artist: tromana
Link To Art: Here.
Word count: 27206
Rating: R/NC-17
Warnings: Lots of swearing and a bit of violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own Skins...ah well.
Summary: When Cook gets out of prison having served time for absconding, he moves in with Naomi, Emily and Gina. After the death of his mother, Cook is faced with questions about his past. With Naomi's help, they go on an emotional journey which results in a revelation that could change both of their lives.
Notes: I was so excited to take part in the skins_bigbang and I am so glad that I finally took the time to write this story. I'd had it in my head for over a year and began it once, before realising that it needed more time than I was able to give it. I'm so proud of finally finishing it.
A massive thank you to tromana, who has literally been my everything throughout this whole process. My beta (you makes me a better writer), my cheerleader, my ideas bouncer, without you I don't think I'd have got through. Nor would I have the amazing art that you made for me. It's been a pleasure to do all of that for you too, in return. I can't wait for us to 'swap' art.
You should all check out her awesome skins_bigbang, which was her first proper Skins fic, not that you could possibly tell. Tick Tock.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
The photographs and papers felt like time bombs in her hands, ready to go off at any moment should someone find them. If Cook discovered what she’d done, he’d probably be pissed, understandably so. If anyone else found them, well, she’d have to explain and that was something she couldn’t do. So she placed them in an old biscuit tin that they hadn’t used in years before opening the cupboard under the stairs and hiding them at the back.
'What's that?' Emily asked.
Naomi jumped, almost falling backwards as the one thing she didn’t want to happen, had. She closed her eyes and chewed on her lip, maintaining a sense of calm before twisting round to face her girlfriend.
'Nothing,' she smiled, ignoring the fraught look in Emily’s eyes.
'You say nothing, but all I can think about is the last box I had to open,' Emily whispered, her expression running through fear and disappointment before landing on worry.
Naomi reached out to her, pulling her tightly into her arms. If only to avoid having to stare into her eyes, to feel guilty for keeping secrets that weren’t even hers to tell. She thought back to the first box that ever had a role in their lives, one that Emily had seemed ashamed of when her little brother revealed details of its content at a rare Fitch family dinner. Her lips curled at the edges.
'I’ll always love your box of fannies.'
'Not that box,' Emily said, her eyes downturned and her lips pursed together.
'Oh,' Naomi realised, walking into the lounge and sitting down on the sofa. Emily followed but her doubts travelled ahead of her like a knife to the heart. She’d thought they’d moved on, that Emily had forgiven and forgotten about her infidelity. Would she ever truly be free?
'I’m sorry,’ Emily sighed, sitting beside her and resting a hand on her thigh. ‘It's obviously not like that.'
'Do you even trust me?' Naomi snapped, frustrated and angry that Emily could even think like that. She hated the past, she hated her mistakes and she’d spent months trying to make up for them. The last thing she ever expected was for it to be thrown back in her face at the first sign of trouble.
'Of course I do. I know you wouldn't do that again, I get scared though.'
She grew more scared with each day that Naomi kept things from her, what did she expect her to do? She was hiding something. The last time that had happened, well, she’d been stood on a rooftop contemplating the many ways she could end her life. For a moment. Her heart fluttered painfully in her chest as she considered the options. She didn’t want to doubt Naomi, to feel the same fear and dread that she thought she’d put to one side. She wanted to trust her, wholeheartedly, but sometimes it was easier said than done. Love and apologies didn’t fix everything.
'It's Cook's,’ Naomi muttered. ‘He doesn't know I have it, he doesn't want it. But one day I think he will.'
'Right,’ Emily frowned, unsure whether to believe Naomi or not. She wanted to, desperately, but at the same time, she’d been in that position before. ‘You can't tell me anything more though?'
‘His mum died whilst he was in prison,’ she muttered, sighing heavily. She wasn’t sure she should have said anything, but she didn’t think she could keep everything in for much longer.
‘Oh.’
'I’m sorry, that’s all I can say.'
There was more? She couldn’t think that way, not any more. Naomi wouldn’t hurt her again. She’d promised. It wouldn’t happen, she knew that deep down. She knew how serious Naomi had been that day in Freddie’s shed. She wrapped her arms around Naomi and pulled her close, kissing her check softly.
‘It’s okay.’
‘Is it?’
‘I want to tell you everything.’
'I know.'
Keeping the truth from Emily was the worst thing she could possibly do and she’d known that from day one, she hated lying to her and she hated hurting her even more. The doubt she’d implanted by being secretive was tearing her apart as much as she could feel it tearing Emily apart too.
'I’m sorry.'
'I know you are.'
'I want to make it up to you.'
'How?' Emily questioned, a cheeky smile forming on her lips.
'Like this,' Naomi let out a sigh as she kissed Emily’s lips 'and this.'
She pulled her into her arms and planted soft kisses against her cheek, her fingers digging softly into Emily’s hips.
'A little bit of this,' she kissed her neck. 'Then quite a bit of this.'
Naomi stopped talking as her mouth sucked gently on Emily’s shoulder and her hands slid carelessly underneath her t-shirt. Her eyes remained closed as she got lost in the sweet scent of her body and the taste of skin.
'Is that all?' Emily laughed.
'You want more?' Naomi grinned, lifting her head long enough to speak before returning her mouth to Emily’s neck.
'Yes, please.'
'How about this?' Naomi muttered, succumbing to the husk of her voice and sliding one hand into Emily’s underwear as she nibbled the bottom of her ear.
'More,' Emily gasped, her hips lifting off the sofa and her head rolling back against Naomi’s shoulder.
'This,' she moaned pulling her hand out of Emily’s trousers and unlatching herself from her. Emily looked at her with longing and disappointment, until Naomi slowly removed her skirt, top and finally her underwear.
'Not quite,' Emily giggled, her come to bed eyes fluttering in Naomi’s direction.
Naomi bit her lip and looked up at her with her eyelids a flutter. 'It’s a good job mum isn’t due back for a while, you’re hard to please.'
'Or maybe I'm just a bit hot and bothered.'
'So you want this?' Naomi questioned, returning to the sofa where she reached out to the fasteners on Emily’s clothes before pulling them off one piece at a time.
'Almost there,' Emily groaned, hooking her fingers around the strands of Naomi’s hair.
'What about this?' Naomi whispered into her ear, lifting her into her arms and carrying her out of the lounge, struggling a little up the stairs and into the bedroom before attacking her with kisses as her hands moved all over her skin.
'Just move this hand here,' Emily grinned, taking Naomi’s wrist and sliding it across her stomach and down between her legs. 'And I'll be very happy.'
xxx
Emily kissed Naomi’s collarbone slowly as she unwrapped herself from her body, her nose twitched a little but her mouth remained semi-open and her breath continued at its usual sleep filled rhythm. She slipped into some clothes and returned to the kitchen where Gina stood at the counter pouring tea into a cup. Emily stood in the doorway and smiled when Gina placed a cup of tea on the table before pouring a second cup for herself.
‘Thanks.’
‘My darling daughter not with you?’ Gina questioned, her hand hovering over the spare cups.
Emily’s cheeks turned a distinct shade of red at the last hour and tried to ignore what Gina was asking. They were hardly a prude family, but having lived with Jenna Fitch all her life, she couldn’t help feel a little uncomfortable at the discussion. Sex was something you didn’t really discuss with your mother, or so she had always been lead to believe.
‘Ahh,’ Gina noted, with a raise of her eyebrow and a tiny smirk. ‘I did wonder why anyone would leave their dirty clothes in the lounge.’
If anything, it only made Emily’s cheeks redder. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Gina stirred her tea in silence, keeping one eye on Emily.
‘Sorry love, is she joining us?’
‘No,’ Emily whispered. ‘She’s asleep. She’s not been sleeping well.’
‘James?’
‘I think so.’
After everything he’d been through, she didn’t think she had much right to be wondering why Naomi was keeping things from her. Cook’s mum had died and though she knew he didn’t get along with her, it must have still been difficult. As hard as it was living with Jenna, to the point of her deciding to move out, she still couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.
‘His mum died, did you know that?’ Emily asked.
‘No,’ Gina uttered, staring down at her cup in discomfort.
Emily let out a sigh and watched her other-mother as she quickly distracted herself with a packet of biscuits. Sometimes Gina confused her. As level headed as she could be, she was also a bit scatter-brained and when she quickly distracted herself, it was usually because something was on her mind. Instead of sitting at the table, like Emily had expected, Gina unlocked the back door and carried her cup outside.
‘It was whilst he was in prison,’ Emily called after her, following her out onto the patio. ‘Naomi won’t tell me anything more, but I think there’s something else he won’t let her tell us.’
‘You’re worried,’ Gina said, her eyebrow raised with question as Emily shook her head. Nothing got past Gina.
‘How else am I supposed to feel?’ she asked. ‘It’s not the first time Naomi’s lied to me.’
Gina didn’t respond. Emily watched her, waiting for her words of wisdom, but for the first time, nothing came. She just sat there on the bench staring out into space like she’d been hypnotised.
‘I’m scared it won’t be the last.’
‘You know,’ Gina began, finally breaking her trance. ‘I don’t think Naomi is doing this to hurt you, I think she still feels guilty. He went to prison for her, he gave her her life back and that’s something you can’t repay with presents or money.’
‘She’s letting him stay, isn’t that enough?’ Emily gasped, wishing she didn’t feel so bad about the whole situation. It wasn’t that she wanted to throw Cook out on the streets, if anything, she enjoyed having him around. She just didn’t want the constant reminder pushing Naomi into things she didn’t necessarily want to do.
‘You know Naomi as well as I do, I don’t think anything ever will be enough.’
‘I hate that she’s lying to me,’ Emily sighed, sipping on her tea. ‘This is really nice, what flavour is it?’
‘Ginger and honey.’
‘How can you be so level headed about everything, all of the time?’ Emily said, placing her tea cup on an upturned plant pot and watching Gina curiously. The woman was marvellous and she could do nothing but applaud her, most of the time. Now, however, she couldn’t quite understand why she was always that way. Nobody was perfect, but sometimes it felt like Gina was.
When she didn’t respond, Emily honed in on the uncomfortable expression on Gina’s face. Her eyes hollowed out like she’d lost all life, a faraway expression all that was left and she chewed on her lip, like Naomi, but for what seemed like very different reasons. Emily reached her hand out to Gina’s which she covered in comfort. Gina’s eyes glossed over and Emily’s heart ached for the imperfections of her other-mother. She had so many questions that had suddenly forced themselves on her, like she hadn’t realised before that Gina could and probably would, one day, be as flawed as anyone else. In reality, she knew of what Naomi had told her, of the depression she’d fought with for years and the difficult childhood Naomi had suffered because of it.
‘Now I’m worried about you too,’ Emily whispered, her hand still attached to Gina’s.
‘I’m fine,’ Gina muttered, but her voice had lost its sparkle and her smile barely reached her cheekbones.
The front door banged open with some element of power that they could hear it right through the house and Cook marched straight into the garden lighting up a cigarette before he’d even reached the door.
‘How are two of my favourite ladies today?’ he greeted them, pulling a plant pot out of the corner of the garden and sitting down.
An awkward silence followed as Gina stood up and wiped a fear tears from her cheek. Emily tried her best to smile at Cook, whose toothy grin stayed fixed upon her face. He waited patiently for a response.
‘Everything’s fine,’ Gina finally answered, looking at Emily to reassure her. She was less than convinced.
‘Is Naomikins in the shower?’ Cook asked with the usual disgusting glare he got whenever he was obviously thinking about her naked. Emily rolled her eyes.
‘She must be,’ she replied, standing up. She didn’t want to leave Gina, not in the state she was in, but she wasn’t sure how else to deal with the situation. ‘I’ll go see what she wants for dinner.’
Gina nodded her head and watched Emily walk back into the house. The last thing she’d wanted was to scare the poor girl, she hadn’t intended to get upset and was actually quite fucking angry at herself for doing so. She picked at some weeds in the garden, anything to keep herself busy and distracted.
‘You sure you’re okay Ginakins?’ Cook asked again, standing up and resting a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump. She nodded her head. ‘Interview went well, not sure I’ll have got it, but at least it were good. They want to see me again.’
She twisted round with his hand still resting on her shoulder. What could she say that would get everyone off her back? She didn’t know. Her mind had reached a hazy state in which she didn’t think anything would help her to refocus. Instead she attempted to distract herself as she pressed a hand gently against Cook’s cheek.
‘I am so proud of you,’ she muttered, wiping a few fresh tears from under her eye as Cook stared back in confusion. ‘What you’ve done since leaving prison, it’s honourable. It really is. You could have crawled under a rock, or gone out there and reoffended, but you haven’t. You’ve come here and, and, I’m so proud of you James.’
He allowed his smile to curl back onto his face as she stared up at him with watery eyes. He hated seeing people cry, especially mothers. He rarely saw his own cry, expect when she got stupidly drunk and ended up a mess in the toilet.
‘I couldn’t have done it without you Gina,’ he assured her and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders, she responded, her tense body relaxing quickly in his arms as he held her there. She started to sob against his shoulder and though he didn’t quite know what to do with himself, he stayed with her. It was the least he could do.
[ Parts Six - Ten]