Trying Not To Love You

Part Ninety Two

Chapter Ninety Two

Martha watched the world disappear to miniature portions as the plane flew higher and higher. She closed her eyes, she had no objection to flying, but the anxiety befuddling her brain and the bile bubbling in her throat were unsettling her stomach. And the last thirty six hours had been nothing short of crazy.

From the moment James had mentioned Sonny Martha had been like a dog with a bone.

                “What do you mean? What about Sonny?” James seemed to think he’d come home...to her. But he hadn’t. So she had immediately feared the worst. Injury, illness, accident, they all ran through her brain as she ignored Tim, the man who’d spent forty minutes chatting her up, and she pinned James against the wall with an angry extended index finger. “Tell me what happened.”

He dropped his eyes, “Jade...she came to me the beginning of last week, desperate crying...” he sighed. “She lied to him, told him she was pregnant to make him leave you. She managed to keep the secret for a while, but he found out and left. Just walked out abandoning her. She’s desolate, she has nothing left.”

Martha feared she might faint. She wasn’t pregnant? That surprised her, and angered her. Why had it taken him so long to find that out? The bloody idiot...she’d slap him if he was there for not ensuring that within days of taking Jade away from Denbrooke. Then she thought about how he’d be feeling. She felt immediately as though a huge wait had been lifted off her shoulders, but Sonny...he’d be devastated. That he chose her, that she’d lied...and that there was no baby of course. All that rushing through her mind in that split second as she watched James’ lips move, but the words seemed to take a long time to register with her. He was seeking sympathy for poor Jade...

                “You want me to feel sorry for your lying cheating sister?” The sadness switched once again to anger, and she was suddenly on the verge of punching something, someone. “She deliberately lied to force Sonny into taking responsibility for her; he gave up everything for a lie? Do you realise that he loved me? That we had plans to be together...her lies left ME alone, where’s your sympathy for me?” James looked embarrassed and Tim, until a few minutes earlier very keen on her, had moved away along with the rest of the group, but then she was aware that she looked crazy. But her anger was immeasurable, both at what Jade had done, and the fact that James was trying to justify her actions.

But there was no baby, there was no Jade anymore, but there WAS Sonny. He’d be so betrayed, so angry and hurt, she knew that Sonny too well. And he hadn’t come to her.  The thought immediately quashed any sense of a reconciliation, of a destiny.

Looking up at James she demanded, “when was this?”

He shrugged; surprised that she didn’t know any of this, “it happened the end of last week, yeah, can’t remember the day, but before last weekend.”

Over a week. Ten days and he hadn’t contacted her, all those days of being free and he hadn’t come to her? She shook her head in despair. “Tell me EVERYTHING you know...NOW!”

And he had, but it wasn’t much.

As Martha had sought out Jack, insisted they go home, one question ran repeatedly through her brain, ‘why didn’t he call me?’ Mike was sat in the lounge watching a film on a satellite movie channel and looked up when they burst in.

                “Good night? You’re earlier than I thought. You didn’t have to rush home.” The words froze on his lips as he spotted Martha’s face.