Chloe jumped as she walked towards the front door and it opened before she reached it. She frowned to herself as she stood face to face with a dark haired woman that she didn't recognise. Her eyes flickered to the ground when she noticed that the woman was dragging a suitcase across the threshold.
"Who are you?" Chloe asked quickly, slightly confused as to what was going on.
"I'm Steph." she smiled.
"And you must be Chloe?" Steph asked, raising her eyebrow questioningly. Chloe nodded slowly, swallowing the dry lump that was rising in her throat.
"Are you okay, you look a bit upset?" she added, smiling widely at Chloe.
"I'm fine." Chloe said firmly, shooting a small smile at Duncan when she felt him place his hand on the small of her back, trying to provide her with some reassurance.
"Didn't Lee explain about me?" Steph asked, glancing awkwardly between Chloe and Duncan. Chloe shook her head slowly, her stomach churning nervously.
"I was going too, but I got sidetracked." Lee said quickly as he walked into the hallway.
"Steph is a very old friend." Lee explained.
"I'm not that old." Steph giggled.
"We lost touch but she managed to track me down." Lee smiled.
"It was meant to be a surprise. I went to his Mum's to find out where he lived to surprise him, but this one decided to turn up before I had the chance to surprise him." she grinned.
"Well I didn't know did I." Lee chuckled.
"You always did ruin surprises." Steph chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Are you staying over or something?" Chloe piped up, her stomach churning nervously.
"I said she can stay for a while." Lee said firmly, his tone making it clear that the subject wasn't up for debate.
"I'm really pleased to meet you Chloe, I've heard a lot about you." Steph smiled at her, trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
"Really like what?" Chloe frowned.
"Maybe you've heard what a nightmare I am." she added, her stomach churning with anger once again.
"Here, let me take that." Lee said quietly, quickly reaching out to take Steph's suitcase, determined not to react to Chloe's words. Steph smiled her thanks at him as he quickly took her suitcase upstairs.
"Let's go and have a cup of tea. You can tell me all about the baby." Steph suggested, trying to make the effort to be friends with Chloe.
"I'm sure Lee has already told you anyway." Chloe said quietly, her heart sinking at the thought of Lee spending the evening with Steph when she'd spent the evening alone, crying herself to sleep. She couldn't understand why in all the years that she'd known him, he'd never once mentioned this woman to her.
"Besides I have to be somewhere." she added, quickly walking out of the house.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Chloe's heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach as she closed the front door behind herself and heard the sound of Lee's laughter coming from the living room. She sighed deeply to herself, resting the back of her head against the front door, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the panic that she was feeling in the pit of her stomach. As soon as she was in the house, her feelings of anxiety and helplessness were heightened, almost like she had no idea what to do or who to turn too. She reluctantly placed one foot in front of the other, sighing sadly to herself when she heard the sounds of joyous laughter travelling from the living room. Chloe hovered awkwardly, watching closely as Lee and Steph had a dance off on the game console. A small squeal of joy escaped Steph's lips as the tempo increased and the two of them began to dance faster.
