The Girl In The Dirty Shirt Noel Version

Chapter 103

Going back to the house in Manchester was harder than I thought it would be; I didn't have much to take, most of the stuff was Liam's anyway, but sorting through our clothes and figuring out what was mine was hard; everything smelled like him.

I turned around after folding the last of my shirts and the picture of us was still hanging on the wall, the frame still cracked and broken; seemed pretty fitting since that's exactly how I felt.

I called Sarah and we packed up her car; it took me six boxes to move into his flat and only two to move back out.
I left my key on the kitchen table and locked the door behind me.
I told Guigs that I was going to take Liam for all he had, but now, being back there, I just didn't have the energy anymore; all I wanted was for it to be over.

We sat at Sarah's kitchen table with cups of tea; my boxes stacked in the corner next to my pottery wheel.

"You don't have to go back to your mum's place if you don't want to" she said quietly "You could move in here until you get things sorted, help out with the rent and things"

I shook my head looking across the table at her "I couldn't do that, you've done so much for me already" I sighed "Besides, I don't even have a job to come up with my half of the rent, I quit"

"So don't start paying until you find a new one" she shrugged "I can pay until then, it'll be nice having a roommate for a while"

I nodded "As long as you don't mind?"

She shook her head "Stay as long as you want"

**

I was secretly glad Sarah had offered; I really didn't feel like crawling back to my mom's again because I fucked up. My whole family already thought I was a screw up, coming home last June, getting pregnant and now the youngest in Thomas family history to get a divorce; I was a fucking model daughter.

I moved into the spare room and got myself settled. I really hoped giving Noel space was the right thing to do; I didn't want to push him further away than I already had been.
If worse came to worse I could make Guigsy less of a doormat and more of a permanent thing; he and Ruth were just friends.

Sarah got me a receptionist job at the publishing company she worked for and I couldn't complain, for a starting position it paid really well.

I walked past Sarah's office door and frowned noticing the name plate. "MacDonald?" I frowned leaning against the door frame "You didn't tell me you got married"

"I didn't" she laughed "Just sounds better than Beaudry so I changed it"

I laughed "Sara MacDonald, you dropped the H too?"

She nodded again "Classier"

I snorted with a laugh "Jesus Christ, Sara"

"Well it is!" She chewed on the end of her pen "I always hated my name anyway"

"It's the-" I stopped shaking my head "Never mind; I'm done for the day so I'll meet you at home"

"Isn't today the day Liam comes back?"

I nodded

"And Noel?”

I nodded again; she knew how I felt about Noel...and everything else

I got back to the house and checked the messages; there were none, Noel hadn't called.
I don't know why I expected him to, we hadn't left things very well and it's not like he didn't actually like Meg, Rebecca had definitely been easier to manipulate.