Love is Dangerous

5. Newcastle (Parte I)

Once at home she tried to feel better. But it was impossible.

Every shadow, every sound scared her. Suddenly, she wasn't able to deal with all that situation anymore; she had been so brave in the previous weeks, when Mark was continuing to consider her in danger, while at that moment all her certainties were disappearing.

She was almost terrified. Could she be the victim of a car crash as well?

Actually, she didn't even want to take that possibility into consideration but...what happened to Scott, could have also happened to her.
At 10 p.m. she tried to sleep but a sound from the outside, an innocent sound that she mistook for the shot of a gun, made her almost tremble.

It was enough.
She threw a couple of clothes in a small suitcase and in a few seconds she was already out of her house; it was a very cold and dark night but, luckily, she knew where she could go to sleep.

- Thank you sooo much, Lydia – Charlotte smiled – you really are a friend. –
- Ohh, stop flattering me – she complained a little – you say so only because I helped you, otherwise... -
- Otherwise I would have hated you, of course – Charlotte laughed in a very sincere way, while her friend was finishing to prepare the guest room.

Lydia had always been so kind with her, since the first time they met.
She was older than her and lived with her husband and her young son. The rest of the family, that weekend, was out of town for a trip, so Lydia seemed very happy to have someone else in her house. Even if the phone call from Charlotte was a real surprise for her...

- And... - she said suddenly – are you ever going to tell me why you are here? – she smiled.
- What do you mean? –
- I mean that I've been asking you for a long time to keep me company when the house is empty, but you've always said no. –
Charlotte sighed, feeling a little ashamed. That was true, she had refused her suggestion so many times...but she didn't hesitate that night, when she felt so scared and alone.

- What's the matter now? – asked again Lydia. Her voice was so kind that Charlotte had to answer immediately. Actually, the problem was that she didn't know what to say.
- I just feel... - she tried to think – maybe, like "lost in the past". –
- What? – Lydia almost started to laugh. That surely wasn't the answer she expected.
- I continue to think about Newcastle, my days there... - Charlotte said again, without giving too many personal details.
- About your friends, about the friend of the car crash? –
- No, not exactly. –
- So, who are you thinking about? – she insisted, with a small smile on her face. Charlotte understood what she wanted to say.

- About my exboyfriend – she answered quickly.
- Ahh, I knew it! I knew it – said Lydia, almost celebrating. – I've always supposed that you could have moved from Newcastle to Bath because of a shocking event, a huge disappointment. Like the end of a relationship. –
- So you think that I moved from the North to the South of England simply because I was...disappointed?! – Charlotte asked, showing all her surprise.
- Why not? –
- Because.... – she was almost ready to say all the truth.

But then she thought about her friend and all Lydia's family and Charlotte had the terrible idea that, by telling her what happened 2 years before in Newcastle, she could have put their lives in danger.

So she stopped – Because it was a little more complicated than this but...yes, I was disappointed by someone. –
- Do you still miss him? –
- Yes and no, at the same time. –
Charlotte smiled in a sad way.
- Sometimes...I just wish I could forget better. –
- Oh don't say like that – Lydia tried to cheer her up. Then she started thinking... - Tell me, Charlotte, when is the last time you were in Newcastle? –
- 2 years ago. –
- You've never come back?! – she looked terribly surprised.
- It was...not easy to come back. –
- Well you should. You could see your family again...and meet him again... -
- I doubt it. – Charlotte answered immediately, but didn't want to say anything more.