Meet Me in the Hallway (HS AU)

seventy seven.

November rolled by rather fast and subsequently December and Christmas break came around too. The last day of Term 4 was December 19th and by 7am on December 20th, the four of us were loaded into Harry's car and on our way to Torquay, a beachside town that Adrian had picked.

We spent Christmas there together and it was beautiful. Clem bought a little tree with us for everyone to decorate and store gifts under, so we made a day of putting baubles and tinsel on the tree and around the AirBnB we were staying in. Christmas Day was different to any I had experienced. Harry was like a child when he shook me until I woke me up at 6:00am, talking about how I needed to get out of bed because Santa had been. The four of us sat on the floor of the lounge room tiredly but attentively watching the others open their gifts.

Adrian's parents were the first to call at 9:00am. They sounded lovely as they wished each of us a Merry Christmas, even me who they had never met. Clem blushed furiously when they demanded Adrian put them on speaker so they could speak to his 'girlfriend'. I had to remember to ask her later on how she felt about the word.

My parents called shortly after and wished myself and Harry a Merry Christmas and begged me to come visit them soon. I wanted them to meet Harry in person because I knew they would love him so I instantly agreed to visit as soon as I could.

Nan and Pa called during the day as well, I hardly got a word in before they requested I pass the phone to Harry. He had the biggest smile on his face the whole time the three of them spoke, which was actually a really long time, before he told them 'I promise' and handed the phone back to me. They gushed over how kind he was and how much they missed the two of us. I told them I would go back to visit them soon and bring their favourite grandchild with me.

It wasn't until we finished dinner that night that Clem and Harry's parents called. With the time difference, it appeared to be morning in England. They were everything I had expected, the gentlest of souls and I could see the resemblance between the family. Harry introduced me finally to Robert and May as 'My Jo' and I almost collapsed with how much my knees buckled at the simple words.

My Jo.

We stayed at the AirBnB until the second week of January. Adrian's workplace had reopened after the Christmas period and he needed to return to work, Clem was taking a summer unit at university in hopes of finishing her course a little earlier this year. She was so desperate to finish University so she could move back with us instead of living there part time.

Harry and I too needed to begin preparing for a new year. He had to return to work a few days before I was required to, so I ended up joining him most days he went in. Some days I worked in my classroom, preparing worksheets and learning materials I would need for the first few weeks. Other days I worked in Harry's office with him on the administrative jobs I needed to do before the start of term. Then occasionally I would just sit in his office and look at him, no work or progress, just looking at him.

February and Harry's birthday came and went almost as quick as November and December did and before I could really register it. Time was moving really fast and everything was going smoothly for our group of friends.

Until the first week of March.

I had hardly sat down in Harry's office for lunch when my phone rang. Ella's name flashed across the screen and I instantly knew what the call would be regarding. Harry's eyes lifted from his computer to shoot me a toothy smile but it soon fell when I showed him the name calling.

"Hey, Ella." I hadn't intended for my voice to hold such hesitance but it did.

Ella and I were, much to my and everyone around us' surprise, getting along and actually growing closer. I think with everything we had gone through, as well as the added factor of Clem's absence, we were forced to rely on one another.

"Jo, we have a date. March 30th, can you make that work? Otherwise we can push for later but that is the soonest. What do you want to do?" She was always direct like this, I guess that comes with being a lawyer and needing to be assertive.

"I'll make it work, I can take leave without pay if all else fails. I'm not pushing it back any further."

Whenever Ella called me from work, we tended to just get to the point and end the call quickly. I usually appreciated it but today I wished she would have stayed on the phone a little bit longer to reassure me that everything would be ok.

We finally had results from our Committal Hearing. Ella had asked one of her colleagues from work to represent us and she obviously picked well because we had been given a County Court date. Meaning the two of us would have to stand up in court, in front of Will and recount all the horrible things he had done to us.

I had started writing down every little thing I could remember; words he had spoken, times he had beaten me, times he didn't take no for an answer and times he had raided my bank accounts.

I was nervous to say the least. Nervous to see him again for one, nervous that Ella and I would be looked at as liars by a court and nervous that this would only make the pain worse if we don't succeed. If we went to court and didn't win, I have no doubt in my mind that Will would kill me. He wouldn't stop at a punch or a knockout, he would keep going until I stopped breathing.

Harry didn't say a thing as I hung up the phone, he simply wheeled his chair back from his desk and opened his arms. Instantly the tears started, tears of relief and fear, and I moved to wrap my arms around him.

I had gotten better at that recently, showing my vulnerability in front of him, I could now cry in front of him without fear of consequences flooding my mind. I knew I had to be better for him. If we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, like the ring on my left hand promised, I needed to work on sharing how I was feeling.

So I stood in Harry's arms as I cried, knowing that soon this would all be over.

One way or another, I was soon going to be free from William Gregory forever.

*****

This chapter is rather boring and I apologise but there is a bit of a time jump and I needed to set the scene for what is about to unfold!

3 CHAPTERS TO GO