The Doctor Will See You Now

I Don't Like Mondays

"Morning,  Christ I hate Monday mornings" he smiled wearily and lowered himself into a chair. Dark circles around his eyes spoke volumes. He closed them and leaned back.

Ruth walked over and stood behind him, just looking. There was something different about him this morning. Apart from the fact he'd arrived a whole two hours early.  Something that suggested their relationship was on the brink of something new. Whether that was a breakthrough or a disaster, she couldn't quite tell. 

"Morning Hal." She whispered into his ear, and he opened his eyes again but didn't sit up. "What's up? Bad weekend?"  She was genuinely concerned for him. No matter her personal feelings, she hated seeing him upset.

"I don't deserve you, you do know that, dont you?" He looked up at her, his eyes conveying something she didn't want to know. "You're just..." he paused, "too good for me."

"Ok," she frowned. "Where's Tom, and what have you done with him. You look like him," she prodded his chest gently."You feel like him, but..." she shrugged and sat down next to him. "You definitely dont sound like him?"

"Let's just say things have happened that have raised questions in my mind. About me. About April and..." Now he sat up and took her hand "about you."

"Oh!" Her heart lurched. She instantly feared he'd decided that going after April meant she was a complication too far.  "I see. Well, no. That's a lie, I dont see. Not at all."

He turned to her and looked her in the eye. There was no way to tell her this without telling her. "I - I slept with April. And I wasn't drunk."

"Oh. Ok." She wasn't sure how to respond to that.  Not without making things worse.

"The thing is..." he paused, and now he took her hand, pulling her over to stand between his knees as he looked up at her. " The  thing is..." He took a breath. He hadn't even admitted this to himself till now, "The thing is, it wasn't... great."

"Tom... I really don't think I need to..."
She started to feel a wave of nausea sweep over her. This was too much.

"No, sorry, no, I meant I didn't.. it wasnt great because... oh FUCK IT!"  He stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders. Staring deep into her eyes, he kissed her. Hard.
"Oh shit. I'm... sorry." he let her go and ran out of the trailer and away, the door slamming behind him.

Ruth stood immobile and shocked. Eyes wide, mouth open, heart pounding. What the actual F.....?

She was still standing their, her fingers on her lips, silently screaming inside when the door opened and a beaming April walked in.

"Hiya!" She plonked herself down in a chair."You are NOT going to believe what happened at the weekend! I have to tell someone and I know you and Tom are like family so my secret is safe with you."  She started to brush her hair, chattering on without it, it seemed, the need to breathe.

Ruth emerged from her daze and walked over. Her face was a picture of composure. Her mind, a seething mess.

"Are you ok, Ruth? Did you even hear what I said?" April smiled into the mirror at her. "Tom and me ... we did it! Actually did it.  I mean, I didn't plan to, but hey, who'd turn him down, eh?"  She paused. "Do you think it means he's really serious about me? Oh, I do hope so."

Ruth excused herself, saying she had to go and collect a package from the security desk. One of the other makeup assistants would sort April out for today.

April was too happy to care. Nodding brightly, she sat back. Ruth patted her shoulder and left.

Quickly, she walked to the far side of the lot, where all the spare equipment was stored.  Finding an isolated corner, she looked around her. No one for a good 200 feet in all directions.  Then she let rip. Screamed her frustration, fear, sadness, jealousy and downright anger into the distance.

Once she'd got it all out, she took a few deep.breaths. Ok. Now, she had to be the strong one. The sensible one. The one he needed to be able to rely on in this shitshow. If they couldn't be lovers, she would damn well be the best friend he'd ever had.  It would be enough.

She knew she was lying to herself, but what else could she do?

As she walked back to the busier section of the lot, she was oblivious to the fact that someone had seen the whole pantomime. The reason they'd seen her was because they, too, had come to clear their heads.

Tom had come to the crashing conclusion that he had fallen in love with Pip and ruined everything. He had to be strong. He had to show her he could be a friend without expecting "benefits."

He just had to work out how the HELL he was going to make that great big fat lie work.