Highland love's redemption

Chapter 1:

I stared at my screen, scrolling numbly through job ads, desperate for a change. "You need to get out of here Eleanor, you need to live again," I chanted to myself, attempting to infuse purpose and strength into my weary self, battling the relentless darkness.

Outside, rain gently drummed against my parents' house windows, the night cloaked in darkness, my eyes fatigued from endless computer screen gazing. Winter's chill sent shivers through my body, but I remained motionless, compelled to click on one more job ad, one more opportunity.

As my mind struggled to refocus, an old dream surfaced – not mine, but his. He yearned to escape, anywhere but here, a fact he never let me forget. Now, I alone and tasked with the ability to go anywhere and he remained rooted in Quimper's cemetery soil.

Perhaps leaving could honour him. I recalled the connection we once shared, that visceral feeling when he was unwell or upset, a tight grip on my chest compelling me to call and check on him. But that connection vanished on the night of February the 6th, leaving only an emptiness dragging me into the darkest corners of my mind.

He would have turned 24 in January, so will you. Maybe the connection wasn't lost. Perhaps, by escaping, I could coax him away from this place.

My fingers typed the dream on the website before I could stop myself by overthinking this: Scotland. A few job ads appeared – cleaner, customer service, secretary. None piqued my interest.

"What would you do there? You have a job here. What's so different elsewhere?"

I could see him again sitting on the terrace of this very house, a beer in hand, his features as clear as a June sky. His voice echoed in my mind.

"Anything. I could go there and figure something out."

I recalled his excitement, his desire to get lost and find work in a small, unknown town. I, too, could come – perhaps as a nanny, teaching French to kids while he'd work in a local pub.

I remembered how I turned him down, consumed by my carefully planned life. Now I was alone and lost as he laid 100km away, buried six feet deep. No happy ending for us in this life.

Sighing, tears streaming down my face, I scrolled the website until a few words caught my eye.

"Nanny wanted: Sconser, Isle of Skye.
We are seeking a compassionate and Live-In Nanny to care for two adorable twins, Callum and Aila. The ideal candidate should be reliable, nurturing, and capable of providing a safe and stimulating environment for the children."

Twins, just like us.

Whether it was sadness or the urgency to escape the pain, I couldn't say. But blaming it on anything, I submitted my application. I messaged Fiona, the mother, or so I had presumed, explaining my motives, admitting my lack of experience but expressing my eagerness to learn, to teach French, and to blend into the background when off duty.

Reading my plea later, it felt like I was begging for a lifeline to pull me from the misery of his absence. Closing the laptop, I layed in bed, eyes open the entire night. In the morning light, as sleep finally beckoned, his image returned – a constant presence whenever my eyes closed.

Blood, lifeless open eyes, twisted metal. I awoke from the nightmare, as I did every day, trying to carry on without him.

——-
Hey,

Here we go for another story Wattpad!
Just a disclaimer, English is not my first language so it won't be perfect, you are more than welcome to highlight mistakes typos, formulation or anything, even suggestions on the writing, I'll take it as long as it is made in a respectful way.

Thank you for reading this first chapter, I hope you'll enjoy.

-N