Ginny Carney has been running since she was 17; running from the small town that stifled her, from her 'wild child' reputation, and from the boy she left behind. Now 25 Ginny finds herself a college dropout with no job, no boyfriend and forced to m...
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The doorbell rang and I looked across the kitchen at Miles and he looked just as confused as I was. He was just pouring pancake batter into a pan so he said, "Can you get that? It's probably just Erik making sure I'm not dead."
"Sure" I laughed and I walked to the door. When I opened the door there was a pretty woman standing on the doorstep. She was wearing clothes that looked way too expensive to have been bought anywhere close by and I was suddenly self conscious that I was wearing one of Miles' old t-shirts that hung just past my pyjama shorts. There was a tiny girl who looked about 2 holding on to the woman's skirt.
"Hi" I said slowly,
"Hi" the woman smiled warmly, "sorry, I must be in the wrong place the houses aren't really numbered" she trailed off.
"No problem" I smiled, "I know pretty much everyone around here, who are you looking for?" I smiled again at the little girl, she had tiny little braids and that hit close to my heart, but she was precious.
"I'm looking for Miles Clifford? I'm not even sure if he's in town"
"Oh, no, you're in the right place, Cliff!" I called over my shoulder and I saw the woman's eyes widen when I said his nickname.
"Babe" he called back and the woman flinched, "You can invite Erik in."
"Not Erik" I laughed and rolled my eyes and the woman smiled.
"Lucia?" Miles asked stopping in his tracks as he came into view of the door,
"Miles" the woman sighed, "I just heard, why didn't you call?" I looked back and forth between the woman and Cliff looking for an explanation and then my eyes fell on the little girl who looked up and saw Miles and then her eyes lit up. Somehow I knew what was going to happen next but I still wasn't prepared for it. The little girl let go of the of the woman's skirt and ran into the house; it was like it was all happening in slow motion. The little girl with the tiny dark braids squealed, "Daddy!" gleefully and Miles caught her in his arms.
Everything stopped and the happy bubble I had been living in burst and I started to slowly back out of the room. I looked at Miles and he was looking at me with panicked eyes over the shoulder of the little girl, of his daughter.
"Ginny" he said quickly moving to put the girl down. I shook my head and turned to rush upstairs, I just wanted to be anywhere but in that front hall. I didn't want to cry but I couldn't stop it. The tears streamed down my face and I wiped at them angrily as I started shoving all the things of mine that had somehow accumulated at his house over the week into my backpack. I could hear Miles and the woman, Lucia, talking downstairs but I didn't want to listen to whatever they were saying. Was he married? Was the woman downstairs his wife? I heard footsteps on the stairs and I started packing even faster.
"Gin" he panted and he rushed into the bedroom but I didn't even want to look at him. "Ginny look at me" he said but I didn't look up as I stuffed the last of my things into my backpack, "Ginny stop! Just let me explain!"
"Explain what?!" I yelled spinning around to face him and throwing my bag over my shoulder, "Explain how you've got a whole family that you just forgot to mention?" I was angry and I was upset and I was really not interested in anything he had to say. I felt so blindsided, so betrayed, "Explain how you held me while I cried over our daughter when you had a little girl out there waiting for you that you just left without a second glance?"
"It's not like that" he started,
"Then what is it like Cliff? Because I just watched a little girl call you daddy and leap into your arms." No matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop the sob that escaped me.
"It's..." He paused and I looked at him expectantly, "It's complicated" he sighed and I rolled my eyes,
"You know what? I don't even care" I moved to leave the room but he blocked the door. "Let me go Cliff" I said through gritted teeth.
"Ginny" he pleaded his face full of concern and guilt and pain but I was too angry.
"Let me go" I said again but the anger was gone I just needed to leave it was killing me to be anywhere near him after what I had just seen. He had everything that I lost, everything that we should have had, but he hid it from me and he walked away from it and it was breaking me apart.
"Where are you going?" he said softly and he tried to reach out to me but I flinched and he put his hand back down.
"I don't think that's any of your business" I said coldly and he sighed but he finally let me walk past.
"What was I to you?" I turned back to face him with tears in my eyes and my heart breaking into a million tiny pieces, "Was I just some way for you to feel 18 again? Or were you just looking for a screw and I was easy and vulnerable and ... there"
"Gin you know it's not like that"
"I don't know anything" I said quietly with tears streaming down my face, "I don't even know who you are" I choked out and then I turned and rushed out of the house.
Author's note:
What's that? An update on and actual Saturday? What did you guys think? What the heck is going on with Cliff? Let me know what you think! xx
