Three Years On

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hey guys so it's been a few days, but I was busy with school, then I went away with my orchestra for 4 days, so I've been busy. I may be able to upload again on Friday, but after that I'm going away to Austria, so I will try to write, but I won't be uploading straight away because ideally I'd like to get ahead again.

Anyway, happy reading, remember to comment and vote if you like it!

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     Debby fell asleep about an hour into the car journey, and stayed so for the three hours. Michael didn’t mind, he preferred having her there- asleep or not- than doing the long drive alone.  He glanced towards her at intervals, liking the way she looked when she was asleep. When he pulled up on the street in his usual parking spot outside his flat in Warwick, he flicked off the radio and turned to her.

     ‘Deb,’ he called out gently. ‘We’re here.’ Her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head from where it was leaning on the glass of the window. She rubbed her hands over her eyes slowly, pressing hard on the lids to get herself to wake up.

     ‘What time is it?’ she muttered sleepily. ‘I’m starving.’

     Michael took a look at the clock on the dashboard. ‘After two,’ he replied. ‘There’s a small chance that Jordan has kept the fridge stocked, so we might be able to have lunch inside.’

      Debby let out a low chuckle and turned to look out the window at the street. Her face lit up when she finally realised exactly the importance of where they were, and she jumped out of the car. Michael followed her quickly, and they stood on the pavement, looking across to the other side of the street at a house.

     ‘Is that it? Is that where you live?’ she asked. It was a large house, with four stories, sandwiched in between two others of the same model. It was made of brick, with huge windows, and an impressive front door painted dark blue.

     ‘Well, I only live on one floor obviously,’ he explained. ‘It’s an old house that’s been converted into flats.’

     Debby grinned, and ran across the road, to the steps leading to the door. ‘Which floor you on?’ she called to him as she ran. Michael moved to follow her, at a relaxed pace.

     He reached the bottom of the steps as she stood at the top, in front of the door, peering at the three different buzzers, trying to make out the scribbled names. He didn’t answer her question, just watched her in fascination. She was excited like a little kid in a sweet shop.

    ‘Williams and Rance,’ she read aloud. ‘That’s you right? Jordan Rance. Second floor.’

     He came up behind her on the steps and put his arms around her. ‘Yep, that’s us,’ he said.

     ‘We buzzing in?’ she asked. ‘Or do you have keys?’

      He removed his hands from around her waist, and turned to look back at the car on the other side of the street. The left door was still open from where Debby had jumped out. ‘My keys are in my bag.’

      They went back over to his Volvo, closed the door and grabbed their bags from the boot, before going back over to the steps, where Michael paused to find his keys, then slid the right one in the lock. The door clicked and he pushed it open, revealing a well-lit hallway leading off to the right and a staircase. There was a door directly in front with a gold number one attached to it.

     ‘This way,’ Michael told her, steering her gently in front of him towards the stairs.

     ‘Who lives in the other two flats?’ Debby asked as they climbed.