Chim - I'll Always Be There

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kimberley's P.O.V

Three days later

Three days had passed since Cheryl's miscarriage, and it's safe to say I was right; she was hiding how upset she really was. She is showing it now though, not so much by talking about it, more like drinking so she can avoid it.

The girls had come around, unexpectedly, after keeping their distance after Nics visit. They had understood that Cheryl would need her space and had only contacted me to see how she was doing. Last time they checked was last night, when Cheryl had fell asleep, I told them she wasn't doing well and Nadine rang to see if there was anything they could do. Now here they are, sat in the kitchen, watching Cheryl fumble around the cupboards and fridge. Finding what she was looking for, she walks back out of the door with a new bottle of wine. Once she has left, three very concerned faces turn back to me.

'Christ, she doesn't look good' Nadine sighs, putting her elbow on the table, resting her head in her hand.

'How long has she been like this?'

'Well she was pretty much silent for the first day, then yesterday she just started drinking, woke up today, ate and started again. She doesn't seem to be drinking as much today though.' I sigh, fiddling with my hands in front of me. 'I don't know what to do'

'Have you tried to stop her from drinking?' Nic finally speaks up

'Of course I have. I tried when she finished her first bottle, she just moved straight on to her second, then third. -'

'Well, try harder!' Nic suddenly snaps; her tone low so Cheryl doesn't hear.

'OI' Sarah's voice matches Nicolas, 'this isn't Kimberley's fault. She has helped Cheryl more than any of us have in two year, and this is only the first week they have spoke in two years.'

'I know' Nicola sighs, closing her eyes and running her hand through her hair, 'I'm sorry babe' she reaches out and takes my hand, tears forming in her eyes, 'I just don't like seeing her like this' I pull my hand out of hers and put it around her shoulder, allowing her to fall into me as I hugged her.

'None of us do Nic. All we can do now is be here for her.' Nadine says calmly and we all nod in agreement. Nicola looks up at me, I can tell she wants to say something, but looks back at the girls and hesitates.

After a few minutes of talking, we move into the living room, where Cheryl is lay on the couch, wine bottle on the floor, glass in hand. Nic and Nadine sit on the other sofa while Sarah makes Cheryl sit up so we can sit beside her, to which Cheryl groans like a stroppy teenager, clearly not in the mood for company.

'Has anyone heard from Hillary?' Nadine asks, trying to make casual conversation for Cheryl to join in. Hillary had been trying to clear our schedules, after hearing what had happened with Ashley she decided it was best we all took a break for a week or two.

'Yeah, I rang her the other day, just to see if we did have some time off.' After a slight pause we all looked at Sarah expectantly, she looked back at us all individually, 'Oh... she said we have a week off but we need to start rehearsing with Beth again soon.'

I fought off an awkward laugh as I watched a smirk slowly appear on Nadine's face, only to be elbowed in the rib by Nicola. It was clear that Sarah had made it up and none of us had actually contacted Hillary about work.

*****

An hour passes before the girls decide they better go home. We had continued to talk, but not about work, basically stretching any small talk topic out as far as possible. Weather, what films look good, plans for the weekend, etc. Cheryl had gone into the kitchen; we decided to leave her because she clearly didn't want to talk to us. We're now stood in the hall when Cheryl decides to go back into the living room, probably after hearing the girls preparing to leave.