Echoes Down The Corridor

Runaway: Without You?

A/N: Well, this got long and lot of dialogue in this one, guys…more from me at the bottom! :)

“Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!”

Abby’s phone buzzed, echoing around the stillness of the room. She hadn’t moved for days; unable to face the world in the 2 weeks after the fateful events of that ‘Leaver’s Day’. She had lost the thing she held most dear: Sarah. The thought of her name alone was easily enough to reduce Abby to floods of tears. She simply couldn’t understand what had happened, where it had gone wrong. Was it something she had done? Was it something she hadn’t done? Then, she remembered Sarah’s parting words:

“…it’s because I love you, I have to let you go.”

What kind of cliché was that?! What had convinced her that their relationship wasn’t worth fighting for? Then Abby remembered that Sarah was already in the office before she entered; what had Caroline said to her, to convince her that what they were doing was wrong?

“If I had the energy, I would f***ing kill Caroline Parris, and stuff into every orifice laws, and teaching documents, and every sodding point of view on ‘What Is Morally Right’!” She solemnly vowed to no-one in particular.

Frustrated, Abby picked up her phone, and read the message:

**Proctor’s packed up her house – she’s leaving at 6:00 pm. I suggest you hurry if you want to say goodbye. Georgie xxx**

Abby looked at her watch: 5:23.

Instantly, she threw back the covers, pulled on the nearest clothes she could grab from the ever-increasing pile next to her bed, and threw the contents of her drawers into a bin liner from the hallway. Texting a ‘Thank You’ to Georgie and handing her pass into the front desk, she began to sprint full pelt down the high street.

There was no more time for moping; she had a girlfriend to convince.

***Sarah’s House***

Sarah glanced around the empty room, the final overflowing boxes at her feet, ready to be shoved into the removal van outside. She was all set to follow in her own car. This was it; the realisation that she was going to leave the mess that is her old life behind finally began to sink in. She was going to leave for good.

Fleeing the country wasn’t something that immediately sprang to mind for Sarah. Admittedly, she had spent a solid 36 hours crying in bed over the whole situation, until her eldest called Sarah’s Sister-in-Law, who promptly forced Sarah to re-evaluate her life, and convinced her that a move to the continent was beneficial for her whole family.

The children were pretty receptive to the idea of moving abroad (they had already been to France before on holiday, and knew a fair amount of the language), the house had sold quickly, and Sarah was able to secure a property in the South of France (her degree was English-French joint honours, thus she was able to converse fluently with the estate agent there). The paperwork was all in order; Chris hadn’t exactly been thrilled, but agreed to a new set of visitation rights. In truth, his newest blonde escapade posed more interest to him than his children moving to another country. The wheels were set in motion, and Sarah was finally able to create a life for herself without the pressures she felt here. It felt liberating, and in truth, she couldn’t wait.

Despite the excitement of leaving, Sarah couldn’t help but think about the one part of her life she wasn’t looking forward to leaving behind: Abby.

Her name still stung, and caused a wash of salty tears to form in the corners of her eyes. It had taken this long to force herself to see that what she was doing was right thing for Abby; the child needed to live her own life – but she was still unconvinced.