The Way Back | ✓

2.5

note: hey guys!! This is the last chapter to part ii. If you're enjoying this story then comments would be highly helpful. I've been stuck on this since the end of nano so an entire month without writing TWB. Some encouragement would definitely help. Thank you to those who are still reading this. It means more than you can imagine 💕

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Having someone over, someone who actually tickled his fancy, while his wife — or soon to be ex-wife — and daughter were not there seemed odd. Not odd in the way that he was guilty but odd in the way that it didn't fit into his routine, something that broke and something that he was still struggling with.

"I need to build a new routine," Andrew declared boldly, nodding his head in hard concentration before he took a sip of wine.

"You do?" questioned London, leaning back on the couch and enjoying her own glass of cheap red wine. "Why's that?"

"Because for the last ten years my life has followed a set routine," he started, and though he was the one who established the foundation for this conversation he was glad that someone asked him why.

"Isn't that boring?" she asked, the look on her face showed genuine curiosity.

"I guess it was a bit boring but I mean, I like when things are planned, when there's no drastic changes, when my day has something to follow through on," Andrew went on.

She tipped her wine glass towards her mouth. "That makes sense, though if I was you, I'd need something to spice it up. Have a routine but small changes at a time. Nothing is ever constant, after all."

"Wise words," he conceded, tipping his own glass in her favour.

She smiled. "Why thank you." Taking another sip, she asked, "So why the need for a new routine?"

"My old one broke when I walked in on my wife fucking a good friend of mine with our daughter literally down the hall," he said, his voice dripping with contempt.

By the look on her face he knew he said things that she didn't know how to reply to but her replies often were enough and just right.

"That sucks," she said, pouting and he laughed. She smiled once she saw that she'd manage to wriggle a laugh out of him. "It really does suck," she went on, "But look at you. You're holding it together."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Barely."

"Hmm maybe," she mulled. "Look at it this way. What if you were still in love with your wife when you walked in on them? I'm not saying that it doesn't hurt now. That's still betrayal. But if you were in love with her, things could be much worse. And your daughter. You still get to see her, right? So it might be rough but it's not very bad."

Andrew looked down at his drink, swirling the crimson liquid round and round. London was no longer a stranger but he barely knew her, granted he had met her less than a handful of times and the circumstances of those situations didn't warrant any meaningful conversations.

"As true as that may, it still drives me fucking crazy," he admitted. "And about my daughter... I see her, yes, but it's like she's slipping away."

His confession was met with a long silence but neither of them over-thought it. They simply drank their wine. It was when Andrew offered to pour another glass for London did the silence break.

"Thanks," she said softly as she retracted her glass back to her mouth. "I can't say I completely understand the feeling," she said, addressing Andrew's statement that he'd muttered minutes ago. In the silence it seemed like a lifetime ago, "but that's how it was before Mum died."

"Oh."

"Yeah," she breathed. "She was slipping away and we were too busy with our own lives to notice."

The quiet returned and lasted for a few more minutes, each sipping leisurely at their wine.

"How did it happen?"

"It was an accident," London replied, her voice heavy and closed up, "That's what the police say. She was driving too fast. But she never crosses the speed limit. Dad and I believe it wasn't an accident but my sister Gwen wants to take the police for their word."

There was only so much you could reveal to a new acquaintance. Andrew didn't want to push his boundaries so instead of asking for the finer details of the accident which he assumed were gruesome, he focused on talking about her feelings. Was that why she looked like she had been crying for hours back at the liquor store?

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Honestly?" she said, mirroring his early question back at the liquor store but there wasn't a trace of amusement in the air this time. "I feel like like shite."

"I can't imagine what losing someone would feel like, someone that close to you and your heart."

"It hurts. It hurts so fucking much," London said, and though her words did not capture the entirety of the pain, the heartbreak and suffering that bled through her face in her broken expression made Andrew's soft heart ache for the poor woman. He couldn't fully imagine such pain but she gave him an idea about it.

"Today's her death anniversary," she told him, turning to him with a sad smile. "That's probably why I'm so emotional today. I met up with my sister for lunch and that didn't end well. With an argument leading the day, unpaid bills to resolve and my mother's death anniversary all on the same day just sucked out all the energy from me."

He cast her a sad glance, not exactly pitiful but understanding. While he hadn't endured similar tragedies, he understood her pain. For the first time that night he reached across the couch and touched her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze as he said, "It's okay to not be okay."

"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes glistening when she looked at him.

"Yeah," he echoed.

One tear fell before the next came and before Andrew knew it, London was crying. It was not a pretty sight but again, he couldn't say she looked terrible, especially when he thought her to be beautiful despite whatever state of emotion or mind she was in.

He pulled her in, an arm around her and when her arms wrapped around his waist, her cheek pressing against the soft material of his t-shirt by his chest, he let his arms tighten around her and fully welcome her into the embrace. He hugged her to comfort her. But he also hugged her to comfort himself. He didn't realise how much he needed the hug until now and he appreciated London, something he wasn't too sure if he should admit out loud.

"Oh shit," she laughed, sniffing as she tried to pull back. "I've completely ruined your shirt."

"That's my fault," Andrew said, loosening his arms around her. "I was the one that went in for the hug."

She smiled warmly at him and he felt something stir in his chest at the sight of it. Realising that the position they were in was something he promised tonight was not all about when London agreed to come over, he pulled away, heat creeping up his neck towards his cheeks.

"Sorry about that," he chuckled nervously as he moved an inch backwards.

Her returning smile was sheepish. "Er, yeah, it's all right. I should probably get going now."

"Right," he nodded, getting up on It his feet. "You're not driving, are you?"

She laughed. "Definitely not in this state. I'll get an Uber."

Just as she was about to reach for her bag to fish out her phone, Andrew opened his. "Let me," he said, his fingers working over the phone. And so she let him book an Uber and even let him pay for it without protesting much. It was not like she had a lot of money to spare.

He walked her down to the complex exit and watched until she safely got into the car, waving at her before the car pulled away.

Usually after a couple of drinks Andrew felt heavy with emotion. He'd never have guessed that he'd be feeling much more lighthearted after sharing a private and meaningful conversation over cheap wine.

Perhaps life was not all that bad.