J & P Book 3 - Please Don't Leave Me

Chapter 4

"Please, don't leave me," the beautiful, olive-skinned girl begged again, grabbing onto his clothing, trying to physically stop him from leaving her bedroom.

"It's for the best, it's for the best," he heard himself repeat, as he attempted to get to the door.

"I love you, and I know you love me too. Please, don't leave me like this." Suddenly she was in front of him, her green eyes full of tears, her dark curls brushing against his face, pushing him away from the door.

He looked towards the open window, and ran towards it, jumping out headfirst onto the street in slow motion, hearing her anguished cries get fainter and fainter until he hit the pavement with a bang.

He sat upright in bed, now awake. His heart was beating rapidly. Another nightmare. Every now and again they came, less frequently than in the early days, but still as vivid and as terrifying as they had ever been, almost six years since that day.

He reached to his left for reassurance, but he found that he was alone in bed. At first this puzzled his waking consciousness, but the facts slowly came back to him, Linda was away from home at the moment, staying with her parents. Her father was seriously ill.

He turned to his right and reached for his glasses. He put them on, and looked at the time on the alarm clock by the bed. 5.28. The alarm would be going off in two minutes anyway. He sank back into bed and rubbed his eyes. Not the best start to the day. It had been a while since he'd last dreamed about Jenny. Every time he did, it ended up being a nightmare. Pretty much how their relationship had ended up.

It was in the past for a reason. It needed to stay there.

He got out of bed and took his mobile phone off charge. He had a message from Linda. It had been received ten minutes ago.

CAN'T SLEEP, WHEN YOU GET UP FOR WORK GIVE ME A CALL X

He pressed the button to call her, and she answered within a couple of rings. "Hi."

"Hi," he said. "Just saw your text."

"Not the same sleeping alone, is it?" Linda said, sleepily. "I can't settle. I miss having you there."

"Do you want me to come up tonight after work?" he suggested. "Remember, I've got a night shift tomorrow night."

"Not worth it, is it," sighed Linda. "Anyway, someone needs to look after Beano."

Beano was Linda's cat, who had originally lived with her parents when she was at university, and had somehow managed to move in with Linda and Paul when they got their flat together after Linda's graduation.

"I miss you too," Paul admitted. "How are things?"

"Not good," Linda said sadly. "I think we're talking days now. It's just a waiting game, isn't it?"

Paul nodded, transported back over ten years to his father's final days. His father, too, had suffered from terminal cancer. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

"No," she said. "Just stay with Beano. Is he okay?"

"He's okay," he said. "Well, I'd better get ready for work. Keep me posted."

"Will do."

"I love you," Paul said.

"I'll speak to you later," Linda answered, and hung up.