Without You

47. She Couldn't Believe It

A/N - Multitudinous apologies for the delay in updating. It's been a rough week and I've had very little time or energy for writing. I managed to get a few thousand words written yesterday, however, so here's the next update for you guys. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story from the start and is still reading, and welcome to those of you who have just joined in. I genuinely appreciate each and every one of you, and I hope that what I'm writing is still interesting and a worthwhile read. Thank you again, and remember, #KindnessOverEverything. 💕

Yawning widely, feeling the stress of the day in the overwhelming exhaustion rapidly overtaking her, Linda shut off her office computer, having just clocked out for the day. She was looking forward to a quiet night in with a hot cuppa, a book, and a relaxing bath. This had been one of those severely testing days which had, at times, made her question her choice of career and her efficacy as a practitioner.

Every time she thought about what had happened earlier in the day, a shiver ran down her spine and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Never in a million years would she ever have thought that she would one day be tasked with trying to talk the Declan Donnelly out of committing suicide. Then again, she never would have thought she would be the Ant McPartlin's counselor in rehab....The random twists and turns of life never failed to surprise her.

But some of today's events had been rather horrific, and if she still drank, she definitely would have been sinking a couple of glasses of wine tonight. She'd given that up years ago, though, so would be resorting to rather more healthy de-stressing techniques. And she couldn't wait to get to her apartment. It had been a long day.

After locking her filing cabinets, Linda took her phone out of her desk drawer – seeing some flashing notifications but deciding they could wait until she was "home" – wrapped her cardigan sweater around her shoulders like a shawl, and walked out of her office, securely locking the door behind her. She'd had far too many well-known clients over the years to risk anyone getting into her office and accessing her files. There was no imagining what the press would do if they knew the half of what some of her clients had confided in her....A leak to the press would certainly result in more than one ruined career. If there was one thing the tabloids were good at, it was at making a mockery of mental health....

As she entered her humble apartment, Linda let out a long sigh of relief. Finally, she could relax. After a brief battle, she decided she probably ought to eat dinner first, even though every fiber of her being was yearning for that hot bath. Quickly changing out of her professional clothes into comfy PJs, Linda tossed her phone on the bed, figuring whoever had texted or called could wait a few more minutes until she had dinner underway.

She was definitely going to be checking in with Ant tonight. Maybe she could do that over dinner before it got too late. She certainly didn't want to risk waking him up, after all. He still wasn't always sleeping too great, she knew that much, and it worried her. Long, lonely nights spent with insomnia were extremely draining, both mentally and physically. It didn't help that he was sharing equal custody of his chocolate lab, Hurley, with his ex, so would be all alone for an entire week at a time. A completely silent house with no one to comfort you or look out for you was a very, very bad thing for someone struggling mentally.

By the time she got to the kitchen, Linda had lost any motivation she'd had to cook something, instead deciding on a frozen meal she could just throw in the microwave for a few minutes. She didn't really feel like going through all the bother of cooking from scratch – cooking wasn't something she enjoyed on a good day, so she definitely was not in the mood after the day she'd had.