Trying Not To Love You

Part Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty Eight

Sonny hadn’t slept, and in the dark of night with only himself for company his mind was ridiculously over active. Ethan that name haunted him, along with the devastated look on her face as she admitted to missing him. It was the last thing he expected to hear, and he didn’t know what to make of it. The thought of her loving someone else hurt him, and until then he’d honestly thought that she was playing with him, maybe that she didn’t think he was good enough for her, but at no point had he thought that she was leading a double life, that she had someone else. That he was her second choice.

It all made sense now, the fact that she was adamant that she was leaving at some point, that her time here was temporary, her disappearances back to London so frequently, and her sadness, he’d seen that often enough. There was times when he’d seen her so distraught after travelling home. How had he never realised that she was living two lives? And why wasn’t she open and honest with everyone about this Ethan? If he was the love of her life why didn’t she bring him with her? His mind had raced so many times, was he married? Was he someone who she COULDN’T reveal the identity of?

Nothing made sense, but then Martha was like that; since she’d arrived in town she’d been driving him crazy on every level. His reaction to her ramblings just meant that he travelled in circles, rethinking, his mind never letting up, despite his exhausted body. So he’d paced, he’d sat, he’d tried to sleep. But it was no use. Ironically it was almost six am when his eyes finally closed. When he woke there was a commotion coming from downstairs.

In just his jogging bottoms he rubbed his eyes as he entered the kitchen, to see Carl arguing with Martha.

                “Ah, Sonny, you can make her see sense, tell her she had too much to drink last night, there’s no way she can drive to London.”

Sonny shrugged, “you were pretty drunk, it’s a bit of a risk. Can’t you get the train?”

Martha had hoped to avoid him, she couldn’t remember coming home, but had woken up in her bed, Sonny had a knowing look on his face which made her think she’d made a bit of a fool of herself, she didn’t want to think about that, and the last thing she wanted was a dissection of her behaviour from the town tart. She shook her head, thinking like that, being nasty was defensive, and her real fear was that she’d thrown herself at him in lonely desperation. Avoiding him and her family was exactly what she’d planned, and she’d hoped to be in her car heading off to her darling Ethan to lick her wounds, before anyone else woke up. Instead she had to deal with a half naked specimen studying her intently, why did he have to be so overtly sensual? Why was she so attracted to him?

Shaking her head she snapped in anger, “Right! I’ll get the bloody train, and I’m not coming back tonight, the restaurant is closed and you can all look after yourselves, I’m not being your slave today.”

As she stormed out of the room, the two men looked at each other and gave a knowing smile, before Carl added, “women, hey?”

Sonny smiled, Carl was right women were a whole different species,  and he thought he was quite good with them, understood them, but not Martha, she was a bloody enigma, and he was more concerned with finding out what she was up to as her behaviour the last couple of days was out of character. Following her upstairs, he knocked her bedroom door, and when there was no answer he pushed it open. She had her back to him and was rifling through the wardrobe throwing things into a bag that sat at her feet.

                “Martha.”

She froze when she heard his voice. “Leave me alone Carter, I’m not in the mood for this.”