The Broken Road (18+)

Chapter 25

Rain was pounding down on me, drenching me to the core. I had been stood outside Troy's house for 10 minutes, in the pouring rain, too afraid to knock. It was a Saturday, so I knew he wouldn't be at work, I just hoped he would be home.

Trembling, I knocked on the door three times. I was freezing cold from the rain, yet it wasn't the reason I was shaking so much. I closed my eyes as I saw his figure approaching through the frosted glass of the window in the door.

'Jenny?' Surprise laced his voice and I opened my eyes slowly to look at him. I didn't realise how much I missed him until he was standing in front of me. 'Jesus, you're soaked, come in, quick.'

Gratefully accepting the warmth of his house, I stepped in the doorway as he closed the door behind me. He stood there, taking me in with his eyes, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

'Come with me, I'll get you a change of clothes.' He smiled, holding a hand out for me. Accepting it, we walked to his bedroom; Troy getting a t-shirt and some joggers out and handing them to me. Taking them, I walked into his en-suite bathroom, and changed quickly, squeezing the water out of my clothes and laying them out to dry on the side of the bath.

When I walked back into Troy's room, I found him sat on the edge of the bed. Sitting beside him, I couldn't look him in the eye, so I watched my fingers fiddle with the hem of my shirt

'I missed you.' I whispered, afraid to meet his eyes.

'I missed you too Jenny. How are you doing?' He asked softly, taking my hand and resting it in my lap.

'I'm... getting better.' I smiled. 'I've been going to therapy. It's helping a lot.'

'I'm glad.' He smiled back. 'Not that I'm complaining, but why are you here?'

'I met Laila last night.' I whispered. Troy tensed beside me, unsure of whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. 'She told me you're meant to be getting married next week and that I should tell you how I feel before it's too late.'

'She did?' Surprise was evident in his voice as he spoke.

'She said that she would try and convince her parents to pull out of the contract, if she knew it would make you happy.'

'Why now?' He shook his head in confusion. 'Why not two months ago when I was begging her to stop it from going ahead?'

'She wanted to know that you would be happy, that your feelings would be reciprocated.' I whispered, looking up and meeting his eyes.

'And are they?' He lifted a hand to my cheek, holding it gently. I nodded, leaning into his touch.

'I am falling in love with you Troy.' I whispered looking deeply into his light eyes. 'I don't want you to marry her.'

'I won't. I love you Jenny.' He said kissing my lips softly. Pulling away, I held back a small whimper at the loss of his touch on my face.

'Wait.' I breathed out. 'I need you to know... I still need time.'

'Time?' He replied, sounding slightly disappointed.

'You need to understand... Ken made me feel so helpless, so vulnerable. It's going to take a long time to feel okay again.'

'I want to help you. I want to be with you on that journey.' He said, rubbing my arms.

'I've been struggling a lot with.. with feeling like I'm a burden. I've been rejecting help because I don't want to depend on someone like I was forced to depend on Ken. It makes me feel trapped.' I explained.

'You're far from a burden, Jenny. I'm here for you because I want to be.' He soothed, echoing words from my therapist. 'Let me be here for you?'

'I want to... but promise we'll take it slow. I need my independence, and everything else has happened so quickly with us... I need time to adjust to how things are now.'