One.
Present Day.
Seventeen minutes past eleven. Robert was already two hours later than he normally would be. Usually Courtney would have gone to bed if he was working late, or even been working late herself, but he hadn't called to say he wouldn't be home so she was getting worried.
Should I call? she wondered as another minute ticked by. No, he hates it when I worry. They'd been married for almost three years already but Courtney still felt insecure in their relationship, like she wasn't always in control. And she wasn't, since situations such as this were a regular occurrence lately.
Thirty two minutes past eleven and Robert finally walked through the door, closing it quietly and jumping when he saw his wife sitting on the staircase waiting for him.
"I didn't think you'd still be awake," he said simply. Courtney gave him a small smile.
"I wondered why you weren't home. I was worried about you," Courtney replied softly. Robert sighed as he placed his briefcase down and took off his coat.
"I was working, I thought you'd know that," he told her. "You know I hate it when you worry."
"Well you didn't call to tell me what you were doing like you usually do," she said angrily, standing up on the stairs and folding her arms.
"Come now, there's no need to snap," Robert said sternly, as if he were a father and she were a spoilt child. It almost was that way, with the fifteen year age gap between them. "Why don't we go up to bed and have a mature conversation about it tomorrow, when we aren't tired."
Courtney scoffed. "Why don't we have a mature conversation about it now and you can tell me where you were and why you've come home late every Friday night for eight weeks?" she retorted, raising her voice. She could feel tears forming in her eyes but she was determined not to cry, not to seem weak. Robert had never seen her cry and he wasn't going to now.
"I have an important case to work on, you know that!" Robert responded, matching his pitch with hers.
"You always do," she said coldly. She wanted to continue the argument, to press him for information, but now wasn't the time. She was tired and sure to say something she regretted if she didn't sleep on it. "I'm going to bed. Join me when you've cooled off." Courtney stormed up the stairs and could hear him muttering something about how she was the one who needed to cool off, but she ignored his childish murmuring and went up to bed. Robert joined her not long after.
"I love you," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek and rolling over on his side of the bed.
"I love you too," she replied, the tears finally falling down her face as she wondered if he really loved her, the way she had been loved once before.
Past.
"Okay, okay, last one," Bridgette giggled, searching the crowd for inspiration for their game. It was lunch time, and Heather, Bridgette and Courtney were sitting on the grass playing "bang, marry and kill" using other students from their year level. "Bang, marry, kill: Justin, Harold and Duncan. Go."
Heather and Bridgette leaned in to Courtney as she groaned, her face going red. They both knew about Courtney's crush on Justin (and really, who didn't have a crush on Justin, at least for a little while), but it was Duncan they were interested to hear about.
"Okay, well obviously marry Justin..." Courtney replied hesitantly. "Or maybe... No wait..." Heather and Bridgette laughed uncontrollably as they watched their friend struggle.
"Be careful what you say next!" Heather advised, a massive grin on her face.
"Um, well I think I'd kill... Harold? I guess... I wouldn't exactly want to bang him, ew. And the thought of marrying anyone who talks so much about Japanese pop culture is just repulsive," she muttered as she bit her lip in thought.
"So... You'd bang Duncan?" Bridgette prompted, trying to stifle her laughter.
"I never said that!" Courtney protested.
"Well you said you'd marry Justin and kill Harold, so..." Heather reminded her. Courtney sighed.
"Okay, I guess," she admitted. "I'd bang Duncan."
"Woah, buy me dinner first, Princess!" a familiar voice chuckled from behind her. Bridgette and Heather made no attempt to hide their laughter this time as Courtney's face went bright red and she turned around to see the familiar smirk of Duncan.
"We were playing a game, jerk face," Courtney snapped, trying and failing to hide her embarrassment.
"Whatever you say sweet cheeks," Duncan replied calmly. "But hey if you're still keen I knock off at the record shop at five. You're shout, since I'm sure your daddy can afford it."
Courtney scowled. "You can keep my daddy - I mean, my father - out of this," she said sharply. Duncan laughed.
"Okay Princess, we won't bring up your old man. But you've been blushing for the past five minutes so it's pretty clear you like me," he smirked.
"Ugh, please!" Courtney snorted. "The fact that you think that my embarrassment over a silly game means that I am interested in you in any way is laughable. Obviously I don't like you, I like... myself." She stopped herself before she could reveal her crush on Justin.
"I know you do Princess," Duncan said with a sigh. "So I'll see you at five. Don't be late." He walked off with one last wink at Courtney, her jaw dropping in disgust. She wasn't entirely sure if he was serious or not but she had no intention of going either way. She had violin practise after school and strict parents who demanded she come straight home after, to ensure she had maximum study time.
"It's going to be so awkward at your lesson tonight," Bridgette said to Courtney, after Duncan had walked off. Courtney furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Why?" she asked. Heather and Bridgette didn't answer but instead waited for it to dawn on her.
Lessons were out the back of the record shop.
Okay so new story, whoo! I'm not really sure how long this story will be, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get a few chapters out of it. And I would love to hear any suggestions for what you think should happen next, especially in the "present day" scenes, since I pretty much have the "past" bits planned out already. Thanks for reading, I hope you like it!