Hi everyone, here's today's chapter! Hope you enjoy, thanks for the reviews on my last chapter, please let me know you're thoughts on this one, Kayxxx :)
Hope you all enjoy Casualty tonight :D
Chapter Seven - Regrets
Ethan and Thomas had fallen asleep in front of the TV within half an hour of being home. Cal had insisted on taking Sophia to her house to pick up some clean clothes for her and Thomas, this was something Ethan had promised but he was currently exhausted, so his brother stepped up to the job.
"Thanks for this Caleb" Sophia smiled as she sat in the passenger's seat looking out of the window.
"No worries" Cal replied.
"My car should be out the garage by tomorrow so you won't have to play taxi after that" she smiled.
"Don't worry about it"
"So..." He spoke awkwardly, "Thomas is a good kid"
"Yes he's a credit" she smiled.
"...why was it that you never told Ethan that he had a son? Is there a reason or..?" He spat out.
"It's complicated" She replied.
"Sophia this is me you're talking to, I'm not one of the people you meet who ask where Thomas' father is and you don't know where to start so you just say "it's complicated", it's me Soph, you can talk to me" he replied sincerely.
"...Ethan told me he was moving down to London for a new job, he asked me to go with him but I didn't want to go with him because, well, I wanted to stay closer to home. We spent the night together before he left and a few weeks after he left I found out I was pregnant" she paused for a moment to examine Cal's facial expression, he gave her an encouraging nod and she continued.
"I phoned him up and we planned to meet, I didn't tell him about the pregnancy then, I was going to tell him when I met up with him you know, face to face, so I got the train down to London to meet him and he texted me saying "something important has come up" and that he "couldn't make it"." She paused again as she had tears building in her eyes. "Caleb there was a time when I was the most important thing to him, and I know that makes me sound so pathetic and selfish but I thought if something was more important than us meeting up then I obviously wasn't as important to him as I thought. Please bear in mind that I was completely overrun with pregnancy hormones at the time. I drove myself crazy thinking of all the possibilities when he cancelled and the only thing that hurt me was the thought that he'd found someone new and was living his life happily whilst I carried his baby. He never tried to get in touch with me again and so I thought that's what it must have been, he must have began his new life. It wasn't until last year he called me randomly and told me everything, the reason he cancelled that day was because his mother had taken a turn for the worse and he had to go back home to look after her and that he ended up staying with her until she died last year, I felt like shit Caleb. I'd lived the last five years of my life believing some lie I'd made up in my own head. I regret everything, not going down to London with him being the main one by far" She sighed, looking down ashamed.
"What so you just assumed something and hated him for it?" Cal snapped defensively.
"Hated him? Caleb, I loved him, I still love him. I love him so much that I could never bring myself to give as much love to a person as I did Ethan, except for Thomas of course" she replied.
"What, you love him?" Cal spoke in realisation.
"I always have" she smiled wondrously.
"Well he loves you, obviously, God he loves you and-and Thomas he loves you both, you should move in, start at proper life together as a family or even, make more family! You should get married and then-"
Sophia cut his fantasy rambling off, "Cal stop" she chuckled.
"Why? You love him, he loves you, and you're perfect for each other! All I want is for you both to be happy and for you both to be happy...together is the best possible way I could ever imagine that happening Soph" he continued.
"Third one on the right" Sophia spoke pointing out the window.
"What?" Cal asked confused.
"My house" she smiled.
"Oh yeah, of course" Cal replied as he pulled up outside. He had gotten too lost in his own thoughts that he'd forgotten the reason he was driving in the first place.
"I won't be long" she smiled as she took off her seatbelt.
"Don't you want any help?" He called.
"No! You-you stay here, I only need to grab a few things" she spoke frantically and hurried in, she didn't want Cal going with her as she had no idea if the house was empty or not.
She entered her house to find it in darkness; it must be empty thank God. She began to stuff as much as she could into her bags, her clothes, Thomas' clothes, toothbrushes, some of his favourite toys, anything! Just as she was done and ready to leave the kitchen light switched on "oh God" she called in shock. She was greeted by a man who sat at the table nursing a can of beer. This man had black straggly hair which matched the colour of the stubble on his troubled face "God Callum you scared me half to death then" she chuckled.
"Where have you been?" He spoke firmly in his deep and raspy voice, ignoring her attempt of a joke.
"What do you mean?" She asked acting oblivious.
"Don't act dumb with me Sophia" he yelled angrily as he threw his can across the room. "Where did you stay last night?" He urged.
"A-at a friend's" she stuttered with fright.
"A friend's?" He asked as he drunkenly stumbled his way towards her "what friend?" He slurred as he stopped just before her, brushing away a piece of hair from her face with his finger.
She pulled her face away from him in disgust as she desperately searched for a girl's name, ANY GIRL'S NAME. "Rita" she spat out, "she hasn't been well and so I offered to stay with her to help her round the house a bit until she's back on her feet" she rambled.
"Why have you took the kid?" He continued.
"Thomas" she corrected him firmly, "they get on really well and I wouldn't leave him here alone anyway" she replied.
"He wouldn't be alone" he whispered, she turned quickly and ran for the front door pulling it open slightly, "he'd be with me" he yelled as he chased after her, grabbing her arm away from the door handle.
"Exactly!" she spat out angrily. He spun her round and pushed her hard against the door causing it to slam closed. She winced in pain as she hit it and looked at him with frightened eyes.
"I'm sorry" he whispered as he rested his head against her shoulder, still with a tight grip on her arms.
"You said you wouldn't do it again" she spoke as tears trickled down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry" he repeated shaking his head.
"Just off me Callum" she ordered.
"I promise you I won't hurt you again Sophia, I won't" he pleaded.
"Maybe I won't give you the chance to, I might not ever come back" she replied as he released his grip on her.
"Where did you really stay?" He asked.
There was a sudden knock on the door with startled them both. Sophia's heart plummeted
"Go away Callum" she whispered, "unless you want me to tell whoever's behind this door what you do to me then-" he walked away.
She grabbed her bags, wiped her tears from her face, took a deep breath and opened the door to find Cal stood on the step with his hands in his pockets. She quickly left and shut the door behind her before he could see inside.
"Is everything okay?" He asked as he took the bags from her and put them in the boot of the car.
"Yep" she smiled as she took a seat in the passenger's seat.
"I heard the door slam" Cal explained as he sat in the driver's seat.
"Must've been the wind" she smiled looking down; she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him.
"Or Callum?" He looked at her knowing.
She looked up at him suddenly, "how do you-"
"Thomas" he replied.
She looked at him for a moment and then held her head back down again, "it was the wind" she whispered.
"Soph I'm here for you, you know that right?" He whispered as he gently laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, which caused her to jump with fright.
"Just drive" she whispered.
"Has he hurt you?" Cal snapped looking over his shoulder at her house, he frantically fiddled to undo his seatbelt "I'll sort him out" he threatened.
"No Cal please" she begged stopping him in his tracks, "I'm fine, I promise you, he doesn't hurt me he's my friend, he's just drunk that's all" she smiled reassuringly, Cal looked at her warily.
"Please, let's just go home, I want to see Thomas I've barely seen him all day" She pleaded.
Cal sighed deeply, for some reason he let this slip though it felt like the completely wrong thing to do. Something was obviously wrong, but he turned the key and they began the journey home.
