December 2011

It was surprisingly mild for mid December, as people rushed around, desperate to finish their Christmas shopping, before the real rush begun, though it appeared many people had decided to try and beat the crowd this year as the stores seemed more cramped than they usually did at this time of year.

A young woman with thick blonde curls dived out of a clothes store, her hazel eyes had a tiny bit of fear in them, she was so terrified she wouldn't escape the shop without injury. She looked back at the ocean of people, her blonde curls blowing across her face, she could still see her mother, bags in hand, fighting to escape, she bit her lip, maybe she should have waited for her, it looked like it would take her longer to battle her way out due to her heavy load, but her mum was tough, she was sure she would be fine.

A middle aged woman forced herself between two oversized women and almost fell in to the wind, her daughter caught her arm, laughing

"Thanks for the assistance" She said sarcastically

"Oh mum" She was still laughing slightly "You're fine"

"I need a coffee" She grunted

The two of them strolled through the crowded path towards a little café that they both enjoyed going to. The small diner sold all sorts of food, from full English breakfasts to delicious cakes to savoury snacks, plus it was nice to find somewhere that still sold a perfectly good cup of coffee, instead of all the fancy kinds they do now-a-days, sometimes, you just want the basics.

Sat at a table in the far corner, sat another woman, she was a similar age to the young woman out Christmas shopping with her mother. Her hair was the same colour, though it was straighter and thinner than the other girls, and her eyes were blue, not hazel, they also looked like they could use some sleep. She looked up as she heard the young woman's voice...she would recognise it a mile away. It caused her to hide behind her magazine again.

The two young women had been best friends since they were in infant school but due to...circumstances... the blue eyed girl had moved away. She hadn't wanted to move away, but her own mother had forced her, and left her with no way to communicate with anyone, whether that be family, friends...or her boyfriend. She couldn't bump in to the two women now, it had been too long, how on earth would she explain herself...?

"Rosie?!"

Rosanna Hart lay her magazine down on the table as her best friend, Carrie Fletcher, stared at her. She cleared her throat "I go by Rose now..." Her boyfriend had been the only one to ever call her Rose, when she moved away she had insisted on being called Rose, not that she knew many people now "...hey Carrie..." She saw Carrie's mother was looking at her also "...hey Debbie"

Debbie nodded at her as Carrie slid in to the chair beside Rose

"Where have you been?" Carrie asked "You didn't tell us you were going! No word! I thought you would have at least text me..."

"My mum threw me out" She sipped her coffee like it wasn't a big deal

"What? Why?" She didn't give her chance to answer "We were so worried! Me, mum, Tom..."

Carrie carried on talking but Rose was no longer listening, her mind had wandered off to memories of Carrie's older brother Tom, she had to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

He was six years older than her, but at the ages of sixteen and twenty two, they had shared something special. Rose liked to believed that if her mother hadn't thrown her out of the house, she and Tom would be living the plans they had made together...but instead, Tom was engaged to the woman he had been with before her, she had been the other woman, maybe it served her right, getting kicked out of her home, for messing around with another woman's man, though she had known him a lot longer than his fiancé, Giovanna, had. She had been his special girl, until she came along and ruined it all, little did she know that she had still been his special girl that whole time... she doubted she was now. She'd left him with out a word, not that she had had chance to tell him what had happened, he had been in Australia at the time, and by the time he got back, it was too late. She was at a halfway house, waiting for a flat to come up and all her communication tools, such as her mobile phone, computer and even her address book, were gone, and due to her condition, she wasn't allowed out as far as Tom's house, she knew she had lost him.

Rose jumped at the sound of the coffee cups being put on the table by Debbie, though her memories of Tom were still niggling in the back of her mind, she didn't get chance to properly think about him these the days, though he was never off her mind, she had a constant reminder at home...

"So why did your mum throw you out?" Carrie asked again

Rose had to think fast, she couldn't tell her the truth, not here, not in front of her mother, she would rather show her than tell her.

"We had an argument, I'll admit it could have been sorted out, but what she wanted me to do, I refused. So she took all of my most prized possessions, which were also my only way of communicating with people. And she took my address book out of my guitar case so there was no way I could have called you, and dropped me off at a halfway house. A few months later, I'm in a flat on a council estate. I still am. I haven't heard from any of my family since" She shrugged "And strangely, I don't care"

"Where do you live?" She asked

Rose pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down her address and phone number. She couldn't believe she was doing this "Here" She smiled "Come round any time. I'm rarely out. It's only because I had to grab some stuff for Christmas that I'm out today"

"Alright" She smiled back "But I'm busy for a few days so it'll probably be sometime next week? Just before Christmas"

"Sure, that's fine. We're not busy..."

"We're?"

"I meant I'm. I'm not busy"

"I just don't understand why she threw you out..." Debbie's phone vibrated on the table "Oh I better get this... hi Giovanna"

Rose took in a deep breath. She couldn't stand her, she couldn't even stand the thought of her voice being so close! She knew she was being ridiculous but this seemed a good a time as any to leave. She clasped her bags and stood up "I better get going"

Carrie had disappointment etched across her face "So soon?"

"Yeah, sorry. I've got things to do at home, but as I said, visit any time" She pushed her chair in "Bye"

Compared to the warmth of the café, the air outside was freezing, causing her to shiver, or maybe it was the reality of it all. If she hadn't told her mum first, things would be so different. She would still be with Tom, it would all be perfect, but it was far from perfect. She lived in a run down council estate with an old woman for company, with no boyfriend, while Tom lived in a beautiful housing estate with all his friends and family and beautiful fiancé. He wouldn't miss her, she would never cross his mind.

As she approached the tube station, her own cheap and basic mobile rang out. She pulled it out of her jeans pocket "Hey, what's up?"

It wasn't who she thought it would be, someone else was calling on her neighbour's phone

"I'll be home soon sweetie, really soon"