Take Me Anywhere
Summary: It's been two years since Cook left Manchester, still on the run from the law and as desperate as ever to disappear. Everything was simple until he met her; Tess was the definition of the word mayhem. Can he survive in her world or can he pull her into his?
X: Playing Dirty
She hadn't left her flat in days; she was living on takeaways and spending all over her time watching talk show re-runs from the comfort of her lumpy sofa. Tess felt miserable, not only was she avoiding Luke and his calls, but Cook wasn't speaking to her either. She felt bad for hitting him and she desperately wanted to apologise to him, but it seemed like he was never home anymore. She hadn't heard a bit of movement from his flat since she came back and if she was right then he was probably sleeping around and spending nights in other people's houses.
Outside was freezing as she crouched down in the corner, trying to shield herself from the wind so that she could light her cigarette. She heard Cook's back door opening and when she stood up, she lay eyes on him for the first time since their fight. He wouldn't even look at her, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was curious as to why she was here and not with Luke, but he wasn't going to ask her that. Cook was just going to pretend that she wasn't there; it was hard to do especially when he noticed from the corner of his eye that she had moved up to the railing that separated them. She placed one hand on the railing and watched in agony as he ignored her; they had never gone a day without being on good terms and this was torture for her and for him too.
"Cook, I'm sorry for hitting you. I should never have put my hands on you." She watched for a sign that he was going to talk to her, but he just blocked her out. "What happened to Kyle was horrible and you shouldn't have kept it from me, especially when I was living under his roof."
"I was telling you for over a year to leave him, Tess not because I was jealous and not because of my feelings towards you but because of what he was doing to you. Thing that gets me is, you only get mad at him when he's doing it to other people and not you. When he hits you, you probably apologise for pissing him off. You just let him do whatever he wants to you, you've let him away with everything and now he has you wrapped around his little finger. You're a joke, Tess."
"I get that you're angry at me but there's no need to be nasty." Her face screwed up as she tried to keep her tears in her eyes.
"I'm not being nasty, it's the truth. I don't know if it's because you love him or because you're scared of him, but you've become a pushover."
He made eye contact with her which only made her look away from him. Cook couldn't tell if she was hurt because she didn't agree with him or because she knew it was the truth. He didn't like seeing her like this, but she needed to hear it for her own good. She threw her cigarette down and stepped away from the railings as she rubbed her face with the sleeve of her hoodie. He sighed and turned towards her, but she held her hand up, stopping him from climbing over the railing to get at her.
"Don't, you're right with everything that you've said; I love him, but I'm scared of him and all of the things that he does but I'm in too deep." Her head turned to her flat when she heard knocking at her front door. She glanced back at Cook and bit at the skin on her bottom lip. "Just know that I am sorry, and I'll never do that again to you."
He went to say something, but she rushed back into her flat before he had the chance. He tightened his grip on the railing in frustration with himself, if he had have put aside his anger towards that incident in the bar, he could've had her out of Croydon and somewhere safe. He just hoped that he would have another opportunity to get her away from this life.
He stood in the cold with the biggest bouquet that the florist had as he waited for her to open the door. He could hear her move behind it, but she wasn't going to open it. The way she ignored him drove him crazy, he wanted her back with him and he was determined to make it happen.
"Tess, open the door. Please." He pleaded. "Let's talk about this and sort us out." Luke shifted his weight and repositioned the bouquet as he waited patiently. "I'll stand here all night if I have to, T."
She opened the door slowly and peered out at him from the gap, first looking at the flowers and then to him. "Do you think that showing up here with flowers is showing me how sorry you are for what you said or any of the things that you've done?"
"No, but we need to talk about this and fix our relationship. I love you too much to just let you slip through my fingers. Let me in."
"I'll hear you out, but this is the only chance you've got."
"I'll make it count, trust me." When she opened the door a little more, he slipped in through the crack and handed her the flowers. "Do you mind if I make us some tea?"
She shook her head and put the flowers down. She watched him go into her kitchen while she sat on the sofa, her knees pulled right up to her chest. Tess didn't know what was going to happen, he was going to have to say all the right things to win her back.
He came back into the living room and handed a cup to her before sitting down on the other end of the sofa. He didn't take his eyes off her and she was looking everywhere but at him. The silence between the two of them was driving him mad, he didn't want to fight with her, he knew that all of this was his fault, but his anger always took control of him.
"I didn't mean what I said to you the other day, I take full blame for the death of Rutherford and I shouldn't have taken that back just because I was angry. Of course, I know that I made you do it and I regret putting you into that position."
Her eyes roamed towards his face, he could see how much their fight took a toll on her by the dark circles under her eyes and the dullness in her usually bright eyes. He put his head down and brought his cup to his lips.
"What about what happened with Kyle? Are you sorry about beating him up?" her voice was so quiet that he just about heard her.
"I did some thinking that night you left, after I smashed up my house…You were right, I shouldn't have beat him and I've spoke to Kyle and gave him my sincerest apologies, whether he accepts them or not, the ball is in his court."
"You apologised to him?"
He looked at her and nodded. "I made a mistake and I want to show you that I meant it when I said that I would do whatever it takes to get you back."
Tess couldn't help but feel conflicted, she had given Luke so many chances to change and it didn't seem to be working but before things started to go wrong between them, she was genuinely happy with him. When it came to her emotions, he never played fair; Luke knew exactly how to manipulate her, and it worked every time. He watched her as the cogs turned in her head and set his cup on the floor. He got up and walked towards her, crouching in front of her with a remorseful look on his face.
"I hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me for everything that I've done."
"Can you give me some time to think about this? My head is spinning right now." She looked away from him and placed her hand on her forehead.
He placed his hand on her knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Take all the time you need, I'll be at the club if you want to see me." He got onto his feet and petted the top of her head. "I'll see you later, T."
He walked out of her flat feeling confident in himself. He was going to get her back, he knew that he was. As he walked by Cook's flat, fixing his jacket he came face to face with the only person that could take her away from him. His confidence diminished slightly.
"Cook, how're you keeping?"
"Better than Tess is." Cook kept up with Luke as he jogged down the flights of stairs.
"So, you're speaking with her again? The whole club was talking about how she smacked you."
"We're not on the best terms but I can tell by her face that you've messed with her head again."
"Again?" he stopped in his tracks and looked at Cook with a raised brow. "What has Tess told you?"
"She doesn't need to tell me anything for me to notice when something's going on with her. I just know her better than you think."
Luke nodded sceptically and moved towards his car. "Well all I can say is, she's never been pissed off with me enough to hit me." He got into the car before Cook could say another word and sped off. He wasn't going to let him get the last word and he wasn't going to let Cook get her.
She didn't go to the club that night, she hadn't contacted him in days, with everything that Cook said to her still fresh in her mind, Tess knew that she couldn't go running back to Luke, not with everything that he had done to her and Kyle. She knew what she had to do, she had to see if the rumours about Luke were true; was he cheating on her and was he doing it while he was at the snooker hall with his mates?
Any attempt he made to contact her wasn't working; he thought he was making progress with her, but it seemed like he was wrong. He stepped into the snooker hall with a smirk on his face as he greeted his associates, patting each of them on the shoulder before he poured himself a stiff glass of whiskey.
"You're drinking tonight?" One said with a raised brow. "I thought you didn't really drink much anymore since you got that little snack on your arm?"
"You've got to let go sometimes, don't you?" another said as he looked at Luke. "Drink what you want, there's plenty more where that came from."
"What have you got planned, Maxwell?" Luke said suspiciously.
Maxwell snapped his fingers and grinned at the three girls that came out from the back of the room. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself as Luke and Ramone looked over the girls.
"I think I've out done myself this time."
Luke looked at him and shook his head. "You realise that I'm engaged, don't you?"
"And I'm married, what's your point?"
"You're not going to dull this night, are you?" Ramone said as he took one of the girls by the hand. "Didn't think you'd let a bitch take your balls."
Luke glared at Ramone before downing the rest of his drink and pouring himself another. "When's this party starting, then?"
Maxwell shared a grin with Ramone and set up the balls on the table. "That's what I like to hear."
It was nearly two in the morning and from the music coming from the snooker hall, Tess knew that Luke was inside. She took a long drag from her cigarette as she waited for any sign of him coming out; he would usually be at home by this time, so he had to be leaving soon. She waited for almost an hour before she plucked up the courage to walk into the hall. It was so dark and dodgy in the old hall and the smell of stale cigarette smoke filled her lungs, it was everything she was expecting it to be. She could hear cheering and the sound of the balls smacking off each other as she approached the doors. Once she opened them, she felt all the air leave her lungs; Luke had his arms draped around a brunette with the biggest grin on his face as he buried his head into her neck. When he came back up for air, he locked his eyes onto Tess and let go of the girl immediately. She turned around and stormed out of the hall, running across the car park as fast as she could but was quickly chased down by Luke who pushed her against one of the parked cars.
"What are you doing here, T?" he knew he was caught out, but he couldn't let her leave.
"Get off me." She looked away from him and clenched her jaw as tight as she could. "I wanted to sort out our issues but clearly you've moved on."
He placed his hands on her face, trying to make her look at him but she refused to move her head. "Nothing was happening, it was just a bit of fun."
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe you did this, you said you would never do this to me. I can't believe that Frankie was right about you."
He punched the bonnet of the car, just beside her body as he tried to keep his frustration at bay. "Frankie was not right, I wouldn't do that to you. You haven't returned any of my calls in days, T."
"So, it's my fault? If I hadn't have shown up, what would you have done with that girl?" Tess finally found the courage to look him in the eye.
"Nothing, I love you and I told you that I wouldn't cheat on you."
"Well, that looked like cheating to me." She pushed him away from her and walked away from him.
He clenched his fists and followed her towards the street. "Just stop and talk to me."
"I'm done talking to you, we're over Luke. I could've put what happened with Kyle down to your anger management but this, I can't forgive that. I'm not going to let you play me." She waved him off and stared down at the floor as she continued to step away from him.
He jogged up behind her and in a disastrous split-second decision, decided to grip her by the hair. He pulled her close to him and stared down at her as she glared up at him. "I tell you when it's over, I decide when this relationship ends. Got it?" he let her go, pushing her away roughly as he recomposed himself. "Go home and when I'm done here we'll talk about this." He turned on his heel and marched back to the hall, glancing over his shoulder at Tess as she stood there, shocked by the vicious way he grabbed her. He had crossed a line this time.
The moment she got into her flat, she let out all the emotions she had been building up. It was a mixture between a sob and a scream when it finally left her body and as she packed away her things into a suitcase, she took the engagement ring from her finger and threw it against the wall. She ignored the banging at her door and zipped up her bag, dragging it into the front of the flat. When she opened the door, she saw Cook standing there with the concern written all over his face. He noticed the bag and chewed the inside of his cheek.
"What's going on Tess?"
"I'm done here, I'm done with everything. I need to get out of this shithole." She pushed her way out of the flat, pulling the heavy suitcase while slamming the door shut.
"Wait a moment, come into my flat and let's talk about this. You need to calm down before you make a rash decision."
"I'm not making a rash decision." She stepped towards the staircase but stopped before attempting to pull her bag down the flights ahead of her. "He promised me that he wouldn't touch me…" she looked over her shoulder at Cook and swallowed back her need to cry. "Luke and I are over."
Cook didn't know what to say, he had been waiting for this moment for over a year and now that it was here, he didn't know what to do. He could see how upset she was, and he wasn't going to make a move on her while she was like this. He grabbed her bag and nodded towards his flat.
"Let's talk about this before you runaway, we can talk about what I offered you before."
"I'm going to need something stronger than a cup of tea." She said quietly as she walked into his flat, her arms folded as tightly across her chest as she could get them.
When she opened up to him about everything that he did; the way he lost it when Frankie annoyed him, the fight they were having and eventually his infidelity and hair pulling; Cook was ready to end Luke. He noticed his hands shaking with anger and balled them into fists; he couldn't let her see him lose his temper, it would probably scare her.
"It was a stupid idea, you know, leaving this city by myself. If you still want to, I want you to take me out of here."
"Where do you want to go?"
She shrugged a little and rested her head in her hands, face down. "I don't care. Anywhere. As long as it's somewhere Luke can't find me."
"I'll go get my things, then."
When Cook stood up, she looked up at him with the slightest hint of a smile. "You'd just drop everything for me?"
"The only thing that kept me here, was you." He kissed the top of her head and stroked her cheek gently before he stepped into his room to pack up his little belongings.
She pursed her lips and looked at the empty space on her finger, she had surprised herself because she didn't feel the slightest twinge of sadness; she was truly done with Luke and his mind games. When Cook came out of his room, a rucksack slung over his shoulder, she gripped her bag and got onto her feet.
"Are you sure you want to runaway with me?" he looked at her and noticed how calm she seemed to be; to her, his face was comforting.
"Of course, take me anywhere."