A/N: Hello you wonderful peoples! First off, let me apologise for the absence. I honestly didn't realize it had been sooooo long since I have updated any of my stories, and for that I am truly sorry :(
So here I am to make it up to you all now, with this!
First of all a major, huge, titanic shout out to mswitsend, who's encouragement and words of wisdom are so appreciated... I don't think she really grasps how much her friendship means... so if for some reason you haven't read Stonem House, you should go do that now!
Also, a shout out to mynameislizzie, who's naomily goodness I'm a bit behind on, but I promise, my friend, I will get caught up ;D If you haven't read Lizzie's stuff, then shame on you all!
Any and all typos/grammatical errors are mine:)
Disclaimer: I broke my glasses the other day and now I'm rocking the geeky/nerd look with the tape on the bridge of my glasses. My mommy made fun of me the other day about it...hmm... Oh, and I don't own Skins. Although the OC's are all mine...they came out of my head and I don't know whether to be proud of that or really, really fucking scared...
Chapter 3: Bruised Hearts
Katie Fitch was a damn fine interior designer. On top of being a damn fine architect as well. Just because she didn't swing a hammer like Emily did, didn't make her any less important. She graduated with honours along with Emily from Uni.
In the month since she found out that her, Emily and their company won the contract for the Stonem Group, Katie had been working with Effy and Naomi on the designs for each house whilst Emily and their crew finished the few projects that they already had going on.
Katie was about to head out the door, when Rob Fitch stepped out of the office and caught her.
"Morning, love." Rob greeted her, giving her a hug and a kiss. "On your way to London?"
"Yeah. Emily should been done with the Brislington site today and then we'll hand everything over to you. Are you okay with that?" Katie asked him with a smile.
Rob smiled at her brightly, feeling a sense of pride in his daughters. "I'm sure the old boys and I will be fine." He chuckled, remembering how the guys reacted all those years ago when he first started bringing the girls with him to work. "We're all so proud of both you girls." He said giving her another hug.
"Thanks, Dad." Katie replied sheepishly, not one to relish in overly emotional displays. "Remember, once the filming starts, you'll have to make appearances."
"I remember, don't worry, love. I haven't lost me marbles yet."
"Are you going to be alright, Dad?" Katie asked, nervously. "It's just that, we'll be gone for a couple weeks at a time, and well...,"
Rob shook his head. "Look, Katie...," he said gently, "I know you're worried about the old man, but I'll be fine." He pulled away, intent on going to the kitchen for some breakfast, when a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Katie?"
She looked up from where she was grabbing her portfolio and bags. "Yeah?"
"What's up with Emsy lately?" He asked her, concerned about his baby girl.
Katie looked away quickly, knowing that it really wasn't her place to tell him, but Jesus, she was tired of having to be the only one dealing with this. Not only did she have to worry about Emily, she also had seen the way it had been effecting Naomi as well.
"Girl problems." Was all she said.
Rob frowned at that, hating the fact that Emily was stuck in a relationship that made her unhappy with a girl that made her unhappy, but he didn't know how to broach the subject with her. This would've been a problem that Jenna could've helped her with.
The thought of his late wife sent a wave of sadness through him. Something he hadn't experienced in a long time.
"Don't worry about Emsy, Dad." Katie said quickly, bringing him out of his head. "She'll be fine, yeah? You know Emily. Always bounces back, she does."
"Oh, I know that, love...it just seems that she's more distracted this time." He said, thinking about the hammer incident. "I don't want her so off her game that she completely damages herself."
"Trust me, Dad. Emily just needs to figure some things out, yeah?" Katie told him, hoping it would reassure him. "Hopefully sooner rather than later." She muttered under her breath. "Alright, I'm off!" She exclaimed quickly, looking at her mobile for the time, as the taxi honked outside.
"Alright. Call me when you get there!" He called after her before the door could close behind her.
He shook his head and went into the kitchen, making a note to have a word with Emily tonight.
Effy watched from the doorway as Naomi sat with her mobile in hand, texting furiously with a smile on her face. This had been a recurring theme since a week after they got back from Bristol.
That weekend ended shortly after Naomi came face to face with Emily's girlfriend. Effy forced Naomi to tell her what was going on, and that's when her best mate spilled every dirty detail of hers and Emily's night together in London. What was really hard for Effy to get over, was the fact that Naomi cried, a lot, whilst she was telling Effy everything.
Effy had never seen Naomi cry over a girl before. But then again, Naomi didn't get attached to any one girl. It was sort of her thing. Love 'em and leave 'em, that was Naomi's motto.
So, for the past month, whenever Emily's name was brought up, Naomi would stiffen slightly and leave the room. Her and Katie noticed it almost right away, but neither one of them said anything about it, choosing to merely stand back and wait for the shit show to start once Emily and her crew came on board full time.
Naomi grinned as her fingers flew over the touchscreen of her mobile, and Effy cringed, knowing who her friend was texting.
Her! The whore of Hackney! Naomi had met Elysse Grainger about a week after Bristol. During that first week, Naomi was shagging just about anything in a skirt, drinking an insane amount of alcohol and reverting back to her fucked up youth.
Until Elysse came along and presented herself to Naomi as a tall, blonde, brown-eyed bombshell.
Effy couldn't help but roll her eyes at how obvious Elysse was when she clocked Naomi standing at the bar of the club Naomi had dragged Effy to. Elysse didn't waste anytime getting cosy with Naomi, until soon enough, Effy couldn't find a trace of either girl.
It wasn't until she entered the loo to freshen up her makeup that Effy found them, exiting the last cubicle, giggling and straightening their clothes.
"Oh, hey, Effs." Naomi squealed drunkenly, red faced. A sure sign that she was drunk and had probably taken a pill of some kind as well.
"Naomi." Effy drawled out, raising one thin eyebrow, smirk affixed as if nothing was wrong. "Having fun, are we?"
"Loads!" Naomi said nodded her head along with her words as Elise giggled again. "We were just talking."
Effy snorted, gracefully, and her smirk ticked upward. "Talking? Hmm...is that what the kids are calling it these days?" She asked quietly.
Naomi could tell that she had pushed her mate a bit too far, as Effy kept her gaze on her. "Um...well...," she stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"Nai," Elysse whined, causing Naomi to cringe and Effy to glare at her, but she was too wasted to notice, "I thought we were going back to my place?"
"I think it's well past time for Naomi to get home," Effy said, turning her eyes back to Naomi's, "don't you think, Nai? We do have an early start in the morning."
Naomi nodded, as she pulled away from the tall blonde, intent on following Effy out of the bathroom.
"But, Nai! You said we could spend the night together?" Elysse cried out.
Effy ground her teeth together, shooting a look toward Naomi telling her to stay put, and she walked back to the blonde. "Give me your number. If she wants to call you she will, got it?"
Elysse was on the verge of saying something, but the look Effy shot her told her it would be a big mistake. "Whatever." Elysse gave Effy the number and silently watched as Effy led Naomi out of the loo.
Effy could only shake her head as she watched Naomi. She had been tempted to forget the number and not give it to Naomi, but once Naomi sobered up, she begged and pleaded for it, to the point where Effy gave it to her just to shut her up.
She didn't know that Naomi's hookup would lead to this.
"Who you texting?" Effy asked, as she pushed herself away from the doorjamb and walked into the room.
Naomi looked up and smiled. "Elysse. She's bored at work and is asking if I can come round and fix that." She explained with a chuckle.
"Naomi, what are you doing with her?" Effy sighed.
Naomi looked back up and frowned. "What do you mean? I like her, Effs."
Effy shook her head and sighed. "I almost wished you were shagging Sophia." She mumbled quietly.
"What?"
"C'mon, Nai. Everyone knows about her reputation." Effy said, talking about Elysse again. "A month ago, you wouldn't have been caught dead with her, and now you're, what? In a relationship?"
Naomi shrugged, sent off one last text, and then put her mobile away. "Look, Effy. I have to grow up sometime, don't I? So Elysse got around in the past, so did I, it's not a big deal. I have fun with her, she's good in bed and she's not hard to look at."
"Just good in bed? Because if I'm not mistaken, you said Emi-,"
"Don't!" Naomi cut her off, her gaze hard and her nostrils flared out, showing her anger. "You promised that you wouldn't bring her up."
Effy felt chastened like a schoolgirl. "You're right, Naomi. l'm sorry, but it's something you're going to have to deal with, yeah? Next week we start filming and you and I both know that you'll be working side by side with her."
Naomi was about to comment, when a knock on the door stopped her. She should have payed attention to the time, but she didn't and when she looked over to see who was knocking, her heart thumped hard in her chest as she saw soft brown eyes.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
'It's only Katie...just Katie. Not her.' Naomi thought to herself as she willed her heart to slow down, but she didn't know whether to be glad about the fact that it was just Katie or to be sad about it.
"Not at all, Katie. Come on in." Effy greeted her with a smile.
"Good morning, Naomi." Katie said as she stepped into the room and took a seat next to the blonde.
"I'm...uh...yeah, I'm good." Naomi stumbled her way back to reality, as Katie smiled at her. She had been lost in thought when Katie first walked into the room, remembering that Katie and her were twins. Twins who kind of looked alike, but were different, unless Katie turned just the right way, and smiled slightly. And then Naomi could feel herself choking with an emotion she didn't have a name for. So she looked away so it didn't hurt so much. "Yeah...I'm great. Can we get started please?" Naomi clarified, knowing that it sounded rude, but unable to help it.
"Of course." Katie replied, as she pulled out the last of the designs that her and Emily had worked on. "This is the last of it. Every house is designed to fit in with each location. Naomi, I figured we'll head over and inspect the buildings already at each one, see if they need to be demolished so we can start from scratch or if we can use the existing foundations and just renovate."
"Yeah. Sounds good." Naomi made notes in her journal, doing her best to keep herself distracted with work. "We can start with the two closest locations today, but I've got to be back by seven. And then we're free to do as many as we can until Wednesday afternoon." Katie and Effy looked at each other before turning a questioning gaze to Naomi.
"What's happening on Wednesday?" Effy asked, unaware of any plans Naomi had.
"Mum's coming home on Wednesday, Effs." Naomi said. "I told you last week that she had dealt with everything and wanted to come home."
Effy felt sad all of a sudden as she thought of Naomi's mum, Gina. "Right, you did tell me." Effy told her, reaching over to grip her hand in a show of support. "How's she doing?"
"She's fine. Really, Effs." Naomi smiled a small smile as she thought about her mum. "You know Gina, can't keep her down for long."
"I'm sorry, but should I leave?" Katie asked sheepishly, which was uncharacteristic of her, but she felt that whatever they were talking about should be private. "It just seems like a private conversation."
Naomi shook her head. "No...no, sorry. I should tell you, you're bound to find out anyway. My mum is moving back to London from Ireland."
"Oh, that's nice." Katie smiled wistfully, as she thought about her own mother.
"My dad died, well my stepdad actually, about two years ago and she wanted to start fresh, ya know? Too many memories for her, being there in the home they shared." Naomi explained, then added with a smile, "And I don't want her to be there all alone."
Katie sat up straighter in her seat upon hearing Naomi's words. "I'm so sorry, Nai."
Naomi shrugged, but she couldn't help remembering her dad. "It's alright, Katie. It was a blessing, if I'm being honest." She told the older twin. "He had been sick with cancer for years, and about two years before he passed, he told my mum that he wanted to die in the land of his forefathers. The sentimental Irish bastard." She laughed, talking about him for the first time since he passed, without wanting to cry.
Effy smiled as she watched her friend open up about her mum and dad. She remembered how hard Naomi reacted over losing Kieran and rightly so. He was a good man and he took on another man's child and raised her as his own. Effy remembered when Gina and Kieran moved to Ireland. Her friend was sad for months, until she was able to get a break from school to go and visit them.
She looked up from her desk to find Naomi and Katie talking quietly. "So ladies, shall we get to work?"
They all agreed and gathered up their things and headed out of Naomi's office, on their way to check out the first house on the list for renovation.
**PING**
"Fucking hell!" Emily cried out in frustration when her mobile alerted her to an incoming text.
"Wot?" Cook looked over in confusion.
Emily, Cook and Freddie were finishing the house in Brislington and they would've been done ages ago, but she kept getting interrupted.
"Georgie!" Emily informed him, holding up her mobile. "Again!"
"Like fucking clockwork." Freddie said, shaking his head, as he went back to screwing a light fixture into place. "Why do you put up with that, Emsy?"
Emily shrugged, but stayed silent. Only because she didn't really know how to answer that question without making herself sound pathetic. The only reason she could really think of was because Georgina was safe? Or just maybe because she wasn't good with change?
"Ya know wot I think?" Cook called out from the bathroom he was standing in, where he was installing outlet covers, breaking her from her thoughts. "I don't think you should've jumped into a relationship wiv her, not after wot happened wiv Felic-,"
"Cook!" Freddie cut him off, quickly.
"Wot?" He asked stepping out of the small room, giving Freddie a confused look. "We all know she didn't allow herself to get back out there after that bitch!"
Freddie just shook his head in reply, knowing that Cook could be insensitive at times. "We promised to never say that name again, remember?"
Emily stood up from her spot on the floor and sighed to remind them both that she was still in the room. "It's alright, Freds." She shrugged her shoulders, as she stepped around him to look at Cook. "You're right, I know you're right, but it just happened."
"Just like London happened?" Freddie asked, a smirk on his face as Emily's face turned red.
"London was a mistake, Freddie. It shouldn't have happened." Almost regretting her decision to tell them all about what happened with Naomi.
Cook and Freddie looked at each other, the doubt showing, then they both looked at Emily.
"I'm not buying that load of shit!" Cook exclaimed, shaking his head.
"What?" Emily asked, her voice more husky than normal due to the fact that she was shocked that Cook was calling her out on her shit. "It's true."
"I don't know who yer tryin' to convince, Emsy, us or you," he replied grinning, "but you forget, princess, we was in that same club, watchin' you two and I don't know 'bout Freds here, but I've never seen you look at Georgie like that!"
She looked at Freddie, hoping that he would back her up, but her shoulders sagged when she saw that he was silently agreeing with Cook.
"I have too looked at Georgie like that." She said, but it sounded unconvincing. "Can we finish up here, please? We need to get all our equipment together and loaded up."
Freddie and Cook chuckled as they finished up. Once they installed all the outlet covers and did a final inspection through the finished house, they locked up and gathered their tools, making sure they had everything. One their way back to the office, Emily lost herself in the past, wondering if Cook was right.
Emily had known for some time that she was gay, but she was scared to say anything.
Until university. Until Felicity Hintz.
Emily had met Felicity the second week of uni, when they were in the same calculus and physics classes together. She was instantly attracted to the other girl's dark looks and intelligence. They had paired up for studying and after a few months, Felicity made Emily feel comfortable enough to admit that she was a lesbian. Once she told the other girl her secret, Felicity had decided that she would help Emily come out in style.
They started hitting up gay bars and clubs, and it didn't hurt that Felicity had been out for a few years herself, because she started introducing Emily to friends of hers. She had even helped Emily to come out to Katie, both of them knowing that the older twin wouldn't handle it so well.
By the second year of uni, Katie had accepted the fact that her sister was a muffmuncher and Emily had fallen hard for Felicity, so she plucked up the courage to tell her. They started seeing each other regularly and Emily felt for sure it was real. She had even taken Felicity home to meet her dad, despite Katie not liking her.
Emily was so sure that Felicity was the one, that she let Felicity take her virginity one night after they had gone to dinner and then out to a club. She had been ready to find out what the big deal was and wanted to share it with Felicity. And in Emily's mind, sex with her girlfriend was the greatest thing ever, so Emily initiated it whenever she could.
She was so happy and content with her life, that she didn't even notice when the first cracks started to appear. It started off as a simple argument over dirty dishes, in Emily and Katie's flat.
Emily had started working for a friend of her dad's on a construction crew during that same time, on top of a full course load at uni. There were days when she could barely get out of bed, she was so tired.
Felicity complained about the lack of attention, but Emily insisted it was for their future together and that seemed to appease the other girl until, on a rare day off for Emily, Felicity had snuck over to spend some alone time with her, knowing that Katie had gone home for the weekend.
Her plan was to make Emily a nice lunch and then maybe some quality time in the bedroom, but when she stepped into the flat's tiny kitchen, Felicity looked at the state of the room and immediately went into a rage.
Emily was awakened by an angry Felicity throwing dishes around, banging pots and pans together. She groggily stumbled out into the kitchen to find her girlfriend furiously cleaning.
"Honey, what are you doing here?" Emily asked, her voice still husky with sleep and a lazy smile on her face.
Felicity turned to glare at her. "Well, honey, I thought I'd surprise you with lunch, but how can I cook when it's a fucking mess in here? Seriously, Emsy...you're supposed to be an adult! You should really start acting like it!"
The tone of Felicity's voice and the words she was shouting were enough to throw Emily off balance for a few seconds. She had never spoken this way to Emily before, so it was different to say the least. But the shock only lasted for a few more moments, when Felicity went to throw something in the rubbish bin next to Emily, and it hit her instead of the container.
"What the fuck, Fee?" Emily cried out, rubbing the spot where she had been hit.
"If it had been taken care of before now, you wouldn't have been hit with it, right?" Felicity questioned, not even the slightest remorseful about the way she was acting. "You know what? Fuck this, Emily! I didn't come over here to be your fucking maid!"
"No one asked you to be my maid, Fee! What the fuck is happening here?" Emily shouted out as she watched her girlfriend head toward the door.
"What's happening here is that I'm finding out my girlfriend, who I thought was an adult is in fact still a child that can't clean after herself!" Felicity snapped at her while opening the door.
Emily's heart was thumping hard against her rib cage. "That's not fair, Felicity! You know that Katie and I have been working full time, plus going to classes!" She yelled back, feeling tears brimming over to spill down her cheeks, as anger and humiliation warred with each other.
"Call me when you've grown up!" Felicity shouted, slamming the door behind her, leaving Emily alone and devastated.
Emily was quickly brought back to the present when Cook dug his elbow into her side. "What?" She asked, blinking rapidly trying to focus.
"Are you gonna sit in here all night or are ya gonna come inside?" He asked her, as she looked around and noticed that they were at the office. "What were ya thinkin bout?"
Emily shook her head, as if to shake away the past. "Nothing. C'mon, lets go and get everything together."
Emily rushed past her friend into the office and prepared to deal with something simple, like making sure she had her tool belt.
"Katie, whatdya think about this one?" Naomi asked the older twin as they walked around one of the properties the Stonem Group had purchased.
Katie stopped inspecting the foundation and turned toward the blonde. "This one would be a renovation." She stated in a matter of fact tone, making a note on her clipboard.
"Are you sure?" Naomi eyed the house, doubting that it would last much longer. "It looks like it'd fall down if I breathed on it too hard."
Katie laughed out loud, shaking her head. "Nai, you have to look at the foundations." She said as she pointed toward the ground. "Look here and along here?"
Naomi followed the twin as they walked around the house. "Okay?" She asked, no really sure what she was looking at.
Katie rolled her eyes at the blonde, chuckling as she saw Effy walking back up the street. "See where the concrete meets the siding?" Naomi nodded and Katie smiled. "There's no cracking. That means the foundation is solid and we can just work with what's here, yeah?"
"But you gave us designs for every house?" Naomi questioned, still confused.
"Emily said it was a back up, just in case." Katie explained, not missing the flinch from Naomi when her sister was mention, but she chose to ignore. "That way we weren't left scrambling when it came time for each job."
"Okay."
Naomi replied, more subdued, causing Katie to sigh. "Look, Nai...Emily's not perfect, yeah?" Katie said, wanting to clarify that her sister was a good person.
Naomi quickly brought her eyes up to stare at the older twin in surprise. "What?"
"We're not supposed to talk about her." Effy drawled with a smirk affixed on her face, as she finally came back from talking to Gerald and her mum. "Isn't that right, Naomi?"
Naomi shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot under the gaze of Effy and Katie. "Whatever." She mumbled.
"Look, like I said, Emsy's not perfect. She...makes mistakes sometimes, yeah?"
Naomi scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, so you're calling me a mistake, thanks, Katiekins."
"That's not what I meant," Katie replied, feeling her face flush in embarrassment, "I'm just trying to say that you shouldn't judge her, okay? Yes, she slept with you and yes, she has a girlfriend and technically that makes her a cheater, but...,"
"But what, Katie? It's okay for her to lead me on?" Naomi felt herself getting emotional, she could almost hear it in her voice, and she knew she had to change the subject. "Ya know what? Never mind. Don't answer that, because I just don't care."
Katie and Effy exchanged a knowing look, before the twin turned back to Naomi. "Of course you don't, but I'm just wondering if the two of you will be able to work together? I know that she can be frustrating to deal with."
"I know how to be professional, Katie. As long as your sister can keep it in her pants, we'll be sorted, yeah?" Naomi spat out, annoyed with herself and the conversation. She looked at her mobile to check the time, noticing that it was almost time to meet up with Elysse. "Are we done here? I've got a date."
Katie nodded and Effy smirked, as Naomi turned and headed toward her car, leaving the two girls to watch her go.
"C'mon, Kay, I'll buy you dinner and we can discuss how watching my best mate and your sister is gonna be the best entertainment we'll have in years."
Katie laughed, agreeing with a nod of her head and followed Effy down the street to her car. "It will be very interesting to see what happens."
Well? Review and let me know what you think...I know it's kind of a filler, but I do have a plan for this and I won't wait so long to post the next chapter... Also, I am working on TBWITB and YBHMHAA, and seeing as how the Christmas season is upon us once again... you all know what that means!
Yes! An update for The Naomily Clause! I will be updating that with in the next week or so, so fear not my friends...I have not, nor will I ever abandon these stories or the fandom...
Love to each and every one of you:)