Caught up

Chapter 14

Phil ran into the hallway when he heard footsteps. Sam put her bags down on the floor.

"Please don't leave."

"I think it would be best."

"Please stay."

"Don't worry… I'll get a cab from the end of the road."

"No, you don't need to do that."

"Are you going to take me home?"

"No."

"Then if you don't mind moving?"

"No."

"Move!" she shouted at him.

"No!" he shouted louder. "I don't hate you!"

"Just move!"

"I think I love you!"

"Now you've got that off your chest… are you going to move out my way?" she moved to get past and he moved to block her. "Please move!" tears were threatening to overspill. She tried again to get past but Phil still blocked her way. "Please move."

Phil grabbed her arms to stop her.

"No! Just listen to me!" she struggled against him and he shook her. "Just listen to me!" she burst into tears and sobbed into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"No. Please just let me go home."

"I can't. Not now."

"Please." She begged, still crying.

"Why don't we talk about this? Yeah?" she shook her head as he walked her through to lounge. They sat on the sofa and Phil sat at one end and Sam curled up at the other. "What's this about then? I told you I thought I loved you and you flipped." Sam burst into fresh tears. "What's wrong?" he reached for her hand and she jerked away.

"Don't."

"What?"

"Nothing." She wiped her streaked face.

"What is it?"

"It's just that… every person that's said they loved me has hurt me and I can't go through it again."

"I'm sure it's not that bad." He tried but failed to lighten the mood.

"Glenn. Abi's father, the first and if I'm honest the only person I've ever really loved. I found out he was lying to me. He umm… murdered a kid. I was already pregnant and I couldn't have him around her."

"Ok. Go on."

"My parents… they abandoned me when I refused to have an abortion. I only recently got back into contact with them and I still can't look them in the eye. There have been other men in my life that hurt me. Tried to control me and there was one that hit me. I couldn't stay with any of them."

"Oh… I… I didn't know."

"No one does. I've never spoken about it before. Any of it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's hardly your fault is it? I find it really hard to learn to trust people. I don't know who I can trust."

"You can trust me."

He leant in and gave her a tender kiss.

"Phil… I…"

"It's just a kiss. It won't go any further unless you want it to." He leaned closer again and they kissed softly. She felt safe with him, she felt as though she could trust him. She felt as if he didn't want anything from her. He had to admit it felt right…and she was a good kisser.

He slipped his hands round the back of her neck and she did the same. He could feel her chewing his bottom lip gently. He went to undo the top button of her shirt when she stopped him.

"Phil you said it wouldn't go any further."

"You want it to. I know you do."

"I know, but I'm not sure if I can, not yet."

"Ok."

"It's just that until tonight we hated each other, we were at each other's throats all the time and now our tongues down each others throats. It's just moving too quickly."

"I would never hurt you."

"That's the thing. I need to find that out myself."

"One thing I will never forget is a few days ago, the look on your face, when you woke up here. The fear in your eyes when you thought I was going to hurt you… that I was capable of that… that I could ever hurt you."

"I just… you hated me so much… I didn't know if I could trust you."

"I know. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I was awful to you."

"It's ok."

"No… I err… I am sorry. I didn't know how hard you'd had it."

"I didn't want you to know. I didn't want anyone to know. I just wanted to be treated the same as everyone else. It's why I take my job so seriously. And I know this won't change anything when we're back at work, I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this."

"Of course it's going to change things."

"No it won't."

"When people get to know you, they'll understand."

"No. You understand. I don't want anyone talking about my private life; they talk about me enough as it is."

"Sam… antha, I…"

"I think you can call me Sam now." She sensed he was uncomfortable. "You think I can't hear you, when you Debbie and others are talking. I can hear you I just choose to ignore it."

"They don't know you. You're not the person they think you are. You're not the person I thought you were. And now I know you better… I see you're an amazing woman."

"Phil you don't know me that well."

"I know you better than I did." He tilted his head. "Sam… and it's too late now anyway. I've already fallen for you. I just need to know if there's a chance with you."

"Yes of course there is. I just want to take it slow, I want it to become serious, but I need to take it steady."

"I completely understand. Just kiss me."

Sam closed the gap between them and Phil ran his fingers through her hair.

"So… will you stay?"

"Yeah. I need to unpack."

"Ok." Sam kissed him lightly on the cheek and carried her bags upstairs, leaving Phil bewildered. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He was going to prove to her how he felt about her.

Thanks for reading, please review and I will ud soon. Luv Sam xxx