"Jan?" Rachel forced herself to speak through the sobs.
"Hiya kid. What's up?" Janet asked, concerned.
"I told Nick and he completely went off on one, he just walked out and I don't know what to do and… and I'm scared, Janet!" Rachel babbled on for another ten minutes about how she thought that Nick was 'the one' and how he was the only person, apart from Janet, that had been constant in her life.
There was a knock at the door. 'What if it's Nick? He hasn't taken his key with him.' Rachel stood there, frozen, still in the same place that she'd been in when she told Nick the news. She couldn't bring herself to move, she just couldn't. She thought that maybe, somehow, if she stayed in the same place for long enough and didn't accept that Nick was gone, he would come back, apologise, and they could be the happy family that Rachel always wanted them to be. It was stupid, she knew that, but she still needed a slither of hope to hold on to.
"Rach, it's me," Janet spoke through the letter box. "Can you open the door?"
Rachel raced towards her friend's voice, wanting someone to comfort her and to tell her that everything was going to be okay. Janet stood there, still in her work clothes, her big blue eyes looking up at Rachel, sympathy spread across her face. She pulled Rachel into a big hug as she let out a sob.
"I just wanted to be happy, you know, Janet. Is that too much to ask?" Janet took hold of Rachel's shoulders and held her at arm's length, staring up into her big brown eyes.
"No, of course it isn't," Janet replied as she let out a tear. "So are you going to let us in, or are you just gonna leave us here, standing in the doorway?"
" 'Course," Rachel stepped aside to let Janet in, leaving the door on the latch for Nick, if he decided to come back.
Rachel followed Janet into the kitchen and poured them both a drink, wine for Janet and tea for Rachel. It was strange watching her best friend gulp down wine while she was sat drinking tea, it was usually the other way round.
"What if Nick doesn't come back, Janet?" Rachel asked tearfully.
"He has to come back, all his stuff is here!" The response didn't seem to impress Rachel. Seeing the look on her friend's face, Janet continued. "Open you eyes, Rachel! He loves you! And if he doesn't come back, then it's his loss, we'll get you through it!"
"Who's 'we'?" Rachel replied. "There is no 'we', I only have you!"
"Me, Gill, Ade, the girls. Taisie adores you, you're right up there with Lady Gaga!"
Rachel managed to smile at Janet, as if to say thank you. "What would you do if you were me?"
Janet looked down, almost sorry for what she was about to say. "Honestly? I'd wait to see if Nick came back and if he didn't, I'd get rid of it." Tears were falling thick and fast from Janet's eyes now. She thought about how much losing Joshua had hurt her. Aborting a baby that you loved must feel the same. They were still part of you. She didn't want Rachel to have to go through that. "No. You can't get rid of it. We'd make it work somehow. You love this baby, you can't let it go."
Rachel was crying as well now. "I could always move. Move cities, move countries, move continents."
"What?" You can't move to the other side of the world, Rach!" Janet stared at her in disbelief.
"No. You're right. I was thinking London, maybe."
"Rachel, you can't leave Manchester!" Janet became tearful again.
"Why not? Rachel replied. "There's nothing here for me now Janet!"
"You've got me and Ade, Gill, Alison, Kevin!"
"Kevin?!" Rachel replied. "What's Kevin ever done for me?!"
"Nothing, but I know he's got a little bit of a thing for you," Janet smiled smugly.
"Has he?" Rachel sounded shocked.
"Yeah! Have you not seen the way he looks at you?!" Janet couldn't believe that Rachel didn't know.
"You know, I've always liked Kevin, ever since I started in MIT," Rachel confessed.
The front door slammed shut and Nick walked in. "What's this about Kevin, then?"