She slammed the door deliberately as she walked back into the flat, just to wind them up. She was tired and grumpy, and still covered in grime from the desert that would probably never come off, the last thing she needed were her bloody parents to start. Whatever her Mum had said to Charles was way out of line- if she'd stayed and waited for them to pick her up she'd still be standing there like a mug now, they could've at least said thank you, rather than kicking him out before he could even drink his coffee.
"Don't slam that bloody door Molly, for God's sake!" Dave shouted as she stormed back in. She didn't even stop to acknowledge him, flying straight through into the kitchen.
"What the hell did you say to him?!" She demanded, coming to an abrupt halt as she almost collided with her Mum in the doorway.
"Who?" Belinda asked innocently.
"Don't you give me that crap!" Molly snapped. "You bloody know I'm talking about Charles! You dragged him in here and then all of a sudden he had to leave? Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that's a coincidence?"
"I don't want to see you end up getting hurt again Molly, I'm only thinking of you!" Belinda argued.
"So you did say something to him then!"
"I…" Belinda looked as though she might lose the ability to speak for a moment. "I just asked him what his intentions were. He just stood back and let you go back to Artan Molly, he should've been looking out for you and instead he almost let you get killed. You deserve better than that!"
Molly snorted with laughter. "I've not even known him a year, Artan's been beating the crap out of me for years- something which you never noticed, or if you did you didn't bloody bother to do anything did you! I don't really see how you can judge Charles, he did his best to try and help me even though I made it difficult for him. You and Dad were trying to convince me to marry Artan last time I saw you, so I think you ought to get down off that high horse."
"We didn't know!" Belinda argued. "Don't you think we would've done something?"
"You didn't want to know!" Molly shot back. "If you'd actually opened your eyes and looked you would've seen what he was like- he didn't exactly hide it. But, unlike Charles, you two never actually took the time to ask. If anything, you should be thanking Charles because if it wasn't for him I'd probably still be with Artan now!"
"Molly-" Belinda started, but she was too late, Molly was already heading for the front door again, the door rattling in the frame and shaking the entire house as she slammed it behind her.
She wasn't sure how long she'd been walking, when she eventually realised she was still in her uniform, and people were giving her some strange looks. She kept walking, if she went back home any time soon there was a real danger she was going to lose it with Belinda completely, and that was going to make staying there more than a bit uncomfortable. She hadn't been expecting anything like that from her Mum, if anyone was going to be a bit of a twat it was usually her Dad, but her Mum seemed determined to blame Charles for what had happened with Artan, no matter how ridiculous it seemed.
She eventually stopped walking, sitting down on a bench beside the river and just watching as everyone walked past- all of them in a hurry to get somewhere. She'dd forgotten all about how busy and chaotic London could be- it was about as far as she could get from the mountains of Afghanistan. She was missing it already and she hadn't even been back a day. It was something no one else in her family had ever been able to wrap their head around- she loved being out there.
As she sat there, people watching and trying to decide what she was going to do with her life, her phone rang.
"Hello?" She had a good idea who this was going to be.
"Hi." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"You got home quick." She commented.
"Ah I'm not there yet, but I was bored of driving so I thought maybe you could keep me company?"
"You do know it's illegal for you to use your phone and drive right?" She asked. "Not sure that would go down well with the army."
He laughed quietly, and it made her wish she was sat in the passenger seat beside him. " It's called hands free Dawes, I do enjoy talking to you, but not enough to make me want to break the law."
She laughed. "So, you enjoy talking to me hey?" She was grinning into the phone. Why hadn't she just gone back to Bath with him, she missed him already.
"I know, I must be losing it. All that time spent with two section, they've finally driven me mad." She could picture him now, smiling to himself as he was driving, that mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I dunno, might be a touch of dementia, what with your age and that." She joked.
"Bloody charming!" He laughed. "I drive all the way to come and get you, and this his how I get repaid!"
She laughed quietly. "Well, you did walk into that one. But seriously, thank you, I'd still be standing there on my own like a right idiot if it wasn't for you."
"Well, we can't have that now Dawesey." He smiled. "Now you'll have to come up to Bath so you can buy my a pint to say thank you."
"I would've bought you a pint tonight, but my bloody Mum had to ruin it." She grumbled. "I'm sorry about her, you should've just told her to shut up, they're both full of shit and sometimes you just have to remind them."
"It's okay, she's upset and worried about you." He shrugged. "I can't say I blame her, and anyway I'm sure you went back and set her straight."
"Guilty." She felt her cheeks flush. "I might've gone in, told her what I thought and then very dramatically stormed out." She heard him laugh quietly on the other end of the phone.
"I thought you might do something like that. Is this the point you tell me that I've got to turn around and drive all the way back to get you?" He would go back and get her if she asked, without hesitation. He wished he could've just taken her back to Bath with him in the first place. He missed her again already.
She shook her head. "Not yet, give it a few hours and then I might be ringing you again." She laughed. "You haven't met my Dad when he's had a skinfull, that's where the real arguments start."
Charles cringed. He had only met her Dad a couple of times, but he could definitely imagine him and Molly clashing once they'd had a couple of drinks. "Well, you could always come up here if you don't want to go back there. I've already had my mother on the phone wanting to know when you're coming to visit her."
"Don't tempt me." She groaned. "I probably ought to at least make an effort to try and get on with them before I run away again, no matter how tempting that offer sounds."
"Well, the offer is there if need be." He said, trying to suppress his disappointment that she wasn't going to be on the next train up there. "Now, go home and play nice! They're just worried about you, I can relate to that."
She hesitated for a second, not wanting to let him go. "I'll call you later and let you know if we all survived!" She joked.
"Sounds good." He smiled.
"Drive carefully." She added softly.
"I will, I'll speak to you later." He hung up, which was probably for the best because if it had been left to her she would've just sat there and babbled away all day.
She pulled herself up off the bench, her legs stiff and sore as she started to walk back home again. With a bit of luck her Mum might have calmed down by the time she got back. She'd barely taken two steps when a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. She spun round to see who it was, only to come face to face with Artan.
"Well well, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again any time soon." He smirked.