A/N: Hello my lovelies:) Have you missed me? I apologize for taking so long to get this up, but real life definitely got in the way these past couple of weeks:(
And I apologize if the quality of this chapter isn't up to standards
So, without further delay...
All typos and errors are mine, because, well sometimes you have to own your shit, right?
Disclaimer: Uh, no!
Chapter 7- A Dinner Invitation, a Job Offer and Broken Bones
Work.
Work would distract her. Work was something she could do by herself and not have to worry about pleasing anyone else.
Well, it should have distracted her.
Naomi just couldn't seem to wrap her head around anything, least of all work. She had been walking around in a fog since the party a couple of weeks ago.
After she mentally berated herself for how she acted with Emily, Naomi more or less closed in on herself, and while she was still at the party, physically, her mind had seemed to check out. She didn't engage anyone in conversation, she only spoke when asked a question. She could see Emily and Katie pulling away from her, and she saw disappointment in Effy and Cook's eyes.
"Naomi, I need your signature on this press release." Lara walked into the office, to find Naomi, arms laid out on her desk, with her head laying atop of them. "Naomi?"
"Yeah." Came her muffled reply, as she refused to meet Lara's eyes.
"Are you alright?"
"No. I'm far from alright." Lara smiled at her, because she sounded like a five year old.
"C'mon, Nai, it can't be that bad." Lara said, as she sat in the chair in front of the desk.
"Oh yeah?" Naomi finally sat up, giving the smaller blonde one of her death glares, but Lara didn't let it bother her. "What are you doing tonight?" She asked, sarcastically.
Lara was shocked and confused by the question, so she didn't answer right away. Naomi was looking at her, waiting for an answer. "I...um...I have a date." She stuttered out.
Naomi cocked an eyebrow. "A date with whom, might I ask?"
"With Jeremiah."
Now it was Naomi's turn to look confused. "With who?"
Lara blushed, she wasn't used to having this sort of conversation with the older blonde. "With Jeremiah...," she noticed that Naomi didn't have any idea who she was talking about, "um...JJ."
"Emily's friend?" Naomi asked.
"Yeah. He's very sweet and shy, but that's kind of an endearing quality." Lara started to explain, but caught the sadness that immediately showed up in Naomi's eyes. "Is something wrong?"
Naomi stood up and started pacing behind her desk. "First Thomas and now you! Oh, and let's not forget about Cook and Effy!" She was getting worked up now.
"What are you talking about?" Lara asked, trying to hide her concern.
"You're all going out with and doing things with Emily and her friends." Naomi stopped pacing to look at Lara. "I haven't even had so much as a text from her!"
Lara scoffed at her. "Well, here's a thought, why don't you call her?"
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Okay, and while I'm at it, I could apologise for being a major cunt to her as well!" She replied sarcastically, as she resumed her mission to wear a trench into the floor.
"Yeah, that would be a good start." Lara shot back, amusement clearly in her voice now. "Or you could just ask her how she's doing?"
"I can't do that, Lara!" The blonde was almost whining now, which caused her to feel pathetic.
"And why not? If you want to talk to Emily, why does it have to be her to make the first move?"
Naomi stopped her journey, slowly turning to stare at Lara, with what the petite blonde could only assume was, confusion.
"Well... I...why should...,"Naomi realised that she was stuttering, immediately stopped and saw that Lara was trying to hold in a laugh. The tall blonde sat down and tried to compose herself, before she could embarrass herself any further.
Lara couldn't contain herself any longer. Naomi felt her face get hot and knew she was blushing in the face of the younger girl's laughter.
"Are you quite finished?"
Lara held up her hand, indicating that she may need another minute or two, before attempting to respond. "Look, I know you have...issues, but if you want any kind of relationship with either one of those girls, then you just might have to make the effort!"
Naomi didn't say anything, which kind of angered the younger blonde. Lara stood up abruptly, placing the file that was still in her hand, on the desk. Before leaving, she turned back to Naomi.
"I know you're scared to take this risk because, what if it doesn't work? I get that! But you're in this situation because you were an uncaring, unfeeling, cold hearted bitch," she watched Naomi's face for a reaction, when Lara was satisfied with what she saw, she continued. "You have to take a chance here Nai, you don't have much time left, yeah?"
Lara didn't wait for a response, because she knew she wouldn't get one. She walked out, leaving the older woman to think about what she had said.
Naomi knew deep down that Lara was right. Just like Effy and Cook were right. She needed to do this. It really can't be that hard, could it? She used to make people fall in love with her all the time, so why was she having such a hard time even talking to this girl?
"Because I told you it wouldn't be easy!" Naomi heard Sophia's voice in her head.
"Get outta my head!" Naomi growled quietly. She immediately heard the other girl's laughter. It only lasted a few seconds and then faded away, but Naomi was shaken up by the sound.
She hurried up and signed the papers for Lara, placing them back into the folder, then stood up and grabbed her zip up hoodie and her coat. As she was leaving the office, she placed the folder on Lara's desk, along with a note, telling the petite blonde that she had left, and walked out the door.
Naomi found herself in an unfamiliar part of the city thirty minutes later. She had chosen not to take a car, leaving her driver back at the office. She had too much to think about, and felt the need for fresh air. At first she didn't notice the looks she was receiving from the other pedestrians she passed along the way, she was too wound up to pay attention, but now after calming down a bit, she saw the hurried glances. She drew her hoodie down a little bit farther over her head and pulled up her collar, trying to block her face as much as possible. She felt like growling at them as she walked by, but couldn't bring herself to do it.
She stood at an intersection, looking around at the buildings, tying to decide where to go to next when one of them caught her eye.
Fitch Fitness. She rolled her eyes at the irony of the situation she was presented with. The very reason she was out here, walking around, in an unknown part of the city, was possibly ensconced in the nondescript building across the street!
Naomi stood there, the urge to run away as fast as possible coursing through her veins, but she found she couldn't move at all. She realised that she was also having trouble breathing, when her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. A few more seconds of indecision brought another quiet wave of Sophia's laughter floating around the blonde.
"Fuck it!" She exclaimed. "Fuck you Sophia!" She shouted out, before making her limbs work to carry her across the street.
"Alright everyone, great job today!" Emily told her class as they finished. "Same time next week, yeah?" She saw several heads nod in the affirmative, as they stood and gathered their stuff. She glanced over at Panda, and noticed that her friend had already started to clean up the room. After the last client left, she walked over to help.
"Great class tonight, Emsy." Panda stated as she picked up the last mat left.
"Thanks Panda." The redhead replied. "What are you doing tonight?"
Panda blushed and ducked her head before answering. Emily watched her, curious about this reaction.
"Thomas is taking me out to dinner." Panda responded, bashfully.
"That's great Panda!" Emily exclaimed, excited for her friend. "Why is your face all red?"
"Oh, Emily! He's just so lush!" Panda said. "We've gone out a couple times now, and I keep wondering what he could ever see in me."
Emily put her arms around her friend, "Panda, you're a wonderful person, yeah? He must see something he likes." She finished with a smile, and waited until Panda smiled too. "Just remember to let him talk every once in a while, and I'm sure it'll be fine."
This caused Panda to laugh, because she did have the tendency to ramble on, a lot. "Yeah, you're probably right!"
They walked into the break room, Emily grabbing a couple of waters from the fridge, and sat down after passing one of them to Panda. "Of course I'm right!"
"So...I saw you chatting up the tall blonde, what happened with that?" Panda asked, casually.
Emily frowned at the thought of Naomi, just as she had about a million other times since that night. She couldn't figure the blonde out, and it had bothered her.
"Nothing." Emily stated flatly, causing Panda to wonder what was said between the two. "I'm gonna go do some paperwork, I'll see you later."
Emily stood up and rushed to the door. She didn't want to think about how cold Naomi had acted toward her at the end of that night. As she was making her way to her office, she caught sight of the reception area, where Katie was manning the front desk. Emily was just about to walk past when she noticed a hooded figure standing there, talking with her sister. She stood just out of sight and tried to hear the conversation.
"Effy said that we should all get together and go out." Katie was telling the person. Emily shuffled a little bit closer, trying to find out who it was.
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, do you? What about Mandy? From what I hear, she may turn up wherever we go."
To say Emily was confused at the moment was an understatement. It freaked her out a bit to hear someone talking about the brunette, who by the way was starting to become more of a nuisance for her. She couldn't just stand there anymore, knowing that she was the subject of this conversation.
She pushed herself away from the wall, moving toward her sister. "Hey Katie!" She called out, noticing that the hooded person stiffened at the sound of her voice.
"Hey Emsy! How did your class go?" The older twin asked, as Emily made her way to the desk. It didn't slip past Katie's notice the way Naomi tensed when her sister came in. She thought it was rather comical, to be honest. Emily was burning with curiosity, Katie could tell and Naomi was doing her best to shrink farther into that heavy ass coat she had on.
"Yeah, the class went really well. Panda's in taking a break, so I thought I'd get some paperwork done." Emily stated, as casually as possible, but she wasn't very convincing.
"You're a long ways from the office, babes!" Katie said with a smirk, causing a small chuckle from the mysterious visitor.
"Yeah, thought I'd see what was happening tonight. JJ and Panda are both going out, so I thought I'd see if you wanted to hit a club or something." She lied smoothly, but Katie saw right through it. Emily could feel an energy coming off the person standing at the desk, and it seemed to course through her own body, but she still couldn't tell who it was and it didn't look like Katie was going to enlighten her anytime soon.
Naomi started to freak out when Emily came over. She didn't understand why she didn't reveal herself to her, but once again she was gripped with that debilitating paralysis. It seemed as if the only thing she was capable of doing, was standing there, listening to the twins talk.
Naomi found herself mesmerised by the sound of Emily's voice, as she asked her sister to go out clubbing. It was almost like Katie's, but deeper, huskier and without the lisp that the older twin had. She realised that she had drifted off into her own world again, when she heard a slight cough behind her. Naomi glanced up and saw a smirk on Katie's face. She figured it was now or never, so she slowly turned around and came face to face with those warm chocolate brown eyes, the very same eyes that had been plaguing her thoughts for what seemed like forever.
"Hello Emily." Naomi said quietly, but enough that the redhead heard her.
Emily was shocked to see the blonde here and it showed on her face. "Naomi? What are you doing here?" She asked, somewhat breathlessly. Emily found herself disorientated, now that she was standing here with the object of her thoughts.
"I thought I'd come by and see how you guys have been." Naomi tried going for nonchalance, but to her ears, she just sounded guilty. As if she should never have come here in the first place.
"It's definitely a...surprise, that's for sure." Emily stated with a grin.
Naomi felt instantly at ease yet strangely terrified all at the same time, standing in the younger girl's presence, but she kept her emotions in check. It wouldn't be pretty if she were to suddenly have a panic attack at this very moment, also without any of her family around, it would end badly.
"Yeah, that's me, the queen of surprises." Naomi said dryly. "Actually, I wanted to see if you guys would like to have dinner with us?" Naomi said, the quick lie rolling smoothly off her tongue. She glanced at both girls, to gauge their reactions. What she saw was amusement from Katie and suspicion from Emily. It was unnerving for the blonde, but she clamped down the urge to run.
"Dinner? Us?" Emily asked, pointing between herself and her sister.
"Actually, I was hoping you all could come."
Katie snickered at the apprehension in Naomi's voice. "Really? You want all of us to come and invade your home? Again?" The older twin was enjoying this for some reason. Watching the tall blonde squirm was entertaining. She chuckled as Naomi just looked confused at her question.
"When?" Emily asked, a little too quickly.
Naomi glanced at Katie and then turned her attention to the younger twin. "How about tonight? Do you guys have anything planned?" She asked, knowing full well that every one of them, besides Emily and Katie had plans. Cook was taking Freddie out to a new club, Lara was going out with JJ and Thomas, who was in town for the next two weeks, was taking out the ever colorful Panda. As far as the blonde knew, her and Effy would be the only two at the house, besides her parents.
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Emily replied. "Although it will only be me and Katie. Everyone else is pretty busy."
"If you want to wait until everyone is available...," Naomi was trying to give them a chance to back out, but Katie quickly stepped in.
"That's alright. It should be a quiet evening, right Emsy?"
Emily felt an enormous sense of confusion at the moment. Naomi standing in front of her, was throwing her off. 'What are you hiding?' she thought to herself. "Yeah, quiet."
Naomi glanced between the twins, making sure they were serious. "Great! Say about, seven? Will that work for you two?" When she got her answer, she felt something shift inside...relief maybe? Or maybe it was something else. "Do you want me to send my driver to pick you up? That way you wouldn't have to worry about getting home safely."
"That'll be fine, Naomi." Katie replied. "We'll be ready by five thirty."
Naomi gave them a small smile. "See you both later then, yeah?"
After a couple more minutes Naomi left, leaving Emily more confused than ever. She glared at her sister for a fraction of a second, but then noticed that Katie looked just as confused.
"What was that all about?" The younger twin asked.
Katie shrugged, turning to look at her sister. "Beats the fuck outta me." She replied, looking a bit thoughtful. "She's very concerned about Mandy, though."
"Ugh! If I could get through one day with hearing that name, I'd be the happiest girl alive!" Emily exclaimed. "Don't you think it's a bit odd, that she just showed up here, out of the blue?"
"Nope. I've actually been expecting it." Katie came out from behind the counter and headed toward the office, Emily following behind her.
"Why?"
Katie stopped walking, turned around and stared at her sister. "Are you serious? Like you don't know."
Emily only stared at her sister, confusion written on her face.
"C'mon, really? You didn't see the looks she was giving you the night of the party?" Katie asked. "What is wrong with you lately? My god, girl, I was tempted to tell her to take a picture because it would last longer!"
Emily was shocked by Katie's words. "That's not even true, Katie!" She exclaimed, as she followed Katie into the office. "She didn't even talk to me half the night, so what makes you think she was giving me looks?"
"I have eyes, you know! I saw her." Katie huffed out, putting paperwork away. She went and sat on the sofa, waiting for Emily to join her.
"Whatever!" Emily stated, rolling her eyes.
"It's true, Emsy. She was all moony eyed and everything."
"Katie, she snapped at me and then didn't even apologise, yeah?"
"Come on, Emily, anyone can see she has...social issues! Maybe cut her some slack, yeah?" Katie suggested, watching as Emily considered her words.
Katie was feeling a bit smug in her wisdom, but she chose to omit that those words actually came from Effy. She had went to dinner with the other girl one night and then out clubbing, so Katie took a chance and asked Effy about Naomi.
"Yeah, maybe you're right." Emily said thoughtfully. "I guess we'll see how things go tonight, right?"
Katie nodded at her, not really saying anything, as she picked up a copy of Heat and started flipping through it.
"Katie?"
"Mm, yeah?" She replied without looking up.
"Do you ever get a strange feeling when you're around Naomi?" Emily asked, almost feeling stupid for asking, but needing to know.
Katie's head popped up at the question. "What kind of "strange" feeling?" She asked, making air quotes with her fingers.
"It's hard to explain." Emily said sheepishly, smiling at her sister. "Never mind, forget I said anything." She shrugged it off, making a move to stand.
"Wait, Emsy, if you have something you want to discuss, I'm here, yeah?" Katie told her, concerned about Emily.
"Well, it's just...it seems like every time I'm around her, I get a tingling in my body." She explained.
Katie smirked at her. "I'm not a expert on all things lezza, but that generally indicates sexual tension, Emsy."
Emily rolled her eyes, and then laughed. "It's not like that, Kay!" She exclaimed, giving Katie a slight push. "It's different than that, I just don't know how to explain it."
"Uh-huh, right." Katie drew the words out, smirking at Emily.
"Oh, fuck off!" Emily pushed her sister again, laughing the whole time. It felt good to act this way with Katie again, it felt like it had been too long. "So dinner then, yeah?"
Katie nodded and smiled at her, she had a feeling about tonight. It was definitely going to be interesting, that's for sure, she thought as she got up and went back out to the front desk, leaving Emily alone with her thoughts.
"You did what?" Gina asked, thinking for sure she misheard her daughter. She looked over at Effy, thinking she might know what's going on.
Effy stood next to Naomi with a smile on her face, gazing at her daughter with pride.
"I invited Katie and Emily Fitch to dinner tonight." Naomi repeated herself, then shrugged as if it was no big deal.
"Well, that's lovely, dear." Gina stated, with a smile. "Did you want Kieran and I to clear out for the night?"
"No." Naomi told her, looking uncomfortable.
"Naomi?" Gina knew her daughter was feeling very out of sorts, she always did when faced with anything new, but this was major progress for the girl, and Gina wanted to make sure Naomi knew it was okay to be scared. "What's going on in that brain of yours?"
Naomi stopped gathering up the paperwork she had been fidgeting with, looked at her mum and Effy and sat down.
"About a million things at once, nothing that I can pinpoint and grab out to analyse." Naomi huffed out, sounding very childlike. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "I've got a strong feeling that I've screwed everything up and I just don't know if I can fix it."
"Naomi, you need to stay calm about this whole thing, you know that, right?" Gina sat next to her daughter, placing her arms around her, giving her a hug, just like when she was little. "I get the feeling that this is about more than this bloody curse, am I right?" She looked up and caught Effy's gaze, as she felt Naomi nod her head.
"How about we go down for some tea?" Effy suggested, earning surprised looks from both women. "What? We can sit a talk." She shrugged, as she headed out of the room, leaving Gina and Naomi to follow.
After a few minutes, the three of them sat at the table in the kitchen.
"So which one of you want to start?"
"Naomi has feelings for Emily." Effy blurted out, earning a hard glare from Naomi. "What? You do, and you can't say different!"
Naomi merely sat there, neither confirming or denying the statement.
"Naomi? Is that true?" Gina asked, taking a sip of her tea, waiting for an answer.
Naomi knew when it was time to quit pretending, and this was one of those times.
"Yes." She was so quiet and the words sounded achingly heartbreaking, that it caused Gina to choke up a little bit. "I feel something for her."
Gina sat and watched her daughter for a few more minutes, before making a decision about what to do. She slapped her hand on the table, causing Effy and Naomi to jump.
"Right, then! Effy could you please get Thelma in here." Gina ordered, then stood up and started pacing the room.
"Mum, what are you doing?" Naomi asked confused, watching the brunette leave the room.
"Arranging dinner, love. We are having guests, are we not?" She smiled at Naomi and Effy, as the brunette walked back with their cook.
It took a few hours, but Gina had everything arranged, sending Naomi, Effy and Kieran to get changed, to get the three of them out of her hair for a little bit. Effy knew where the Fitches lived, so she sent their driver to get them.
Gina looked around the small dining room, choosing to use this one instead of the other one, keeping dinner a small affair. Effy and Kieran came down to finish helping, leaving Naomi to gather her courage.
Naomi stood naked in front of the mirror, looking at herself. Something she hadn't really allowed herself to do since the last time, after Sophia had told her about the curse. She knew she was going to have to call her mum or Effy up soon to help her finish getting ready, but she wanted this moment alone to look at her body and the myriad of scars that laced her flesh.
Naomi knew that these marks weren't all over. She had been told by her family that her back was flawless, so she believed Sophia, when the brunette told her that she would wear Ashley's wounds.
She slowly ran her fingers along the scars that had healed long ago, but always had the ability to hurt her.
Naomi sighed before turning to grab a gauze pad and dipped it into the saline solution that she had sitting on the dresser. She went to work gently cleaning each of the open cuts. Over eighty percent of them were healed, which really scared her, but she knew there was only one thing to do to stop it. With a sigh, she finished cleaning the seeping wounds that she could reach. As she worked, there was a knock on the door, and then her mum stuck her head into the room.
"Need some help?" She asked, stepping through the door and closed it softly behind her.
"Yes. The bleeding is slowing down." Naomi told her, fear evident in her eyes as she held her mother's gaze.
"I know, luv. I saw it last time." Gina replied, grabbing a new gauze pad, and started cleaning where Naomi left off. "Are you alright?"
Naomi sighed, thinking about how to answer that. "As alright as I can be. I mean, I don't honestly think this can be changed, but that's me." She looked at her mum in the mirror, and felt the sadness that she had been living with since all of this happened. "I've always had a hard time believing any of this, you know that, even though the proof of it is right here in front of my face." She stated, pointing to herself in the mirror.
"So what are you saying?"
Naomi hissed out, as her mother clean one of the deeper cuts. "I don't think I'll be able to break this curse, Mum. I think this "curse" is some bullshit that Sophia made up just to how many hoops I'd jump through."
Gina's heart felt heavy at Naomi's words. She finished cleaning the cuts, picking up a jar of salve that one of her former employees had concocted for them and continued to do so. It was made of herbs and some other things. Gina wasn't for sure of all that was in it, and she never asked. It worked and that was all that mattered.
She applied a generous amount of it to Naomi's skin, put pads over it and then picked up a roll of gauze.
It always broke Gina's heart when she did this, because not only did she have Naomi to worry about, but she also couldn't help feeling bad for the young girl that died because of Naomi.
Naomi had told them all about how she used the poor girl, and then cast her off, as if she was nothing more than a bug that needed to be squashed.
As Naomi stood there, in the centre of her room, Gina walked around her slowly, wrapping the bandage around her torso and chest. That was were Ashley's message to Naomi had been carved. Gina had investigated the death of the girl, looked at the autopsy photos and compared them to the wounds on Naomi. Every single cut was a match.
Naomi had done a lot of things after her father left that disappointed Gina, but finding out what she did to Ashley had topped the list. Even now, after all these years, when she looked at the scars, her heart broke a little bit more for the girl that would never grow into a woman and the stab of disappointment would sting. But she knew that the damage was done, and nothing could change what happened to Ashley, but the way it changed her daughter was nothing short of a miracle.
"All done, luv." Gina announced, smiling at Naomi.
"Thanks, Mum." She said, reaching for the shirt and jeans she had laid out before she showered. She started buttoning up the long sleeve shirt, and noticed her mum hovering by the door. "Was there something else?"
Before the curse, the question would have been laced with venom, Naomi was never one to have her mother interfere in her life, but now it was asked out of natural curiosity.
"Well, now that you mention it, I'm extremely curious to know what you believe." Gina asked, causing Naomi's brow to crease in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"You said that you don't believe that this curse will ever be broken, yes?" Gina watched as Naomi nodded her agreement. "So what do you hope to gain from getting closer to Emily and Katie?"
Naomi thought about the question as she slipped into her jeans. She knew it was a valid question, because Gina didn't ask silly things, always one to think about the consequences and repercussions of any situation.
"I feel something when I'm with Emily. Something I've never felt before, ya know? She looks at me and sees me, not all of this." She gestured to her body. "She makes me feel comfortable and nervous all at the same time."
Gina smiled at her, thinking that Naomi finally found someone who made her daughter happy, although she was getting ahead of herself, there was no evidence whatsoever that Emily felt the same. She decided that she would keep an eye on the twins throughout dinner. Maybe she'd have a better view on things then.
"Just be yourself, luv, I'm sure things will be fine." Gina told her as she walked to the door again, placing her hand on the knob. She was almost out the door, when Naomi's voice called her back. "What was that, dear?"
Naomi looked apprehensive as her mother looked at her, waiting for her to say the words again.
"I just want to spend what little time I have left...with Emily. I want to get to know her, ya know?"
Gina smiled again, although it didn't reach her eyes, not really knowing what to say, crushed inside that her daughter was mentally steeling herself of the fact that she was going to die.
"I'm sure you do, luv, I'm sure you do." The older woman replied, her voice breaking. "I'm sure that'll be lovely." She turned, walked through the door and closed it softly behind her.
Naomi watched her mum hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, embarrassed by the small display of emotion from her, knowing that she didn't deserve it at all.
She sat there for a few more minutes and then stood, going out onto her balcony, and watched as her car drove down the driveway.
'Right on time.' She thought to herself, not knowing if she was prepared for this night at all. Even though it was her idea, she was nervous. And excited. 'Why can't I get these feelings under control?' She thought, but deep down inside, she knew the answer, as she saw a flash of red when the driver pulled up in front of the house.
She was going to turn and go downstairs, but Emily caught her standing there, as her and Katie started up the steps to the door. She smiled and waved at Naomi, effectively paralysing her where she stood.
Naomi watched as Katie rang the doorbell, and before the twinkling notes could fade, someone answered the door. She could hear her mother's voice as it floated up to where she was standing above them, and she rolled her eyes.
"What were you doing, mum? Standing by the door, looking out the peep hole?" Naomi mumbled to herself, as she heard Gina invite the twins inside.
Naomi took a deep breath, knowing that this was her chance. One chance to not be a twat. One chance to try and get them to work for her. Her one chance to be happy before the fucking curse came to an end.
Taking another deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment, tried to will her nerves away before she turned around and prepared herself to head downstairs.
"I'm so glad the two of you could make it." Gina said, taking Katie's coat and reaching for Emily's. "Don't the pair of you look lovely tonight?"
Katie and Emily both blushed at the kind words from the older woman.
"Thank you, Mrs MacFoeinaiugh, that's a kind thing to say." Emily replied.
"Oh, nonsense, dear! And it's Gina, none of this Mrs shite!" Gina stated with a chuckle, causing the twins to giggle along with her. "Let me just take care of these and then we'll see where everyone else is."
Katie and Emily walked behind Gina, as she put their coats away, and then they walked down the hallway until they came to a dining room. Emily smiled as she saw Effy sitting at the table talking with Kieran.
"Effy, dear, can you go find Naomi? Dinner is almost ready." Gina asked.
"Sure thing." Effy said, standing up. "Would you two like to accompany me?" She offered, earning a nod from both girls.
The three of them walked up a set of stairs, and made their way down another hallway, until they came to a door at the end of it.
"This is Campbell's room. She likes her solitude, so...," Effy trailed off, as she brought her hand up and knocked on the door. It was opened right away by Naomi.
Emily was struck was more gorgeous than the last time she saw her. Brown eyes took in everything, from the way her hair curled, and hung past her shoulders, the way the long sleeve shirt hung from her body, loosely and buttoned all the way up, to the way her jeans were snug, but not too tight. All the way down to a black pair of Vans.
Emily was overwhelmed by her reaction to the blonde as she stood leaning against the door frame, arms crossed in front of her, as if she was protecting herself from something.
"Naomi." Katie greeted, amused that her sister suddenly became incapable of talking. "Nice to see you made an effort." She indicated Naomi choice of dress, as Effy giggled.
Naomi merely narrowed her eyes at the smaller girl, aware that she was trying to wind her up. "For your information, Fitch, I did break out my best pair of Vans for the occasion."
This comment broke Emily out of her daze, as she laughed out loud. Effy and Katie followed suit, while Naomi smirked at them all.
"Nice." Katie simply stated. "Solid comeback...I like that." Naomi bowed mockingly at the older twin.
"I take it mum sent you up?" Naomi asked.
"Yes. It's almost time for dinner." Effy told her.
"Was she afraid I'd get lost?"
"I think she wanted to get me away from Kieran. He started going on about the political breakdown that's happening all over the world, or something like that...you know I tend to tune him out after a while, so...,"
"Right. That makes sense." Naomi turned around and shut her door. "Shall we then? If she has to come up herself, she won't be happy."
The four of them walked back downstairs, making small talk as they went. Katie and Effy walked ahead, leaving Naomi and Emily to bring up the rear.
It was easier this time for Naomi to talk to the red head. Even though she felt the nerves creeping in, it wasn't like the night of the party, or like earlier at the gym, for that matter. Emily stayed on safe topics of discussion, knowing that anything more personal would cause the blonde to freak out like the last time. So she stuck to talking about the gym, her family and the weather. Even though questions about Naomi were burning in her mind. She was caught up in her thoughts, that she didn't realise that they had reached the dining room.
"Alright, Ems?" Naomi asked, smirking as Emily ran into her.
Emily's stomach clenched at the way Naomi shortened her name, even as her face flushed pink. She couldn't bring herself to look Naomi in the eye.
"Let's not dawdle out there. This food won't stay hot forever." Gina called out to them, as Emily glanced into the room. She saw Effy and Katie sitting together on one side of the table, with Gina and Kieran at the ends, leaving two spots on the other side of the table for her and Naomi.
Once everyone was seated, and the food was brought out, they all dug in. It was quiet for a few minutes, but then Gina decided she couldn't stand the tension between the girls.
"So girls, what is that you two do?" Gina asked, trying to make the twins comfortable.
Emily looked at her sister before turning to Gina.
"We work at our parents gym." She answered for them. "It's not glamorous, but it's a job, right?"
Gina chuckled at her. "Yes, I suppose you're right, dear."
"Is it your goal to work at the gym?" This question came from Kieran, who saw what his wife was doing. He knew that Gina could open these two up.
Katie scoffed at his question. "Not by a long shot, but I've opted to pass on Uni, so I have to work."
"And what about you, lass?" Kieran inquired of Emily.
"Um, I'm just taking a gap year before starting at Bristol University. My dad agreed to it if I worked for that year."
"What are you thinking of studying?" He asked, spearing a a chunk of chicken off his plate.
Naomi merely rolled her eyes as Emily quickly glanced at her, knowing full well what her parents were doing.
Emily swallowed the good in her mouth before she answered. "Well, I did my work study in journalism, specifically in the research department." She explained, earning a look from both Gina and Kieran. "So I was thinking of getting my degree in journalism, with the main focus on journalism research."
"That sounds interesting, Emily. Don't you think so, Naomi?" Gina was being about as subtle as a brick to the face, as she aimed her question at her daughter.
"Yes, Mum, that sounds very interesting." She replied, cutting into her roasted chicken, holding back the sarcastic remark on the tip of her tongue.
"So why aren't you doing any journalism work for the year? Why are you slogging away at your parents gym?" Effy asked, wanting Emily to open up about what she really wanted to do.
Emily shrugged before answering. "No one wanted to hire someone without actual experience."
"What about the paper where you did your work study?" Gina asked. "Wouldn't they have taken you on?"
"They would have, but they didn't have an opening."
"I'm sorry to hear that, dear." Gina said, sincerity in her voice.
"It's alright, Gina. I don't mind working at the gym." Emily told her. "Well, I didn't mind working there." She said quieter, almost as if she didn't want anyone to hear her.
She didn't expect Kieran to be listening, but he heard her.
"What's changed?" He asked her, causing her to jump at the sound of his gruff Irish accent. When she didn't answer, he asked again. "You said you didn't mind working there, indicating that something has changed."
Emily squirmed in her seat, not really wanting to get into the reason. "Um well, things just happen."
Naomi saw that she was uncomfortable and apprehensive. "Emily, what's happened?"
Katie watched the whole thing. She knew the reason Emily dreaded going to the gym now, but she couldn't figure out why she didn't want to mention it. 'Fuck this!' She thought, knowing that Emily was going to be seriously pissed off at her.
"It's Mandy." Katie stated to everyone, earning a glare from Emily.
"I thought we weren't going to mention her?" Emily asked through gritted teeth.
"Fuck that! She's been hassling you since the night of the ball, Emily." Katie's nervousness was evident with the appearance of her lisp. "And it's not just you, is it?"
Naomi turned back to the red head in shock. "Is this true, Emily? Has Mandy been harassing you?" She asked, getting angrier at the tall brunette.
Emily looked defeated all of a sudden, almost ashamed, if Naomi was being honest.
"I really didn't want to talk about this tonight." Emily said quietly, looking around the table at everyone. "I just wanted to have one night where I didn't think about her."
Effy could see she was on the verge of tears, and knew she had to do something. "Why don't you tell us what happened, get it off your chest and then we can put it behind us and move on, yeah?"
Emily put her fork down, pushed her chair back and stood up, looking at Gina. "I'm sorry, but where's the loo?" She asked politely, voice quivering slightly.
"Oh, right. All the way down the hallway, last door on you're left, luv."
Emily nodded and looked at Naomi briefly, before leaving the room.
Everyone sat silently, watching the red head go. Once she was out the door, Naomi glared at her mum and Kieran.
"What the fuck?" She had the decency not to growl out the question, but she seriously felt like doing just that. "What part of a nice, sit down dinner was hard to understand?"
"Sorry, luv." Gina said, looking ashamed. "Maybe I'll just check on her."
Katie watched as the older women left the room. She turned back to Naomi. "I'm sorry too. She asked me not to say anything about Mandy, but I couldn't help it."
"Why?"
"Because I'm afraid, and Emily seems to want to just blow it off!" She explained, her voice breaking.
Effy wrapped her arms around the older twin, when she started crying, trying her best to comfort her.
"What has Mandy done?" Naomi asked quietly, looking to Effy and Kieran.
Katie sat up, sniffled a few times and wiped her eyes. "She's gotten a membership to the gym, shows up wherever Emily goes." She told them. "She's even gone so far as to seek out James."
Effy pulled back to stare at her in disbelief. "What the fuck for?"
"Who knows? She's a freak who thinks Emily should be with her, and she's doing her best to drive Emsy crazy!"
"Right then!" Kieran spoke up, causing the three girls to look up at him in surprise.
"What?" Naomi asked him.
"Something needs to be done with this Mandy lass, and it sounds like it needs to be done soon." He replied.
Naomi and Effy just looked at him with a "duh" expression on their faces, while Katie sat there staring at his outburst.
"We've gone through all the proper channels, seen our solicitor, filed all the necessary paperwork but she keeps showing up places." Katie explained to him. "She even threatened me."
"She threatened you?" Effy's voiced raised as she asked, the amount of concern she displayed was something new.
Katie nodded her head with fear in her eyes. Naomi knew she would have to do something soon, so she took a deep breath and made a decision.
"What if I could offer Emily protection from Mandy, until everything is settled?" Naomi looked at the older twin to gauge her reaction.
Katie's eyes took on a multitude of emotions. Anger, fear, suspicion and hope, Naomi saw each and everyone of them and thought for sure that the smaller girl was going to reject the offer right off the bat.
"You would do that?" She asked, relief in her voice, but then she had a thought. "Why would you do that?"
Naomi shrugged, as if she made offers like this every day. "Because Emily shouldn't be scared to walk out of her house, should she?"
"Well, no but-,"
"Look, I'm just saying that Mandy can't get in here, Emily would be safe. And you too, of course." Naomi explained.
"I don't know Naomi, that's a generous offer, but Emily is stubborn. She would feel trapped and she'd hate that."
"I understand that, Katie, but do you have a better idea?" Naomi asked and watched as Katie shook her head.
"So what are you suggesting?" Katie asked the blonde.
Effy and Kieran sat silently, as Naomi started to explain her plan to the older twin.
"I'm sorry again, dear. If we had known how horrible things have been, we wouldn't have pushed so hard." Gina apologised again, as they sat on a bench in the bathroom.
"I'm the one who should be apologising, Gina, not you." Emily insisted. "I just really wanted to try and forget about her, for one night, ya know?"
Emily had explained to Gina everything that had been going on. The older woman was understanding and compassionate, wrapping her up in a hug and drying her tears.
"Look, why don't we just go back out there, finish our dinner and then spend a relaxing evening watching a movie." Gina suggested.
Emily was touched by her words, so she nodded her head. "That's sounds lovely, Gina, thank you."
The two of them left the bathroom, made their way back to the dining room and stopped after they walked in.
Gina could feel a tension in the air, as all of them went silent as soon as they saw Emily.
The older woman looked around at their faces, trying to figure out what was going on, as Emily sat back down next to Naomi.
"Are you alright?" Naomi leaned over and asked the younger twin. "I'm sorry about my parents, sometimes they don't understand the meaning of boundaries."
This got a laugh out of Emily, as she shook her head. "No need to apologise, Naomi. I'm fine, thank you."
"Emily? Katie's been telling us what's been going on, and we'd li-," Effy was cut off by Emily.
"Why would you do that, Katie?" Emily asked her sister, clearly upset again.
"Because, you need to stop hiding from it! It's not going to go away on it's own." Katie shouted, but calmed down after Effy placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. "I'm scared, Emsy, okay? Mandy makes me nervous and she's unpredictable."
All the fight seemed to go out of Emily at her sister's words. Naomi watched her shoulders fall in defeat.
"I know, Kay. I'm scared too, but what do you want me to do? I can't not leave the house, you know that I have to work or else dad won't help pay for Uni." Emily looked at her sister, as if she had answers to the problem. She had totally forgotten that she was sitting at a table with four other people until Naomi coughed, getting her attention.
"Do you have to work for your parents?" Naomi's voice cut through the tension at the table, as Emily looked at her.
"What?" The red head asked, confused.
"You said you have to work, but does it have to be at the gym?"
Emily sat there, trying to answer the question in her head, but it was hard to focus. She was blaming it on the fact that Naomi had the ability to make her forget things.
"Emily? Are you alright?" Naomi asked softly, looking into her eyes.
"Um, yeah. Sorry." Emily's face flushed a bit, as the constant humming in her body that she felt whenever she was around Naomi kicked up another notch. "I'm sorry, what was the question?" She asked, embarrassed when she heard Effy and Katie snicker across the table.
"Are you alright, dear?" Gina asked her this time, smiling at the girl and sharing a look with Kieran.
"Yes, I'm fine." Emily stated through clenched teeth, trying to hold on to her temper. She couldn't help think how much this night was going down hill.
"I'm just wondering if the deal with your dad means you have to work at the gym?" Naomi asked again.
Emily shook her head as she answered. "No, I just needed a job and mum suggested it because Katie was working there."
The table went silent for a while as they all finished their dinner. After awhile, Naomi decided to try making conversation again. As she sat there, she was aware that Effy and Katie both kept glaring at her, basically telling her silently to man the fuck up and talk to Emily.
"Um, Emily?" Naomi was hesitant to bring up the subject again, but she knew she had to, for a couple of reasons. So she swallowed her pride and her fear and turned to face the red head. "I may be able to help you out."
"What? Help me out with what?" Emily asked, taking a sip of her wine, looking at the blonde.
"Well, you said that no one would hire you because you lacked experience, right?" Naomi watched as Emily nodded at her but stayed quiet, so she hurried on. "Well, I could offer you a job that would give you the experience you would require."
Emily looked around the table, gauging everyone's reaction, finally resting her gaze on Katie, to see what she thought. She sat up a by straighter in her chair, before looking back at Naomi.
"What kind of job?" She asked, more than a bit suspicious, but also immensely curious.
Naomi picked up her glass of wine, taking a large gulp to quench her sudden thirst. "Well, I know Effy told you about the project I'm working on, and how it involves research."
"She may have mentioned it, but why me? Why not go through a temp agency and hire someone with experience?" She wondered why Naomi would offer her this opportunity.
"Because I think you're plenty experienced." Naomi stated. "You were able to find out things about me and our company that we've made sure to hide very well. For that type of digging, it takes patience, tenacity and a thorough knowledge of the tools required to do the job."
Emily took a moment to think about Naomi was offering. "What's the project?" She asked, getting right to the heart of the matter. Emily couldn't help noticing as Naomi's eyes shifted to Effy and Gina.
"I'm prepared to compensate you very well for the work, you'll be able to pay for Uni and have enough left over." Naomi said, ignoring her question.
"That would be nice, but what's the project?" Emily asked again, getting the feeling that Naomi wasn't telling her everything.
"I could also offer protection from Mandy." Naomi hurriedly stated, trying to convince her as she saw the look of shock on Emily's face.
"Wha-, why would you think I need protection?" Emily asked, indignantly, oblivious of the hard stare she was currently getting from Katie. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."
"I'm not saying you're not, but from all accounts, she's getting more persistent." Naomi pointed out the fact that both her and Katie had talked about. "But it's more than that, Emily. I'm in serious need of someone who can help me, someone besides Effy and Cook, who by the way have no tolerance for this sort of job whatsoever."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Nai." Effy muttered, sipping her wine. "I didn't think we were doing that badly."
"What I mean is, that while Effy and Cook are doing their best," Naomi said, shooting a smirk at Effy before turning back to the red head, "it's not their forte. I need someone who'll be able to do the work and not bitch about it under their breath." She explained, causing chuckles around the table.
Emily sat back in her chair, with her arms crossed over her chest, thinking about the offer. "Can I have a few days to think about it?" She asked, staring into Naomi's eyes. "It's a tempting proposition, but if I did it, I'd be leaving my parents without anyone to run the gym, so I'd really have to talk to them about this."
Naomi nodded, and slumped back into her chair, feeling as if she'd blown her last chance. She was deep in thought, unaware of the conversation going on around her, until someone prodded her in the ribs, causing her to jump.
"What?" She asked, looking around.
"Sorry, but you disappeared on us, and I'm really curious as to what your project is about." Emily said softly, smirking at the blonde.
"I wouldn't be able to tell you that until you signed the confidentiality agreements." Naomi said, seeing a look of hurt pass through Emily's eyes. "I'm sorry, Ems, but it's standard company procedure."
"I understand."
"So you'll think about it? You'd be doing me a huge favour." Naomi pleaded with her.
"Yeah, I'll think about it and get back with you on it." Emily said with a smile, making Naomi cheer up a bit.
Gina had finally called a halt to the dinner conversation by announcing that it was time to watch a movie.
Emily and Katie were seriously impressed by the small room they were led to. Set up like a theatre, it had seating for about twenty five people, and small stage and a huge movie screen.
There was a slight argument between Naomi and Effy over which film to watch, but Gina put her foot down and let Katie and Emily pick.
They ended up watching "My Fair Lady", Katie was a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, so they all settled in, complete with popcorn and candy. It was totally over the top, but as Naomi sat next to the red head and glanced at her throughout the movie, she decided it was totally worth it.
Gina and Kieran sat together in the back row, while the four girls took up the middle, and she couldn't help but watch them as they laughed, throwing popcorn at each other and generally having a good time.
"What's the matter, luv?" Kieran asked her as he brushed away the tears that were staining her cheeks. "You're crying."
"Tears of joy, dear. I haven't seen this side of Naomi in ages." She told her husband, more tears slipping down her face. "Just look at her! You've never experienced this Naomi, Kieran. That's my daughter there, that's who she used to be before Gareth left and this blasted curse and everything in between."
"She'll be fine, sweetheart." Kieran said as he took Gina into his arms and comforted her. "We'll all be fine."
Katie and Emily sat in the back of the black car, as they made their way back into the city. Naomi offered for them to stay the night, seeing as it was so late, but both the girls needed to be up and at the gym early, so they made the decision to head home. So, Effy and Naomi escorted them out of the house and said good bye, watching as they climbed into the car.
Both of them were silent, each one thinking about Naomi's job offer. Katie wanted to talk to Emily about it, tell her to take it, but she knew Emily wasn't ready to say yes or no about it just yet.
"That was pretty fun, right?" Emily broke the silence, turning to look at her sister.
"Yeah, it was. Emsy, I want you to take Naomi's offer." Katie told her.
"Why?" Emily asked her, noting the odd sound in Katie's voice, as she turned back to stare out the window.
"Because, one, it's a great opportunity and two, it gives you a break from the whole Mandy shit."
"Yeah, I guess, but I still need to talk to mum and dad about it." Emily said quietly. "Let's not worry about it tonight though, please? I'm tired and I would just like to get some sleep."
"Alright, Emily, but we will be talking about this." Katie stated in her big sister voice, that never failed to make Emily laugh.
"We will, I promise."
They lapsed back into silence as the car made it's way down the A4 back into Bristol.
Emily could feel the car slowing down as it drove past the old houses on her street. She loved this neighbourhood, with it's Victorian style homes. It's where her and Katie grew up and went to school. It's where she first met Freddie, Panda and JJ and was able to have friends that were hers and not Katie's.
She saw that they were pulling up to their house, which was set back from the street a bit. Emily called out to the driver. "It's okay to drop us off at the kerb, Charley."
"Are you sure, Miss Emily? It's no problem at all to pull up to the house." He replied, unsure of just dropping them off. "It wouldn't be right if I didn't. Besides, if Miss Campbell found out, I could be in a lot of trouble."
"Really, it'll be fine. I don't want to wake up my parents and the house is right there." She said, waving her hand to prove her point.
Charley pulled up and stopped the car. He got out and opened the back door for them. Emily had to wake Katie up.
"C'mon, Kay, we're home."
The sleepy brunette opened her eyes and looked around. "Why are we in the street?" She asked sleepily.
"I don't want mum or dad to wake up, so suck it up and let's go."
"Bitch!" She grumbled under her breath as she got out.
Emily chuckled at her, and turned to the driver. "Thank you, Charley."
"It was a pleasure, ma'am. Can I escort you up to the door?"
"Naw, we're good, right Katie?"
Katie wasn't the best when she was sleepy, so she replied with a couple of curses, and started to head up to the house.
"Thanks again, and if Miss Campbell finds out, I'll make sure and tell her I forced you to let us out." She said with a wink and a smile, causing the older gentleman to laugh.
"Right. Well you have a good night, Miss Emily." He tipped his head in goodbye and got back into the car.
Emily watched him drive down the street and turned around to follow Katie. Before she could get very far, four girls came out from behind the stone fence that bordered the front lawn and grabbed ahold of her.
"What the f-," Emily tried getting out of their grasp and shouting up to Katie, who was almost up to the front door, but one of the girls had wrapped an arm around her throat, cutting off the scream before a sound came out.
She was trying to figure out how to get out of this, when Mandy stepped in front her.
"Hello, Emily." The taller girl sneered down at her. "I see you've been out whoring around again, and with Miss Campbell as well, how sweet." She spat out, as she walked up to Emily.
"What do you want, Mandy?" Emily asked, more afraid than she'd ever been in her life.
"I still don't think you understand yet, Emily." Mandy said, her voice taking on a calmness that sent shivers down Emily's spine. "You. I want you. Can't you just picture how good it could be with us?" She ran a finger down Emily's cheek, causing the redhead to flinch, which wasn't easy with her still being held by the other four girls. "Can't you just see it now, Emsy?"
"Fuck you, Mandy!"
Emily's words earned her a hard slap from the taller girl, setting off giggles from a couple of the other girls holding her.
"Wrong answer, Emsy." Mandy said, leaning in to whisper into her ear. "How about you try again?"
Emily could only stare in shock as she looked into Mandy's eyes. The soulless, empty look that she found there was about the scariest thing she'd ever seen. But she refused to back down or to be bullied by anyone.
"I'm sorry." Emily said quietly, earning a smile from the other girl. "How about you...FUCK OFF, YOU FUCKING CU-,"
The arm around her throat squeezed a bit tighter, once again choking off her words and nearly made her pass out.
"It's a shame you can't just accept it, Emily." Mandy tutted, as she backed away from her, with a smile on her lips. "I guess I'll have to show you." She said, giving the girls a nod, as she stepped away even further.
The next few minutes turned into a blur of pain for Emily. One minute she was being held in place, facing Mandy and the next she was knocked to ground. She tried to get up and fight back, but the odds were never going to be in her favour, as every time she went to stand, one of the girls would kick her back down.
She could hear Mandy laughing in the background, and after what felt like hours, she blacked out.
Naomi could hear the phone ringing as it sat on her bedside table, but she was reluctant to pick it up.
"I'm fucking sleeping!" She said to the offending object, but it was no use. It kept ringing, so she drug herself up, grabbed it, and without checking to see who it was, swiped across the screen to answer it. "This better be fucking worth it!" She growled out.
"Naomi?"
"Who is this?" The blonde asked, still to asleep to check.
"It's Katie."
Naomi could hear it now, something wasn't quite right with her voice, and it put her on edge. "Katie what's wrong? Why are you calling me?"
"I'm calling to tell you that Emily is going to accept your job offer." Katie told her. "She has to."
"Katie, whats going on? Why are you calling to tell me this?" Naomi was starting to panic a bit. "Katie? Where's Emily?"
"We're at the Bristol Royal Infirmary." Katie sobbed out. "They have to operate on her."
Naomi jumped up out of bed as she listened to the older twin cry into the phone. "Katie? Katie! Listen to me." She said firmly and as calmly as she could, as Katie choked back another sob. "Is anyone there with you?"
"My parents and Charley."
"My driver?" Naomi asked in surprise. "Katie, what the fuck is my driver still doing there? Did you guys get into an accident?"
Naomi knew she was freaking out, she just couldn't help it. She thought about Emily being hurt because of her driver and went into rage mode.
She faintly heard Katie on the line, so she zoned back into to what she was saying when her blood ran cold.
"What did you say?"
"I said it was Mandy! Haven't you heard a word I've said?" Katie shouted down the phone now. "Mandy did this to her!"
Oops...did I leave that hanging? Okay, you got me...yes I totally did, but can you blame me?
You guys know the drill, let me know what you think...love it, hate it, sick of it already?
And I'm working on the next chapter of Wimbledon, so hopefully that'll be up within the next couple of days, but don't quote me on that;)
Love and hugs to you all,
Soupy:-)