Hey, Nukia here!
This fanfiction is a side story to Beyond This Love.
I don't know if any of my old readers are reading my rewrites anymore, but I'm going to keep going. I plan to do a time skip in this chapter, it will be a few months after what happened at The Wammy House. SJ will be 12, but I can't give away what will happened in this chapter because I don't know myself yet. But it will be the month of December, it will just be one of those nice random chapters before I begin to write the sad chapters.
But thank you for the reviews, favorites and the alerts! Also to the unknown people who read my fanfictions, I promise it will pick up at some point! If you don't like it, then don't read it.
Chapter 15!
The months have flown by since the horrible events that had happened that night at The Wammy House, I have started to remember most of what happened now. But I'm trying to forget it, I had nightmares for months about The Midnight Slasher after that night at the orphanage and my Aunt Thora sent me to have a few lesson of therapy at the local hospital because she was worried about my mental health.
I've not been back to the orphanage since then, My Aunt will not allow it. I am allowed to stay in touch with A though, I ring him twice a week and write him letters sometimes. I miss him and a few of the other children from The Wammy House, but I understand why my Aunt is keeping me away from the orphanage.
I sighed to myself as I zipped up my blue duffel bag, I'm visiting my Mum's old best friend Bella in Oxford for a week. I've not seen her since I was 9 years old, I'm pretty excited to be visiting her though. We've stayed in touch with each other over the years like she promised we would all those years ago when I was a little girl, she as a little boy of her own now and I'm really looking forward to meeting him in person. His name was Jamie, she as sent me a few photographs of him and her over the years that I keep on my bedroom wall near my bed.
" Elizabeth, your taxi is here!" I heard Rose call from downstairs.
" Okay!" I yelled." Just give me a moment!"
" I'll tell the taxi driver 5 minutes then!" She yelled back. " I know what you're like!"
I put my red coat on and hung my duffel bag over my shoulder, I better hurry because my train leaves the station at 10:45am. I quickly left my bedroom, I rushed down the stairs and put a my black boots on. I gave Rose a hug, she told me to ring her the moment I arrived in Oxford and she made sure I had my train ticket in my bag.
" Are you sure you don't want me to come with you to Oxford?" She asked and buttoned up my coat." I know you want your independence, but you're only 13 years old after all..."
" I'll be fine!" I smiled. " Stop worrying about me, Aunt Thora said it's fine for me to travel alone. Besides, Bella will be meeting me at the train station in Oxford..."
" Do remember where you've arranged to meet her?" She asked.
" Yes, I'm meeting Bella by the clock lamp post near the paper shop on the platform..." I replied. " So stop worrying about me, I'll be fine!"
" I know my love, but I'll still worry about you until you ring us!" She smiled as she straightened out the collar on my coat." Do you have your purse in your bag too? Your Aunt as put £20 pounds in it for you, there is also some change in your purse in case you need to make a phone call for any reason..."
" Yes, I doubled checked on my purse last night and this morning!" I replied with a sigh. " I'm all set to go!"
" Miss Havisham!" She called. " Elizabeth is ready to go now!"
I looked over my shoulder when I heard a walking stick tapping along the wooden floor of the living room, I turned around to face the living room's doorway and watched my Aunt walk out of the living room. I tucked some of my hair behind my ear as she looked down at me with stern expression on her face, I gave her a small smile and took a step towards her.
" I hope you have a pleasant train journey to Oxford, please remember to not talk to any strangers on the train..." She said, she held a medium sized white cardboard box towards me and a few red coloured envelopes balanced on top of the box. " This parcel arrived this morning in the post, apparently it's from it's from The Wammy House seeing as it holds Mr Watari's private steal. These Christmas cards are for Bella and her family from me, I would like you to thank her on my behalf for letting you stay at her home for the next week. I believe this little break from Winchester will do you some good, also will you give her my seasonal greetings and remember to greet her in the correct manner!"
" Thank you Aunt Thora, I will pass on your message..." I smiled.
" Do you have your train ticket and spending money for the train journey?" She asked.
" Yes, I put my train ticket and my purse in my bag last night before I went to bed..." I answered and put my black woolly hat on my head. " I double checked that I had them both in my bag this morning and Rose just checked too, so I'm all set to go now!"
" Very good!" She smiled slightly as she looked over at Rose. " Rose, I believe Elizabeth will be needing a bag for those cards and box. Did you get that gift bag from my study like I asked you this morning?"
" Yes Miss Havisham, I have it right here..." Replied Rose.
I took the box and envelopes from my Aunt, I carefully placed them in the Christmas gift bag Rose was holding open for me. I said my goodbyes to my family, I hurried along the pathway from the cottage and got into the back of the taxi. I waved to my Aunt and Rose as the taxi pulled away from the cottage, I can't wait to see Bella again.
It wasn't long until I arrived at Winchester Train Station, it was now 10:30am. I got out of the taxi, I grabbed my duffel bag and the Christmas gift bag from the backseat of the taxi. I thanked the taxi driver before I walked into the train station, I stopped outside of a little shop inside of the station and brought myself some lunch for my train journey. I smiled to myself when I noticed some little shark snapper toys in a blue bucket outside of the shop, I remember Bella buying me one when I first arrive in Winchester. I decided to buy Jamie one, I paid for the toy and made my way to the train platform. I sat down on a bench near a little café, I watched people walking up and down the platform.
It wasn't as busy as I thought it would have been at this time of year, it was the 3rd of December and there was just 22 days until Christmas. It wasn't long until the train to Oxford pulled into the station, I picked my duffel bag and gift bag up from the bench. I stood for moment as I watched people hurrying off the train, I took one last look around me and got onto the train. I walked along the corridor of the train, I chose a train compartment to sit in and placed my bags down on a red passager seat.
" Right!" I said to myself and sat down next to the window as I sighed. " What will I do for the next hour and a half?"
I glanced at the Christmas bag on the seat next to me, I chewed at my bottom lip and decided to see what was in the box from The Wammy House. I took the box from the gift bag, I pulled the piece of sellotape from around the lid and broke the wax steal on the box. I noticed an inked Gothic A inside of the box when I removed the lid, I guess the box is from A. I jolted forward slightly as the train began to move, I looked inside of the box and let a quiet laugh as I took a book from the box called Great Expectations.
" I should have known!" I smiled.
For some reason A thinks the book was written about my Aunt Thora, just because she shares the same surname as one of the characters in the book doesn't make them the same person. He even makes fun of me sometimes saying I'm my Aunt's young ward like Estella in the book to Miss Havisham. I know my Aunt is stern and quiet cold hearted at times with me, but I don't think she is using me for a tool to avenge her broken heart or something silly like that.
I placed the book down next to me on the seat, I rummaged around in the box and took a bag of strawberry flavoured candy boot laces from it. There was many random things in the box, toffee, rainbow badges, stickers of cats, pencils, bottles of red glitter, a little bottle of glue, sequins, cherry flavoured lip gloss, gold stars and a green coloured tree air freshener.
I carefully put the box back into the gift bag, I picked the book up from the seat and undid my coat. I pulled my knees to my chest, I leant back against the passager seat and began to read my book.
It wasn't long until the train pulled into Oxford Station, I put my duffel bag on and picked the Christmas gift bag up from the seat. I left the compartment and made my way down the corridor with the other passagers, I jumped from the step of the train's doorway and continued walking along the platform. I smiled to myself as I looked around me, it had changed much at all over the years. There was still a little café open on the corner of the station where I once had tea with my Mum, the newspaper shop was still in the same place and Christmas music played from the train station's ticket offices.
I stopped near the clock lamp-post where I had arranged to meet Bella, I took a strawberry boot lace from the gift bag and let the lace hang from my mouth as I ate it slowly. I leant my shoulder against the lamp-post, I sighed to myself and sucked the rest of the boot lace into my mouth. I looked up at the clock on top of the lamp-post, it had just turned 1:36pm.
" Elizabeth?" I heard a woman's voice ask from behind me. " Is that you?"
I quickly stood up straight, I wiped some drool away from my mouth and turned around. I saw a tall blonde-haired woman standing behind me, she was wearing a long black fluffy coat and had a yellow umbrella in her hand. I quickly looked her up and down with a smile on my face, it's Bella.
" Bella!" I smiled and wrapped my arms around her waist. " I'm so happy to make your acquaintance again after all of these years, I've been looking forward to seeing you since you agreed that I could come and stay with you for the week!"
" Look at you!" She smiled as she wrapped her arms around me. " You look just like your Mother when she was your age, how was your train journey? I can't believe how grown up you look and the way you speak, I can't believe you're the same little girl I took to Winchester all those years ago!"
" My train journey was fine, I was kind of bored though and began to read Great Expectations..." I replied, I pulled myself away from her and held the shark snapper towards Bella with a smile on my face. " I brought Jamie this shark snapper toy, I thought he would like one. I can remember you buying me one when I first arrived at the train station in Winchester, I still have it my bedroom back at my Aunt's cottage..."
" I guess things never change, you complained about being bored every 2 minutes when I took you to Winchester to live with your Aunt on the train..." She smiled, she put her arm around me and led me towards the entrance of the train station. " Come on, let's you get warmed up! There is someone dying to meet you back at my house, but he maybe having his afternoon nap about now..."
" Okay, I can't wait to meet him!" I smiled.
" So, how is your Aunt?" She asked. " Rose told me that she was ill a few months ago, is she feeling better now?"
" Oh yes, she's feeling much better now!" I replied and looked up at Bella. " My Aunt Thora told me to give you her seasonal greetings too, I have some Christmas cards for you from her as well. Will it be okay if I use your house telephone when we arrive at your house? I promised Rose and my Aunt that I would ring them when I arrived in Oxford..."
" That's good, I'm glad she is feeling better now..." She replied. " Of course you can use my phone sweetie, I would like you to treat my home as your home well you stay with my family..."
" Really?" I asked.
" Yeah, I want you to feel at home well you're staying with me..." She replied, she patted my shoulder with her hand and took her car keys from her coat pocket. " I hope you still like beans on toast, that's all I've got in until I go food shopping tomorrow..."
" Of course, it's one of my favorite meals still!" I answered with a smile. "Can I come food shopping with you? I would love to see Oxford town centre again, will there also be a chance for me to visit my Mum's and Grandmother's grave well I am visiting you?"
" Sure, you can do anything you like well you're in Oxford with me..." She smiled.
" Cool, I can't wait!" I smiled.