On the way home she stopped off at the local supermarket to buy milk. She stood in the queue, holding the carton by the handle and watching the food that belonged to the person in front move along the conveyor belt.

To her left, over by the counter that sold lottery tickets and cigarettes stood a group of teenagers. She glanced over at them occasionally, she knew their eyes were on her as she placed her carton of milk down for the cashier to pick up.

She smiled to the woman who muttered a 'hello', scanned the milk and held her hand out expectantly as Connie handed her the exact change and waved away the receipt. She pushed her purse back into the bag she held tightly under one arm and made her way back towards the exit.

There was a wolf whistle as she passed the teenagers. She glanced at them, the boys at the counter too dreamy and young to do anything but stare at her body as she moved passed, and when one attempted a smile she gave a brief nod of her head, all too aware of the furious glare of the girl next to him.

She understood then that theirs might just be the last hearts she would break. She was forty-seven and tired. She'd come to realise it whilst she stood in the queue of ordinary people, carrying out their ordinary weekly shop, she had realised that everything was limited, including her own appeal. Now she looked at those young boys with tenderness, since they know so little and thought they know so much. And she found when she glimpsed the teenage girls with their made up faces and short skirts despite the weather, she felt shivers up and down her arms - the poor creatures didn't know the first thing about time or agony, or the price they would have to pay for just about anything.

She drew her coat more tightly about her body as she walked to the car. The night was drawing in, it was growing darker and darker with each step and she found herself breathless by the time she reached the car, and as she slammed the door behind her, she found her hands were shaking and she struggled to start the car, and all the way home she could feel herself leaning forwards, as if this alone would hurry along her journey.

She exhaled with relief once she was home, and the front door was closed and locked behind her. Her whole body thrummed with the throb of adrenaline. Coffee, she decided, she needed coffee.

The kitchen was cold and she panicked for the briefest of moments when she couldn't find the light switch. She looked about the room, mentally checking that everything was how she had left it. She looked to the windows, blind black eyes that looked back at her, and she couldn't help but wonder at what might be beyond her own reflection.

She flicked on the coffee machine, grateful for the noise it made as it ground the beans. She hugged her arms about her, running her fingers up and down across the fabric of her coat. She had the feeling that she was being watched. Her skin felt as though it were crawling with a million invisible insects, creeping into her ears and up into her hair, dropping down the back of her neck and making her shudder.

She wondered what Rita was doing. Was she home from work yet? Was she OK? Or was she chasing her imagination around in circles as she was?

The coffee machine hissed and spurted out a stream of hot coffee onto the work top, she had forgotten the cup...Quickly she pushed a cup beneath the flow, the coffee spluttering over the edge of the cup as her hand trembled, scalding her skin. She swore under her breath and bought the burning flesh of her hand to her mouth, holding it their while she waited for the machine to finish. But as she made to reach for a cloth to tidy the mess, the phone began to ring.

Rita was standing in the middle of her living room when her phone rang. The noise of it shocked the breath from her body and her hand shook as she answered.

"Hello?"

Connie spoke before Rita had even had the chance to. She smiled at the sound of the other woman's voice.

"Are you alright?"

She asked, looking down at her hands and flicking a hang nail back and forth. She listened as Connie exhaled.

"Yes! Yes..."

There was a pause. Rita imagined Connie standing in her house, her hand on her hip.

"Are you OK?"

Connie asked, and Rita smiled, she could hear the nervous edge to her voice though she knew better than to mention it.

"I don't know what to do with myself."

She answered honestly. She had been home for just under an hour and she hadn't yet been able to focus on one single task. At first she'd thought she would make a drink, but upon opening the fridge she'd found what little milk she had was off, and when she wondered about making something to eat she realised she wasn't really hungry, she was just looking for something to do.

She had imagined she would have been scared for her life out in the open when she had walked back from work, but as it turned out it was here that she was terrified. Here in her own home, even after double-locking the windows, drawing the curtains and then hanging up blankets over the top, just in case their was a gap to peep through.

"Grace's father phoned."

Connie's voice bought her from her thoughts.

"Oh...?"

Rita listened to the sound of Connie hesitating on the other end of the line.

"She's coming home for a week at the end of next month. Sam has an apparently unavoidable conference in Chicago."

"Is this good news...?"

Rita asked tentatively. She couldn't tell by the tone of the other woman's voice whether she was pleased about this or not.

"Oh...good. I'm just not sure things will have improved between us in such a short amount of time."

Connie sighed as she spoke, and Rita glanced to the calendar she had pinned up on the kitchen wall. Grace would be home just in time for Halloween. She smiled to herself, how apt...

Connie cleared her throat and Rita glanced about the room she stood in. Her stomach knotted at the thought of going to bed on her own for the first time since that night.

"Connie?"

She spoke slowly, drawing out her question in case the other woman refused.

"Mmm?"

Connie murmured, Rita could hear the breath she exhaled and the sip of her taking a drink.

"I was just wondering...if you'd like to come here? We could talk...we could have tea..."

She heard Connie swallow.

"Or coffee?"

Connie murmured a laugh and Rita almost regretted asking.

"I would love to."

She whispered.

Thank you again for the lovely reviews, they really do make me smile! I'm looking after my own children, and my neice today, so probably won't be able to update again until later, so until then, I hope you all have a lovely day! (Wish me luck with the children ;) ) xxx