Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Twenty Eight: Stalemate

Robin felt awful that Albert didn't know where she was, but truthfully she was relieved to be anywhere but home, even if she was only in the next house over. Her instincts had been right, Mimi wasn't thrilled to see her, but she welcomed her in anyway, and when John informed her that Robin would be needing the spare room she held back her scowl and bitter mutterings until she was at least halfway up the stairs.

"I don't take in strays, this best be for a good reason," she'd complained quietly as she went to make up the spare bed, making John roll his eyes as he pulled Robin to the sofa, sitting the two of them down with his arm around her waist protectively.

"Just ignore her, she's a mad old woman," he joked, though she could tell he still felt awkward and angry at what he had heard. "D'you want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly," Robin shrugged, feeling surprisingly numb about it. "I walked in to see her snogging some man, he was wearing a wedding ring. She's having an affair but I'm the rude one,"

John cringed, but he didn't say anything. He didn't have to, she certainly didn't expect him to say anything. How would he even know what to say? It wasn't as if he had known Robin for an awfully long time, he'd never experienced properly meeting her mother. She felt as though she'd exposed him to a part of herself that she wasn't ready for him to see, to the point she felt as though she couldn't meet his eye. Maybe he felt the same, because after a moment he got up from the sofa and crossed the room.

She didn't know what he was doing, and she didn't watch him either. She remembered the way he had wrapped his arms around her, as if he thought she was going to fall apart, and she hated the thought of him thinking of her as delicate. She wondered if that was now how he thought of her, as something gentle and breakable that he had to rescue and keep together. Robin decided that if there was one thing she hated more than the way her mother talked to her, it was the thought of John thinking of her in a different light thanks to what he witnessed.

Robin heard John sigh again before leaving the room. Robin sat on the sofa, baffled that he'd just leave her, but he returned a moment later. He sat down next to her once more, and as she dared to glance at him she noticed he had retrieved a pile of newspapers. He handed her a couple before opening one up, flicking to the back to the advertisements section. He gestured for her to do the same, but she stayed where she was, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"This one looks nice, pretty cheap and quite near college, doesn't look like it's in the dodgy area," he replied simply, passing her the newspaper open on a page, pointing repeatedly at an advertisement.

Robin looked closer, and snorted out a laugh of surprise when she realised he was looking at adverts for flats. John, however stared at her seriously.

"Dunno what you're laughing for, you're mad if you think I'm gonna let you go back to that woman," he said, crossing his arms stubbornly. Robin rolled her eyes and his frown deepened. "No way are you staying there,"

"John, it's my home," she pointed out, trying to hand the newspapers back to him. "I'm not moving out, I can't afford it,"

"If you can't afford it just move in with Kay for a bit while you save up, or Connie even has a spare room, just go anywhere that's not that house!" John insisted, his tone raising a little without him even intending.

"I appreciate you wanting to look after me, but please..." she trailed off, sutting her eyes as her head fell into her hands, struggling to find the words to express everything she was feeling. "I don't want to leave that house yet. It's home. It took me a while to think of it as home, and my last home I was torn away from so suddenly, I don't want to move again, I'm not ready for it again. I know that sounds stupid, but I don't want to leave my Uncle, because then he'll be alone with her. I don't want to leave Al, he's a good guy and he's kind and so good and... He's the closest reminder of my dad I have. He wouldn't let her actually do anything to me,"