Never Tell Secrets (18+)

Ch 4 - Unfinished Business

ATTENTION RADISH READERS! Please don't leave any spoilers in here or you'll be getting a spanking from Alfie. Or Elliot. Or Keira. Whoever you'd prefer. 😘

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Bacon. The smell permeated my sleep-addled senses and for a moment I was a child again, my grandma making bacon sandwiches in the kitchen, before the world snapped back to me and I remembered ... everything.

The broken Bleeding Heart had haunted my dreams, twisting them into demented nightmares. The piece of shrapnel left behind from the explosion weighed heavy in my chest today. It was always harder here, in this room, in this bed. He'd touched this place, slept in this bed. He hung in the air. It was exhilaratingly painful to be where he'd been, to touch things he'd touched...

I flung my arms over my eyes as I forced back the same tears that threatened me everyday. This was supposed to stop. It was supposed to get easier. It made me angry that I still hurt over a man I should hate. I flung the covers off and got dressed.

I needed breakfast. The sound of laughter vibrated through the house as I creeped down the stairs and found my sister flipping bacon and Ryan laughing hysterically at something on his plate.

"Is something funny?" I asked. Natalie screeched, her spatula flying in the air.

"Auntie Lo!" Ryan flew out of his seat, giving me all of two seconds to brace myself before he catapulted himself into my arms. "Why are you here?"

"I missed you, little monster." I squeezed him tighter before putting him down. He was getting way too heavy.

"Did you bring a gift?" he asked, one sticky hand curling into mine.

"No, but we can walk down to the bakery later and you can pick out a treat...if that's okay with Mum?" I looked up at my sister who was already back to flipping bacon. She gave a distracted 'okay' wave.

"K. Come look!" He dragged me over to his plate where he'd rearranged his bacon into a pig's face.

"Very macabre."

"What's macabre?" he asked, grabbing his kid-sized dictionary. I spelt it out for him and he quickly looked up the word and copied its meaning into a notebook. I looked over to my sister.

"Hey, love." She gave me a warm smile as we hugged. "Tell me everything."

I spent the next twenty minutes eating breakfast with my family. Natalie teared up as I told her about my project. She told me about her promotion to office manager and Ryan told me he was entering a school competition for short stories but was furious he had been thrown off his football team ... again.

I'd just finished making us both a cup of tea when the doorbell rang. I ran to answer it and found Riley on the other side, looking like he hadn't slept.

"Morning. I thought you might need a lift back to London."

"I do, thanks." I smiled as I stepped aside, inviting him in and leading him to the kitchen. "Riley, this is my sister, Natalie. Natalie, this is Riley Fitzpatrick. We worked on the project at Harrington House together."

Ryan had disappeared from the kitchen. Natalie turned, drying her hands on a dish towel. Her warm, brown gaze focused on Riley, then slowly grew round with shock. She froze as she stared at him. I looked from her to Riley in alarm and watched as recognition settled into his features too.

"Hi." His voice caught and he cleared his throat. "I'm Riley." He offered her his hand but she didn't take it.

"Yeah." My sister still hadn't moved a muscle. She cleared her own throat. "Yes, I remember."