Battered

Chapter 32

"Morning babe" Cheryl greets me with a kiss as she sleepily walks into the kitchen and sits down at the table.

"Good morning" I answer, finishing off my toast and taking the empty plate over to the sink, "Do you want me to make you something to eat before I go?"

"No thanks" she yawns, leaning forwards and resting her chin in her hands.

"You should have stayed in bed if you're still tired. All that travelling you did yesterday probably took it out of you." I pour Cheryl a cup of coffee and take it over to the table.

Cheryl smiles and takes the cup from my hands, "I'll be fine once I've got some caffeine into my system. And besides, I wanted to see you before you went off to work."

"That's sweet babe but if I were you, I'd be enjoying my last few days of being able to sleep in."

Cheryl starts her new office job next week and while she's excited to be going back to work, I have to confess that I'm a little anxious, mainly because of what happened to her at her last job. I know I'm being silly and that there's no way in hell Ashley can get anywhere near her, but I still worry. I can't help it.

Realising that I'm going to be late, I quickly drink the last of my coffee and lean down to give Cheryl a goodbye kiss.

"Do you have to go to work today?" she pouts, turning and fixing me with her best puppy dog eyes, "Can't you just stay here with me?"

"As tempting as that sounds, I can't. I'm heading up to the women's shelter with Nadine then I've got a stack of paperwork to get through."

If possible, Cheryl's pout increases, her bottom lip jutting out at an almost comical angle, "I'll miss you." she says, tilting her head upwards for another kiss which I happily oblige to.

"I'll miss you too baby" picking up my bag and keys, I give Cheryl a final kiss before walking towards the door, "I'll give you a call at lunchtime ok?"

"Ok" Cheryl answers, "Have a good day at work."

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Looking up from the mountain of paperwork on my desk, I notice Nadine staring at me, "What?" I question.

"Nothing" she shrugs, "I was just thinking that you must be really happy Cheryl's back; that smile hasn't left your face all day."

"I am." I respond cheerfully, the smile on my face getting even bigger, "Really, really happy."

Nadine smiles back and gets up from her chair, coming over to lean against my desk, "So did she like the little makeover we gave your room?" she asks.

"Yeah, she loved it. But I think she's getting ideas about decorating some other rooms of the house now; I caught her looking at the colour charts I left in the kitchen yesterday."

"Well I'm not helping the next time" Nadine says hurriedly, "It took me ages to get that paint off my nails and you still owe me a pair of shoes" she reminds me.

"I haven't forgotten Nadz" I laugh, glancing down at my watch to check the time, "Do you fancy going for a late lunch down the high street?" I ask, "We can hit a few shoe shops while we're there"

"Sure" she says, "Give me five minutes to finish the last bit of this report and I'm ready to go."

"Ok" I answer, "I'm just going to give Cheryl a quick ring."

Retrieving my mobile phone from under the stack of papers on my desk, I dial our home number and wait for Cheryl to answer the phone. When she doesn't pick up after a few rings, I end the call and try calling her mobile. Maybe she went out or something.