Battered

Chapter 54

"What was that all about?"

Turning around, I'm met by a concerned looking Cheryl, her eyes firmly fixed on Justin as he leaves the shop.

"Nothing, he just came over to say hi and-"

"Are you ok?" Cheryl interrupts, stepping closer and putting a protective hand on my shoulder, "What else did he say to you?"

"Just that he was sorry about what happened that day at the fair..."

"and he didn't hurt you or anything?" Cheryl asks, clearly agitated by the sudden appearance of my ex.

"Of course not." I reassure her, "Babe, I'm fine. Justin would never hurt me. He felt bad about the way he reacted that day and came over to apologise. That's all."

Cheryl lets out a shaky breath and reaches for my hand, holding it tightly, "Can we get out of here?"

Nodding my head, I allow Cheryl to lead me towards the door, "What about the movie?" I ask as we step outside.

"I just want to go home." she answers, not looking back.

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Cheryl is already in bed and under the covers by the time I come upstairs. She's facing away from me but I can tell by the way she's breathing that she isn't asleep.

"Are you ok babe?" I ask, undressing and climbing into the bed beside her.

"I'm fine" she says unconvincingly.

Moving closer, I lean forward to place a kiss on her naked shoulder, "Liar" I whisper teasingly into her ear, wrapping my arm around her waist.

She's been quiet all evening and it doesn't take a genius to work out that something is on her mind.

Wanting to resolve whatever is bothering her before we go to sleep; I jump straight in and ask, "Is this about me running into Justin at the video store earlier?"

"Maybe" Cheryl shrugs, taking hold of the hand resting on her stomach and playing distractedly with my fingers.

"Chez, nothing happened" I assure her, shifting slightly in the bed to prop my head up with one arm, "You do believe me, don't you?"

Cheryl rolls over and looks up at me, an intense expression on her face, "Of course I do."

She bites down on her bottom lip before continuing, "Would you think I'm a terrible person if I said that when I saw the two of you talking I may have jumped to conclusions and thought that World War Three was about to break out?"

"Not at all" I laugh, reaching down to gently stroke her cheek.

"Really?" Cheryl questions, "You're not even a little mad at me for thinking that?"

"After what happened the last time Justin and I bumped into each other, I'd say that assumption was pretty fair. And besides," I say, leaning down to brush my lips sweetly against hers, "I could never be mad at you...not for long anyway."

Cheryl breaks out into a smile and lightly swats me on the arm, "In that case, now might be a good time to tell you about the coffee mug I broke yesterday..."

"Not the pink flowery one?!" I gasp in shock, pretending to be genuinely upset, "That was my favourite."

"Oh. Sorry." Cheryl looks apologetic and I struggle to suppress a grin.

In actual fact, I hated that mug. It was part of a set that Nadine's mother gave me for Christmas one year and although they were dreadfully tacky looking; something that you would expect to find in the kitchen of an eighty year old with too many cats, I didn't have the heart to throw them away.