Die for You

Chapter 29

                Joanna Foster's Clinic, London - Earlier

"So, you and Paul were close, Freen?"

"We were inseparable Joanna, he was like the brother I never had."

"Interesting, were you an only child by any chance?"

"Yeah," I told her, "it was just me and my mum after my father died."

"So, after she died you joined the army and it was there you met Paul and became friends?"

"Yeah, sort of anyway. I wasn't looking for a friend. I went all through my basic training without getting really close to anyone. I can do friendly, but I don't need to have friends, I've never needed them in my life; but when Paul and I met we sort of clicked, did everything together after that. We even called ourselves the Musketeers. "I added with a wry smile at the memory. "We looked after each other, inside and out, you know?"

Joanna nodded, her face thoughtful and sat back into her chair, staring at the ceiling. I relaxed into the comfortable place she had helped me create and allowed my mind to relax.

"Do you want to have friends now?" Joanna asked me out of the blue.

"I don't know," I replied thinking of JJ and Lauren, James, Richie and Jenna, and the guys at Armstrong manor that I seemed to be getting along with as well. 

"I have people I can be friendly with, I think that might be enough."

"Do you want to be friends with Rebecca?" she pressed, once again relentlessly honing in on my feelings for my charge.

"I don't know," I told her, extending the courtesy of the truth to her once more when it would have been far simpler to lie. "I'm not sure what I want from Rebecca, but I guess friendship would be good."

"Do you think that she's your friend now?

"I don't know that either," I said. "I'm not sure what she is, or what she's trying to be. I think we could be friends, though."

"Have you asked her?"

"Don't be silly, there's no way I can ask her that. I barely even know her, besides she's my employer. It's my job to keep her safe."

"You keep returning to that tired old line Freen, yet I think we've just established that it's just an excuse."

I sat in the chair and stared at the ceiling. There really wasn't anything that I could say to that.

"I think you need to learn to trust your instincts better, Freen, you might find that people will surprise you, like Paul surprised you."

"Yeah, whatever..."

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               Becky's Flat, St John's Wood - Present Day

I stared across at the stoney-faced Rebecca Armstrong who was looking at me with something that looked close to contempt and waited; waited for the fury that I knew was coming my way. To my surprise, it didn't arrive. She just sat there, calmly sipping her drink and looking at me; her poker face in full effect.

"Say something," I said to her, wanting the silence that had fallen between us to be ended.

"I really don't know what to say, Freenky," she replied, with just a hint of coldness in her voice; cold but not angry, not yet anyway.