Summary - Marjorie finds out about Reece's therapy sessions with Charlotte, but she gets the wrong end of the stick.
As Marjorie approached Reece's office she could see the door was slightly ajar. She stopped in her tracks when she heard Charlottes voice - she must have been chatting to Reece about something. Marjorie hung back for a moment, not wanting to interrupt - she was sure they wouldn't be long. She wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help but overhear.
"Alright I'll ask Samanthas mum about that at pick up and let you know. What time are you coming over tonight?" Charlotte asked.
"Probably about six-ish if that's ok? I'll bring you a treat don't worry." Reece replied.
Charlotte laughed then said "that's fine with me."
At that moment the door opened fully and Charlotte appeared - she spotted Marjorie immediately and smiled "hey Marjorie, sorry I can't stop, I have to get back to the toddler room, I'm back at yours tomorrow though, maybe we can have lunch together?"
Marjorie smiled and nodded, but inside she felt confused. Why was Reece going to Charlottes house tonight? With a present? She felt a familiar sickness settle in her stomach - she never thought Reece would make her feel like this. Previous boyfriends had cheated on her, but never with one of her best friends. Although she didn't want to, she couldn't help but picture Reece and Charlotte together. She tried to push the images away, but they came back stronger - the thoughts were so graphic and she couldn't stop them. She didn't go into the office at all, instead fleeing outside to cry in her car.
That evening, Marjorie drove to Charlottes, parking a little way down the street. Maybe she was misunderstanding something, perhaps Reece just needed to drop something off for Charlotte and the present was to say thank you for something work related? Her heart was pounding as she saw Reece's car pull up just outside Charlottes house. He got out of the car clearly holding an expensive box of chocolates. He knocked on the door and Charlotte answered smiling as always. Marjorie's heart sank when they didn't even chat in the doorway, he just walked straight inside.
Just as Reece had settled on the sofa, he felt his phone vibrate. It was Marjorie - he answered immediately. "Hey gorgeous."
"Hey...I just wondered what you were up to?"
Reece paused for a moment - he hadn't told Marjorie about his talking sessions with Charlotte yet. The whole reason he was doing this was to get to place where he could finally tell Marjorie what she meant to him, so he didn't want to spoil the surprise. Plus, he didn't want her to feel abandoned, the reason he felt so comfortable talking to Charlotte was because she already knew most of his trauma anyway, thanks to Mia's big mouth. "Oh nothing really, just gonna go to the gym in a bit." He was going to the gym after Charlottes to be fair.
"Oh." She replied. "Are you at home?"
Why was she asking him that? Should he lie to her? "No I'm just out at the moment."
"Where?" Marjorie's sounded like she was going to cry.
Reece was confused. Why did she sound upset? Charlotte had gone to the kitchen, when he'd arrived she'd asked if he wanted a sandwich, she was going to make one for herself anyway, so he'd said yes. "Marjorie are you alright?"
"Why are you avoiding my question Reece? Tell me where you are." This was the last chance she was willing to give him.
Reece opened his mouth to reply but he couldn't. Apparently, his silence was enough, and he heard Marjorie hang up on him. A few moments later, his heart started pounding when he heard a knock on the door.
Charlotte rushed past the lounge to get the front door, and before Reece even had time to get up, he heard Marjorie's voice.
"How could you do this to me!? How long have you been doing this!?" If she hadn't been sobbing so hard, Reece knew she would have been absolutely screaming. As he walked through the lounge door and looked at his girlfriend, for the first time in his life he genuinely wanted to die. She was crouched down on the floor in the hallway, with tears streaming down her face. Charlotte was looking down at her, obviously having the same realisation as Reece.
Marjorie thought they were having an affair.
