The Only Way is Up

Part Forty Eight

Chapter Forty Eight

Kim sighed, staring at her friend for a moment, and Nicole's heart sank.

"What is it?"

Grimacing, her friend reached for her wine glass and drank heartily before lifting her eyes, "he knocked my door..."

Nicole knew she'd turned white, she could feel the blood leaving her brain, her face...she felt dizzy, sick, and she watched as Kim turned red.

"When?" she finally managed to gasp.

Kim took an audible deep breath, "Tuesday. He knocked the door. I hung up my call with you to answer it." Her hand reached out and grasped at Nicole's, "I didn't want to tell you, I slapped his face and told him to piss off."

Nicole slumped back; it was so much easier when she thought he didn't care. Easy to forget him when he didn't enter her life, and now? Now he was there, right in the centre of her brain, she could barely breathe, since the moment that he'd revealed that he had used her, planned to trap her, he'd been part of an elaborate plan to ensnare her, and her family. She'd forced him out of her mind, not let herself remember his dark eyes, his strong jaw, or his beautifully sculpted body. He'd loved her in a way no one ever had before, not just in a sexual way, but in the way that he had worshipped her, made her feel so wonderful, so gifted; the way that he looked at her, the way he made her feel. It was all gone, all fake.

Now he was there, 'back in the room' so to speak and all the anxieties and concerns were back too, and as real as they were when she was in that hotel room with him. She'd known that he could break her, but she'd fought that every moment...until now. Now he was whipping through her life and killing her all over again.

"I didn't tell him anything Nic, I promise. Please don't think I did."

Nicole was fighting the impulse to hyperventilate, so she slowly lifted her eyes to Kim. "I trust you with my life, you know that."

Suddenly her appetite had gone, the food held no appeal, she needed to escape, get back to her hotel and lick her wounds. She was never more glad that she hadn't taken Kim's offer of a room at hers, that was on his radar, she wouldn't be safe there.

"Do you want to see him? I mean I'm happy to tell him to fuck off now until the end of time, I'm just presuming that's what you want."

Did she? She wasn't sure anymore, all she knew was that there was an inevitability to it all. Could she survive the rest of her life without 'bumping' into him? It'd be amazing if she could, but she was a realist. Handing in her resignation the day after her disastrous day had seemed like the right thing to do, but Tim, the man who'd replaced her husband as the leader of their department refused to accept it. Instead he helped her move to a really small regional office in the suburb she now called home. It was a feeder company, and she was off the radar of the big bank she left behind, she dealt with home insurance and small personal accounts. It almost didn't require her brain to do it, but she met people, talked to customers and started to enjoy her working life in a way she hadn't for a long time.

The thought of that being penetrated by the presence of Maxim Chertov made her feel sick. But it also felt a little inevitable now.

"It's fine, I don't want to see him...not by choice, but if it happens, then that's ok. I'm strong enough, I promise."

Kim had tears in her eyes, "I wanted to kill him, I wish he'd never come."

"Why did he? Did he say?"