Please, Miss (GirlxGirl) ✔️

48 | the L word

Work the following week without Patrick was strange, and though it comforted me knowing he was no longer around, I felt unsettled at the fact that I didn't have a clue where he'd gone. For all I knew, he could still be lurking around, though I very much doubted it. I knew he would probably have moved a few hours away to a town where no one knew him, got a new job and begun the whole twisted process again. Unfortunately, some other gullible fucker would fall into his trap, and the whole cycle would begin again. It was sad, really.

"I think I've found a new replacement, but she can't start until next week. We'll just have to manage without until then, I guess," Mel had told me that Tuesday as we sat with a coffee awaiting on the arrival of the younger group. "I still can't believe Patrick's bloody done this. He could've given me warning, this is a fucking headache-and-a-half trying to quickly recruit someone new."

"Yeah, what a dick," I'd murmured in response, trying to bite my tongue so as not to go into a delve into the hundreds of reasons why I hated the man.

Despite one less pair of helping hands, work in general had been fairly relaxed that week, to which I was grateful. Alex had been getting back onto her feet as well, going back to work with a brave face and searching online for affordable apartments nearby. At the moment, she hadn't had much luck, but it didn't bother me too much. I was quite enjoying her company, greeting her when I came home from work, having someone to eat dinner with and talk about my day. It was the little things that I'd seemed to enjoy the most.

At the moment we were still sharing my bed. Though we'd both insisted on sleeping on the sofa, the other would not agree, and so with our inability to back down in an argument, we both decided the easiest compromise would be if we shared my bed. It wasn't awkward, but it was certainly difficult at times to stop myself from gawping as she slid in beside me in silky pyjamas and wavy hair, more beautiful than ever.

For the most part, I was managing to keep my feelings towards her under control. We'd delved into a sort of routine, and so by now, having her around seemed just second nature.

On Friday, I said goodbye to her in the morning before making my way to work, humming along to The Killers in my car, feeling my mood physically elevating. For some reason, I felt that it was going to be a good day. Perhaps I was just excited to finally see the face of the weekend.

The morning was easy and fairly quick, and I spent my time reading to Harry and Olivia, helping Trixie paint a picture of a giraffe and playing Barbies with Layla. It was a typical morning, and to my relief, there weren't too many dramas.

After lunch the older group arrived, and began spreading around upstairs as they played and chatted and drew. Mel took me to one side in the corridor once I'd helped Delilah unbutton her coat.

"Listen," she began. "I think you should take little Delilah into the open room today, have a talk with her. It doesn't have to be anything deep, but she's actually become quite attached to you recently and I think she'd enjoy it."

"What am I supposed to say?" I asked incredibly, glancing at her from the corner of m eye. She stood in the corner of the room, watching the other children with the tip of her pinky in her mouth nervously.

"Just talk to her, Evie," Mel said with a smile. "She's not an alien. I just think it will be good for her to finally let something out. God knows the poor girl won't talk to any of us. She's taken quite a liking to you."

I pursed my lips before nodding slowly. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit."

Mel patted my shoulder before re-entering the room, and I watched Delilah momentarily before calling out her name. She glanced at me for a second before obediently making her way over to me.