98. Chapter 98
ninety-eight
F rank lay propped up in his armchair, eyes half-lidded, jaw tight, painkillers yet to kick in properly.
The television was on, but with the volume low, screen flickering through a daytime quiz show he wasn’t watching.
His fingers picked at the edge of the blanket draped over his knees, restlessness in every twitch.
Monroe sat nearby at the dining table, laptop open but largely forgotten, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. The spreadsheet she’d been meaning to update sat untouched as she stole another glance at Frank.
He hadn’t said much since Poppy left for the shops over an hour ago, just a grunt when she’d asked if he wanted tea, and a vague shake of the head when she offered to change the channel.
“You alright?” she asked gently.
Frank’s mouth twitched, almost a smile but not quite. “Just peachy.”
Monroe closed the laptop softly and turned in her chair. “You’re allowed to be pissed off, you know.”
“I’m not pissed off,” he muttered, then sighed. “I’m just…tired of feeling like a bloody invalid in my own house.”
“You’re recovering from a major injury, Frank.”
“I know. Doesn’t make it less humiliating.” He shifted, wincing as he adjusted his position. “Can’t take a piss without a plan of action. Can’t get up the stairs. Can’t even get my own cup of tea.”
Monroe stood and walked over, crouching slightly so they were eye to eye. “You don’t have to be okay with it. But you’re home, and that’s a start.”
He looked at her, and for a second the frustration cracked into something softer. “This room used to feel like ours. Now it feels like a ward.”
She nodded slowly. “It’ll feel like home again.
Just…not overnight.” He went to complain again, and she held her hand up, done with this ‘woe is me’ attitude.
“Everyone has put their lives on hold for you. Poppy is exhausted, but she won’t complain.
I’m here, while my life is in France, with Chloé, who I miss every moment of the day.
Now, you can sit there and be miserable if you like, or you can start counting your lucky stars that so many people care about you and are doing their best.” She stared at him until he nodded.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to sound so…” Frank blinked, his gaze drifting towards the window. “The kids will be home soon.”
“Yes. They’ll want to tell you all about Kitty’s new sticker book and how Benji probably got into trouble for talking in assembly.”
He gave a small laugh. “Sounds about right.”
Monroe squeezed his hand lightly. “You don’t have to perform for them. They just want their dad. You don’t have to be ‘back to normal’, you just have to be here.”
Frank nodded, his jaw working as he swallowed down whatever emotion had risen. “Thanks, for everything you’ve done. Being there for the kids and Pop. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I appreciate it—I do.”
She smiled. “Anytime. Now, how about that tea?”
Monroe lay curled beneath the duvet, one hand tucked behind her head, the other holding her phone steady as Chloé’s face lit up the screen.
“I swear, the minute I sat down, a client messaged with ‘just one more thing’,” Chloé was saying, her hair scraped up messily, eyes tired but smiling.
“What did you say to that?”
Chloé pulled a face, “I said, ‘Make it quick.’”
Monroe laughed softly. “I thought that was my line.”
“You’re rubbing off on me. And not in a way I was hoping.”
“Only fair, I’m covered in you over here.”
Chloé grinned at that. “Oh yeah?”
Monroe shifted, snuggling deeper into the pillows and the T-shirt of Chloé’s she was wearing.
“My shirt?” Chloé smirked, remembering the night they changed the sheets, and the reason behind it.
“I needed it.” Monroe grinned, before becoming more serious. “Frank had a rough day. Barely said ten words until I finally pried one out of him. Gave him a bit of a telling off too. But the kids came home and lit him up again, so that was something.”
“You’re amazing, you know.”
Monroe wrinkled her nose. “I’m exhausted, I’ve got a thousand emails to answer tomorrow, and I look like I’ve been dragged backwards through a hedge.”
“You always say that, and you’re always wrong,” Chloé murmured, her voice softening. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” Monroe’s thumb brushed absently along the edge of the phone. “The bed’s too cold without your ridiculously hot body in it.”
“And you said I was clingy,” Chloé teased, eyes warm. “We’ll be together soon. Christmas is just a few days away.”
“Soon still feels far.” Monroe’s voice cracked just slightly.
“I know. But look at me. I’m right here.”
“I want you here, though. Is that selfish?”
Chloé shrugged. “Maybe a little,” she laughed, “but then I am selfish for wanting the same thing.” She looked down before she said, “Frank is home now, do you not think—”
“You want me to leave them?” Monroe felt her jaw tighten. She sat up, staring down the phone. “You just said yourself…Christmas is almost here… How can I?”
“I’m just asking the question. If not for Christmas, New Year? Easter? How long do you need them to need you?”
“You make it sound like I don’t want to come home.”
Chloé shook her head. “That’s not what I meant, but it is how it feels sometimes.”
Monroe closed her eyes, letting her honest thoughts flood through her. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about how long she might stay.
“It’s not that I don’t want to come home…I just… They’re my family, and I like being around them.”
Chloé nodded, smiling. “I know. It’s not a bad thing, but maybe something else we need to discuss more, non ?”
“Yes, okay, but not right now,” Monroe said, sliding back down under the duvet. “Can we just be here, together now?”
Chloé grinned. “It’s my favourite time of the day.”
They both fell quiet, the moment extending between them like a held breath. The kind of quiet that wasn’t awkward or heavy.
Monroe reached for her charger, eyes beginning to drift. “I’m falling asleep on you.”
“Go sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.”
“I love you,” Monroe whispered, voice already thick with sleep.
Chloé smiled. “I love you more. Sweet dreams.”
Monroe didn’t reply, the screen tilted slightly as her hand relaxed, the soft sound of her breathing beginning to fill the call. On the screen, Chloé just watched her for a while longer, before finally ending the call.