Chapter 23
23
Once Dan had calmed down, I left him curled up under a blanket on the sofa watching This Morning . I really did wish he’d sort things out with Sabrina once and for all. He couldn’t go on like this, for all our sakes as well as his own. His mental health was so fragile and I worried about him so much. But I also knew that he needed to be in the right place to deal with it. Sabrina was controlling him and she loved it. Classic narcissist behaviour. If you looked at the list of characteristics, she literally showed every single one. And it was so unfair.
My brother, my gorgeous, kind, lovely brother, was being totally and utterly manipulated. And I hated her for it. One day I would have my say with her, but not yet. Not until he was ready for me to do that. I just hoped that as a family we could pull together and get him into that place.
Dan’s words about my own love life had really hit home this time. Normally, they were like water off a duck’s back. They never really bothered me. But that was before Dennis had come into my life. This time it felt like he’d cut to the very core of me. And yes, I was scared. Scared of ending up in a relationship like this, where I was a puppet, and my strings were being pulled by my puppet master. But maybe he was also right and that if I never gave myself a chance, I’d end up alone for ever.
Dennis deserved an apology after my little outburst. He was important to me and I needed to show him that. After he’d opened up to me about the neglect from his own family, I could see now that my words may have seemed cruel towards him, and I owed it to him to say sorry. I genuinely was. I wouldn’t hurt him for anything in the world.
I practically ran and knocked on Vi’s door, and she seemed to take an age to answer. She smiled when she saw me. I must have looked like a drowned rat, the rain dripping off my hair.
‘He’s gone to the train station.’
‘He’s leaving?’
‘Yeah, not sure what’s happened between you two, but he was mighty hacked off. Said there was nothing here for him any more. Mumbled about the fact he thought there was but he was wrong. Said no one needed him here and that he’d be better off back in London. Charming, eh? Cheeky little bugger. What about his old nan? I’ve loved having him here.’ She looked at my face and could see how upset I was. Glancing at her watch, she said, ‘His train to Truro is in ten minutes. If you go now, you might catch him. Hurry though. And sort everything out, you daft tart, or I’ll have to bang your heads together!’
I leaned forward and kissed her papery soft cheek and she put her hands up to my face.
‘Go, Nancy. See if you can stop him leaving. He’s so shitting proud. Such a silly lad! He doesn’t realise what a little treasure he really is and how loved he is. Letting someone into your heart is hard you know, but it’s worth it.’ I wasn’t sure if she was talking about me or Dennie. ‘I could swing for his parents, they’ve damaged him more than they’ll ever know. Just when he felt like he was belonging somewhere, and fitting in, and well… you know. He loved spending time with you. And now he’s run away.’
I ran home, grabbed my bike, and pedalled with all the energy I could muster. My heart filled with joy at the thought of potentially having a relationship with Dennis and declaring my feelings to him. Butterflies in my tummy kept me going, but as I approached the level crossing and the gates came down, my heart sank. I frantically kept checking my watch until they were ready to rise again and allow the traffic to continue, and I sped towards the station as fast as the pedals would allow.
As I pulled into the car park, I saw that the train was still there on the opposite platform. I looked to the sky and mouthed ‘Thank you.’ Maybe Aunty Theresa had my back in more ways than one. I slammed on my brakes and leapt off my bike at the same time. The sound of clattering metal echoed around the empty car park as I tried to fling it into the grassy verge, but the back wheel caught on my dress. The bike didn’t go down fully, landing on my foot, and pulling me over in my haste, the bike somehow landing on top of me.
The whistle blew. And as I tried to pull the bike off me, I could only watch as the train slowly pulled out of the station.
And then the heavens opened.
Sobs wracked my body, and I wiped my snotty tears with my sleeve. I was too late. Too shitting late as Vi would say. As I sat with my head in my hands, I heard a gentle cough. I uncovered my eyes, and saw a pair of pristine white Prada trainers in front of me. I gasped as my gaze travelled further up the dark denim-clad legs, and the hem of a crisp white shirt.
Dennie removed the bike, which was balancing precariously on my leg, and propped it up against the nearest wall. Then he returned to where I was sitting, knelt before me, and I breathed him in as he took my face in his hands.
And then he kissed me.
A million fireworks went off inside my head, my heart, my tummy and my legs, as time stood still. His lips were gentle at first, his delicate kiss becoming more urgent and demanding. I didn’t care if anyone was watching. I was going to savour this moment forever. The taste of his lips was a heady mixture of mint and coffee, like a box of divine chocolates.
When he eventually moved away, he plonked himself beside me on the wet damp grass and grinned.
‘Hey!’
‘Hey yourself!’ I replied. ‘Your jeans will get wet and dirty.’
‘Just how I like them.’ His eyebrows shifted upwards. ‘Like my women.’
The joke broke the tension and we both laughed out loud, Dennis smacking his forehead with the heel of his hand.
‘Sorry. That sounded so much better in my head.’
He stood and held out his hands to me, helping me up. Then he lifted one of mine to his lips and kissed it, grinning at me like a lunatic. And I mirrored him.
He lifted my bike with one hand with ease and carried it over to his car, the other hand clinging onto mine. My hand fitted into his perfectly. Like it was always meant to be there. And apart from loading my bike into his boot, he didn’t let go of my hand for most of the journey back into the village.
When we arrived back at Driftwood Bay, a full rainbow arced across the bay and we looked at each other and smiled. The rain was petering out and the sun was peeping out from behind the clouds. The seagulls, which were normally so noisy when the rain came teaming down, were just starting to resurface and caw once more. It was as if the bay had returned to its rightful beautiful state. I felt like my world was once more complete.