Picking Up The Pieces: Book 1 of the Broken Series Page 4

  Becka - Hey, how are you? Are you ok? Why aren’t you answering me?

  I have another text come through as I’m reading the older messages;

  Becka - Lex, you’re scaring me. Please tell me you’re ok or I’m coming around there.

  Shit. I better had text her back.

  Me - Hi, I’m fine. Sorry couldn’t text back I was busy. Don’t freak out… but I was on the train. I’m in London. I finally left him.

  Becka - What the fuck! You left him, how did he take that. Not very well I imagine.

  I decide to ring her instead. She picks up on the first ring, impatient as usual. “Hi,” I say.

  “What the fuck is going on, why didn’t you tell me,” she says worriedly.

  “Whoaaa, slow down, I couldn’t. The less people that knew, the better, I had to go while I could, it got pretty bad. He’s been arrested, he should be sitting in a police cell as we speak. I had a missed call on my phone from an unknown number, I assume it was from him at the Police Station. It was a local number.”

  “Please tell me you won’t go back to him again,” she says shakily.

  “I promise. That’s it now. I came this close to him killing me this time, Becka. Never again. Grady deserves better. This is the new me now.”

  “Oh, hun, so you’re here…in London?” she says excitedly.

  “I am. I’m at a bed and breakfast, but I’ve got a flat to view tomorrow not too far from where I’m staying.”

  “Do you want me to pick you up? I’m not at work, I don’t mind," she asks happily.

  “Okay as long as I’m not putting you out?” I ask cringing.

  “WHAT? Don’t you dare say that to me? Of course, I will. Send me the name and postcode of where you’re staying and the time of your appointment, and I’ll be there. I’ve got to go; I’ll see you tomorrow. Ohhh... and I’m so happy you’re here Lex. Love you, hun.”

  I think she said that in all one breath.

  “Love you, too, and thank you,” I say with a small smile, shaking my head.

  I shoot off a quick text with all the information Becka needs and decide to have a shower while Grady is still asleep. The poor little chappie is exhausted from all the travelling today. I have a quick shower and get into some comfier clothes. I brush my hair out and put it up in a messy bun before lying down with Grady for a while to get some rest before he wakes up again.

  These last few days have been so exhausting.

  I wake to a door knocking. I get up as gently as I can as Grady is still asleep. Alice is standing on the other side.

  “Hi Alexia, did I wake you, honey, I’m so sorry,” she says warily.

  “No, no, really it’s fine.”

  “I came to ask if you’d settled in okay and to make sure everything was okay for you and Grady.”

  “Yes it’s wonderful thank you, Alice,” I say appreciatively.

  “Well, we do evening meals as well as breakfast, I forgot to mention earlier. I finish serving at 8 pm if you’re interested.”

  “Yes that’s great, thank you. We haven’t eaten properly since this morning so that’ll be good. Thanks so much. I’ll just get Grady up, and we’ll be down,” I say thankfully, smiling at Alice. She’s turns on her foot and heads back downstairs with a wave of her hand and tells me she’ll see us soon.

  After we’d had dinner, I stayed downstairs to chat with Alice and Philip. Me and Grady went back to our room feeling a little happier than earlier in the day. I’m feeling positive for the first time in a while, that everything might just work out for us.

  Grady plays on the bed babbling to himself while I run his bath. I wash him, and we play with the bubbles for a while, once he’s washed and starts getting cold, I wrap him in a towel and get him ready for bed. I make him a bottle of milk and lie on the bed with him. He plays with my fingers while he’s dozing. Grady has a thing for skin, he likes to touch me when he’s going to sleep so he’s constantly touching me. Once he’s dozed off and is snoring softly, I get up and tidy the room before slipping into the bed next to him and fall asleep thinking happy thoughts for the first night, in a long time.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ALEXIA

  After a restless sleep with Grady kicking me in the back all night long, I get up, get dressed and make a cup of tea. I make Grady a bottle of milk to wake up to, otherwise I know he’ll be grumpy for the rest of the day. Once he’s awake, I change his nappy, wash and dress him and let him have his bottle. Once he’s done feeding we make our way downstairs for breakfast. I walk into the dining room, and Alice is in there seeing to another guest.

  “Good morning, Alexia, and to you little man. Did you sleep ok?” she asks.

  “Not really, a bit restless. Things on my mind and someone doesn’t know how to stay on his own side, do you, Grady?” I smile at Grady and Alice.

  “I’ll get you a highchair to sit him in,” she says smiling back at me.

  Once we’re both seated, Grady starts to bang his hands on the tray while I’m looking at the menu. Alice comes to take my order. “What would you like?” she asked as she watches Grady in delight.

  "I’ll have some coffee and a full breakfast please, Alice, and can I get some toast for the little monster here please?” She laughs, “Of course you can, sweetheart. I’ll be right back with your coffee.”

  I watch her walk away, and I feel my phone vibrate on the table. I have a quick look and see that it’s Becka telling me she’ll pick me up at 11 am.

  Once Grady and I have freshened up from breakfast, we wait for Becka to arrive. I make sure I have the address details, I grab my bag and lift Grady onto my hip and go downstairs to wait for my friend. Becka arrives not a minute after we get downstairs so I say goodbye to Alice, and she shouts good luck to me as I’m walking out of the door.

  I put Grady in the child seat, strap him in and make my way around to the passenger side. “Hi, thanks for doing this,” I look to Becka.

  “It’s no problem, you know that. I just want you safe… and happy.” She replies and looks back at me with a small smile.

  “How’s Mason and the girls. I can’t wait to see them.”

  “They’re good. They can’t wait to see you either,” she replies smiling at me.

  We arrive at our destination and see an oldish man waiting outside to greet us. We get out of the car, and we see that Grady has fallen asleep, I don’t really want to wake him so Becka stays in the car with him while I go and view the flat. I walk up to the estate agent and greet him with a smile.

  “Hello, you must be Mrs Williams? I’m Mr Green, the estate agent” he says holding out his hand.

  “It’s Ms, please call me Alexia, and please to meet you,” I answer smiling.

  “Shall we go and take a look?”

  “Yes please,” I reply.

  We enter the flat, I didn’t expect it to be this size. There’s a big living space with floor to ceiling windows. A large sofa and a Bucket chair which rotates. It has a decent sized modern kitchen with black appliances, the bathroom has a bath and a separate shower with enclosure, and the two bedrooms are light and airy. The master bedroom has a double sized bed and has fitted wardrobes which spread across the main wall and also has a floor to ceiling window.

  The small bedroom has a smaller window with fitted wardrobes also. All carpeted throughout with beige coloured carpet except for the kitchen and bathroom which has ceramic tile flooring. I stand looking around in awe. I love it. It’s just the right size to be cosy, just right for Grady and I. But, sadly, I can’t afford this. A voice draws me from my musings.

  “What do you think Alexia, is it what you are you looking for?”

  “I’m sorry to waste your time Mr Green, but I can’t afford this. It’s gorgeous.”

  “Excuse me a second while I just send a text to my friend.”

  “That’s fine,” he replies.

  I send a text to Becka to ask if Grady’s awake and if he is then to bring him up. A few minutes later Becka walks in wit
h a loud Grady.

  “It’s beautiful, I love it. But it’s way over my budget.” I withdraw back into myself knowing it’s another setback.

  “Lex,” Becka says my name softly, “Mason has been speaking to his friend, he’s willing to overlook the security check on Mason’s guarantee. He owes Mason a favour or two! As long as you make the rent payment on time it’ll be fine, but we can help with all that while you get settled,” she answers me quickly.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It’s smaller than this and probably not as glamorous, but it’ll do you I think, for a while anyway.” She looks at me questionably.

  I turn from Becka and speak to the estate agent. “Thank you for your time Mr Green, but this is way over my budget.”

  He looks at me, and I can see the pity in his eyes, and I hate it. So I pick up Grady, sit him on my hip and turn back to Mr Green, I’m strong, I will not be pitied. I hold out my hand so we can shake hands.

  “That’s fine Ms Williams, I’m sorry we can’t budge on the price. If you need us again, here’s my card, please don’t hesitate to ring me and I’ll help the best that I can.” He sees us out and locks the door behind him. When we get to the cars outside, we part ways, and he shouts bye to us, he gets in his car and drives away.

  We head back to the guest house and sit down with Alice, we have a cup of tea and tell her all about the flat and how it was over my budget, I then start to get teary thinking that everything is against me at this point.

  “Hey Lex,” Becka speaks to me. “Look at me hun; don’t you get upset it was just a drawback, after everything you’ve been through we’ll get through this too, I promise,”

  She’s determined, I’ll give her that. She’s always been able to do this. She drags me out of my own head and makes me see sense. Determined not to let this bring me down anymore I nod.

  “You’re right. Can you ring Mason and ask him?”

  “I’ve already text him. Dean said he’ll meet us at the address in a couple of hours with Mason. We’ll get you somewhere, I promise.”

  After chatting for a couple of hours, laughing and sharing some of our teenage antics with Alice, we go to the address to meet up with Mason and his friend. When we get there, Mason is waiting outside for us. I get Grady out of the car seat. And we walk over to the guys.

  “Hey Lex,” Mason says giving me a kiss on the cheek.

  “Hey Mase, thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.”

  “Don’t be silly, it’s what friends are for. Only you’re more like family than a friend.” He pulls me into him and gives me a hug.

  “Right, let’s go meet Dean and see what this flat is like, huh?!” he looks at me smiling.

  “Yeah let’s go,” I reply happily.

  Dean is introduced to us, he’s quite tall with blond hair, aged about 40 I think and married. He has a kind face, which makes me relax. We go into the flat which is on the ground floor, so I don’t have to worry about the stairs at least with the pushchair. Dean opens the door and lets us enter first, I look around, it’s clean and fresh. It’s a lot smaller than the other the one but that I don’t mind. It’s a one bedroom flat, it’s not on such a grand scale as the other one.

  The Kitchen is small and compact with a dishwasher, washing machine and microwave, on the bigger wall is a hob and an oven with an extractor fan. The bathroom has a bath with a shower on the and a shower screen fitted to the side of the bath, a sink and a toilet. I take Grady from my best friend and walk towards the bedrooms.

  We enter the bedroom; it’s tidily decorated which will do me. I’ll need beds and furniture for this one, but Alice has said I can stay in the guest house until I’ve secured somewhere for us. The flat is tidy and carpeted throughout again.

  I can make this my own.

  I’m brought out of my head when I hear Becka, “What d’ya think Lex?”

  “I like it. It’s small, but I can cope with that. It’s decorated, it’s carpeted I just need furniture and a bed and a cot for Grady,” I reply hopefully.

  “Hey, baby boy. Shall we go see our new room huh?” We walk into Grady’s room, and I put him on the floor so he can have a crawl around. I stand just watching him, smiling. I love seeing him so happy. When I pick him up again, I took him back to the living room and put him back down for a while. I look to Becka and smile.

  “I like it,”

  We join Dean and Mason back in the living room, I put Grady on the floor to have a roam around, while I talk to Dean. “Do you like it? I hope you don’t mind, but Mase here told me about your circumstances, and I’m willing to give it to you for a reduction. I trust Mason, and if he tells me you can keep up with the payments, then that’s good enough for me. If you have any problems with anything in the flat, just ring me, and I’ll be out to fix it.” He also tells me I can decorate it how I want too which is good.

  We agree on a price, and he tells me he’ll get a contract drawn up and have will get it to me tomorrow to sign. I thank him for everything he’s done, and we head out. Mason leaves to head back to work, he’s a partner in an accountancy firm so he popped out between clients for me.

  I smile at Becka, thank her and give her a hug, and we head back to the guest house to pick up the pushchair from the B&B before we go shopping and tell Alice the good news. I also tell her she has us for another couple of days while we get the flat ready.

  “Once we’re settled I’ll need to start looking for a job.” I smile at her, a proper one though this time.

  “It’s so good to see you smile Lex. I’m so happy you’re here.” She tells me with tears in her eyes.

  “I’m happy too. Don’t cry because you’ll start me off.” I smile a watery smile back at her. Becka grabs hold of me and hugs me tight, so I hug her right back.

  “I love you, Becka, you know that don’t you.”

  “I love you too Lex. It’s gonna be so good having you here with me. It’ll be like old times again,” she squeals excitedly.

  “Maybe not quite like old times,” I wink at her.

  Grady looks up at her in bemusement, and I laugh at them both while I’m wiping my eyes and take a deep breath. As I pick up my bag from the sofa, I can feel my phone vibrating. I fish it out of my bag and as I look at the screen, I stop. My breath quickens when I see the name on the screen…Paul.

  Becka turns around and looks at me confusedly. “What’s up Lex?”

  “That was Paul. Goddamn it. He’s not gonna leave me alone, is he?”

  “The first thing we do, we need to get your number changed. Okay?”

  “Yeah okay, let’s go.”

  “He’s not gonna get to you again Lex, I promise.”

  Becka, Grady and I spend the next few hours shopping for us both and bedding for me and Grady and some toys to put in his bedroom, new clothes for us both and also soft furnishings for the flat. We stop to eat at the food court so Grady can have some dinner too.

  While he’s eating Becka looks up at me, “I’ve really enjoyed today, it’s been fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you let go and enjoy yourself.”

  “I know, so have I.” I smile back at her. “Where to next then?” Becka asks.

  “I need a telly. Then that’s it for today. I’m exhausted.”

  “You know what, I was thinking - you know how you said you needed a job? Well, do you want me to ask my boss if there’s any going at the restaurant for ya, we’re always short staffed, so I don’t see why not.” Becka offered.

  “Umm yeah. You can do, but I’ve never worked in a restaurant before, and anyway I need to find childcare and everything first before I can start work.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll ask him first and let him know that I know someone that’s interested and that you’re amazing and you’ll do a great job.” She replies laughing.

  “What would I do without you to boost my ego huh?”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” shaking my head I get up and take Grady to the bathroom to change him
and clean him up, and we head out to get the last of the items on the list.

  On the way back to the bed and breakfast we stop at a discount furniture shop where they stock second hands and picked out some furniture, to keep me going for a while until I can get a new one. I bought the bed and Grady’s cot brand new, though, they’ll be arriving the day after tomorrow. The two small sofa’s I picked out are coming the same day so hopefully, I can get the key from Dean tomorrow.

  I hear my phone ringing again so I ignore it. I have an inkling I know who it is anyway. It keeps ringing so I get it from my bag and see Paul’s name flashing on the screen once again. I reject the call and let it go to voicemail again.

  Shit, he’s gonna be pissed!

  I press the power button to turn it off completely, and drop my phone back into my bag and get in the car with Grady. When we arrive back at the bed and breakfast Becka helps me upstairs with my bags and the pushchair. Exhausted I pop Grady in the middle of the bed, sit down on the side and flop backwards so I’m lying across it.

  “I’m knackered B,” closing my eyes listening to her while she’s rambling.

  “Are you listening to me Lex,” sighing I lift myself from the bed.

  “Nope, what were you saying,” shaking her head.

  “I was saying I’ll speak to Scott, my boss, too. I’ll tell him you’re interested and let you know what he says.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “I need to be off though now, so I’ll see you tomorrow.” She kisses my cheek, I hug her, thank her again, and she’s gone.

  The door closes behind her, so I go to it and pop the deadlock on, then go and get Grady ready for bed. I power my phone back on and have another two missed calls and then beeps with a voicemail. I decide to ring my mum and let her know what’s happened. That’s a twenty-minute conversation I wasn’t looking forward to having.