Page 23 of Coming Home to Crumbleton

Out of sight, out of mind.

Coming home to Crumbleton was always going to be tough, but now that Oli was here too, it had reached a whole other level. Clambering to her feet, Ruby took a deep breath as she hunted for any kind of distraction. She stared around her old bedroom. The result was an instant lump in her throat and the sensation of an elephant sitting on her chest.

Not a single thing had changed.

Across the room, under the window that looked out onto Crumbleton High Street, sat her desk. She might have had all the freedom in the world as a kid… but the reality was - she’d been a good girl who’d craved nothing but her parents’ attention and approval. When the first wasn’t forthcoming, and the second was only granted with a kind of dithery detachment, Ruby had turned to schoolwork and lost herself in writing.

The old Royal typewriter she’d bought with her pocket money at ten years old was sitting exactly where she’d left it - a page of slightly yellowed paper still wound in place.

Ruby frowned. She could just make out a single line of type. Moving closer, she peered at the words.

I have to leave this place. Without him, it’s just-

She’d never finished the sentence.

‘…just not home,’ she whispered.

But now, the him in question was back.

With one swift movement, she yanked the paper out of the old typewriter, crumpled it into a tight ball and lobbed it at the waste paper basket. The room may have sat untouched for years - save for some cursory hoovering - but she couldn’t bear the idea of leaving that unfinished sentence hanging around a minute longer.

Breathing heavily, Ruby made a slow turn on the spot as her teenage years came to life around her. There were drawings all over the walls. Scrappy sketches of her favourite people and places around the town. Stacks of notebooks leaned drunkenly against teetering piles of typewritten pages next to her desk. They contained millions of words - hundreds of stories and ideas - all featuring people who’d surrounded her in her day-to-day life. Ruby shuddered. The old feeling of being hemmed in was starting to creep over her.

It was the exact feeling Oli had saved her from all those years ago.

Turning back to the bed, Ruby tossed her bag onto the floor and collapsed onto the mattress. The resulting cloud of dust made her nose tickle, and she sneezed.

‘Just read the damn note!’ she growled.

Yanking it back out of her pocket before she could change her mind again, Ruby unfolded the page and smoothed out the creases. She’d just have to ignore the fact that her hands were shaking so much the whole thing was quivering.

Dear Ruby,

You left your bag in the shop. I thought you might need it, so I’m going to drop it off with your mum and dad - I guess that’s where you’re staying?

We need to talk about your event. I was hoping to go over it earlier, but I guess it was all a bit much and you needed to - land a bit? Anyway, I’ll be down at the Dolphin & Anchor this evening at 7pm. I’ll grab a quiet table. I want to make sure I’ve got everything you need lined up. Tickets have sold out, so we should have a good crowd.

Here’s my mobile number in case you need it. See you later. Or not.

I’ll be there either way.

Oli E x

Ruby stared for several long minutes at the kiss after his name before letting her eyes drift to the carefully printed phone number below.

This doesn’t mean anything. Nothing at all.

Except… it did. After six years of maintaining zero contact - six years of avoiding social media like the plague - she had his phone number in her hands.

‘It doesn’t mean a thing,’ she huffed, trying to convince herself

Caroline might have said he was single - but that didn’t mean he was remotely interested in her other than as a visiting author. Just because her life had been on hold ever since she’d left Crumbleton - ever since he’d left Crumbleton - it didn’t mean the same thing was true for him.

‘Not your whole life,’ she muttered, coming to her own defence. She might have avoided any kind of personal life, but she’d thrown herself into her writing. She had a career. A successful one.

Write edit submit. Write edit submit. Late nights and early mornings, filling page after page with words until she got the deal. Then her lonely life exploded with meetings, edits, tours and readings.

But now… Oli was here… and she was going to have to face him.

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