Page 24 of One Step Behind
Chapter 13
Sophie
It’s late by the time I get home. It’s been a full day of clients in the heat followed by a long run.
I’m slipping my key into the apartment door when it’s thrown open from the inside, leaving my hand hanging uselessly in the air. Something sinks inside me. I was hoping Nick would be asleep by now. I should’ve known his protective side would win over his early-to-bed-early-to-rise style, and he’d wait up for me.
‘Hey,’ I smile, pretending not to notice the anger pouring out of Nick like steam from one of my clients’ hot tubs.
‘Hi,’ he replies, the one word punched with annoyance. He stands back to let me in and even though I’m heading straight into an almighty fight, I can’t help but marvel at the dark floors and the smooth oatmeal-painted walls as I make my way into the kitchen–living room.
I love this apartment. Everything is fresh and new. There are no spores of mould growing in thebathroom, or damp patches on the ceiling, no decade’s worth of grime lining the cupboards like the last few places I’ve lived. But it’s more than that. The apartment block is brand-new and we are the first tenants to live here, and there’s something about that fact that makes it feel like this one-bedroom, ninth-floor apartment overlooking the back of Westbury’s shopping centre is mine, even if we do just rent it.
It was Nick’s idea to live together. ‘We hardly see each other at the moment. If we’re living together then we’ll have so much more time to just hang out. And we’ll be able to afford somewhere really nice if we combine our incomes,’ he said six months ago when the contract on my old place came up for renewal.
I wasn’t convinced. Nick and I, well, our relationship has always been rocky. We both like our space too much, and I’d only just quit my job at the gym to work with him as a personal trainer. But then he showed me this place and the doubts disappeared. It was the kind of flat I’d only ever dreamed of living in, the kind of fresh start our relationship needed, I told myself.
If only sharing our lives was as easy as sharing the bills.
My legs are aching from my run and I swoop down to touch my toes and stretch my hamstrings. I need to eat and I need to shower, but by the look on Nick’s face neither are going to happen anytime soon.
As I straighten up, Nick brushes past me and moves to the window. ‘Where have you been?’
‘I was working and then I went for a run.’ I drop on to the sofa, my body suddenly weak. Any endorphins boost is being sapped away by Nick’s mood. A sudden anxiety twists in my stomach. Why did I stay out so late? I knew it would upset Nick, but I did it anyway.
‘Your last client was Greg Leighton and that was over three hours ago. Who have you been with all this time?’
‘No one. Greg was late so the session ran over.’ I choose my words carefully. Greg is the only male client Nick has ever scheduled for me, and that was only because he double booked himself a few months ago. Greg is newly divorced and an outrageous flirt, but it’s harmless. I don’t want Nick to catch a whiff of it and reschedule Greg’s sessions with him.
‘And then?’
‘Then I dropped my bag with the concierge and went for a run.’
‘And you didn’t think to pop up first and tell me? I’ve been worried sick about you. I called Greg and made myself sound like an idiot. I even went out looking for you.’
Nick doesn’t look worried. He looks mad. Actually, with his tight red workout vest on, muscular arms folded across his chest, and his mouth pouting in annoyance, Nick looks just like Desperate Dan, the cowboy oaf in the oldDandycomics my nan kept in the spare room. How have I never noticed the similarities before? Staring at him now, it’s hard to see the good looks, the kindness and warmth that I felt so drawn to when I met Nick two years ago.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I told you this morning I was going for a run and I thought it would be OK.’ My voice sounds suddenly small and I catch the flicker of triumph that crosses Nick’s face.
‘You didn’t tell me you were going to be back so late. It’s dark out. How the hell did you run in the dark?’ Nick starts to pace back and forth in front of me. I wonder if this is what it would’ve felt like tohave been told off by my dad, if he’d ever bothered to look up from his bottle of whiskey to notice me coming home late.
‘It’s the only time it’s cool. And the entire seafront is lit up like a Christmas tree,’ I explain.
‘Why was your phone off? I must have called it a hundred times.’
‘My battery died.’ I pull it from my pocket and plug it into the charger by the sofa. I want to remind Nick that it’s his fault my battery is flat. If he didn’t call me five times a day I’d have a lot more battery, but I keep it in. It’s just not worth the hassle.
‘How many times do I have to tell you to carry a power pack with you?’
At least another ten.I sigh and pull myself up to standing. ‘I’m sorry, I forgot. It won’t happen again.’
‘Where are you going now?’ Nick stops pacing and steps towards me.
I point at the kitchen. ‘To get something to eat.’
‘What are you going to eat?’
‘Just a bowl of cereal.’
