Twenty-four
Either Jemma was avoiding him or something had happened. This was the third time he’d knocked on her door and hadn’t got an answer.
He’d called round last night and she wasn’t in and he’d called back later and she still hadn’t answered. The lights were off, too, because he’d popped outside and looked. Had she gone back to Orpington? Or had she gone out with Molly or someone for the evening.
Now he was banging on the door this morning and still there was no sign of anyone inside. He called her on the phone but the line was engaged.
Where was she?
Had she had an accident?
No. Two accidents in one week was too much to believe. Perhaps she was in the shower?
He tried the phone again and this time he got through.
‘Jemma?’
‘Greg?’
‘I’m outside your front door.’
‘I’m not there.’
‘Oh. And you weren’t here last night.’
‘Last night? No, I wasn’t. Erm. Did you want something, Greg?’
He almost said, ‘Yes, Jemma. I want you!’ Instead he said, ‘Just wanted to check you were okay. You seemed a bit … out of sorts when we spoke yesterday.’
‘Did I? That’s probably because I was. Sorry. But I’m with some new friends and we’re just going to sit down for breakfast. I’m fine though so nothing to concern you. Hope you’re okay too. Bye, Greg.’
Bye. Greg? He could feel angry rising within him. Bye, Greg! Was that all she had to say to him? Bye, Greg. As if he didn’t matter to her at all. As if he meant nothing.
But what had he expected. He knew it would end like this.
End like this? It hadn’t even started.
New friends? What new friends? If she had been out with Molly, surely she would have said so?
Had she … had she met someone else? Had she been swept off her feet by another man? There was something in her voice this morning that hadn’t been there yesterday. A hint of happiness. No more than happiness. It was a mixture of excitement and pleasure and joy. And a sort of freedom and maybe even relief. The sort of sound you made when your dreams had come true and all your worries and doubts and frustrations had vanished.
So her new friends had made her feel like that, had they?
Well then what did he possibly have to offer her that she hadn’t already got.
And from her new friends, too. Huh. Well that was just great, wasn’t it?
He had nothing.
Nothing to offer her at all.
And he had never felt so unhappy in his entire life. Not even when Donna had dumped him.
