A Beautiful Forever

chapter 32

Paige

“Are you ready?” my mother says as soon as I open the front door of my newly rented flat. It’s not that far away from where my mother

and Daniel live, and it isn’t anything exciting, but it’s my own space – a place for me to start rebuilding my life.

It’s one bedroom, one living area, a small kitchen and bathroom, and it suits my budget. I can afford it on my own with my

hairdresser’s salary without having to touch the money from the trust fund my mother gave me. I'd prefer not to touch it, unless I

absolutely need to – perhaps I’ll save it for my retirement or something.

My mother and Daniel have helped me buy furniture for it as they’re doing their best to be a part of my life. We’ve come to an

understanding now, and we’ve been continuing to work with a counsellor to put our respective pasts behind us and have the best

opportunity for a family that we can. It’s still weird though, I don’t know that I’ll ever come to view them as my ‘parents’ in the sense

that they are the first people I want to share my world with – I just can’t see us being a family like that.

“Come on Paige, we’ll be late for your appointment,” my mother chides me gently, still waiting in the doorway.

“Alright, I’m coming – you don’t need to be at every appointment you know,” I point out, reaching for a lightweight cardigan as I sling

my handbag over my shoulder and step out the door, locking it behind me.

“I need to make sure you’re ok,” she reminds me, walking ahead of me down the stairs until we reach her car.

I hop into the passenger seat, and she drives us to the doctor for my appointment. It's nothing serious this time; he just needs to

check on me to make sure I’m looking after myself and eating properly after being so unwell lately.

We sit in the waiting area and chat briefly about an article in a magazine before we’re called into the doctor’s office. My mother sits

supportively beside me as the doctor asks me a barrage of questions, checks my health and sends me on my way, happy with my

progress.

“I told you it would all be fine,” my mother says as we leave.

“Did you?” I laugh before I take a nervous breath as butterflies flutter in my stomach, “Well, I worry,” I say.





Elliot


Today feels like the happiest day of my freaking life – I’m finally on the plane back to the UK, and this time, I have five years under

my belt.

It gives me plenty of time to find Paige and try to convince her that her past doesn’t mean we can’t be together. I don’t care what it

takes, I want to be with her. I need to be with her – she doesn’t get to push me away this time.





Paige


As I do every night before I go to sleep, I replay the last couple of voice messages from Elliot that tell me he misses me and still

loves me, then I look through the photos of our time together. I have printed a couple – ok, all of them; off and have them framed

around my house – my mother thinks I should just call him back and tell him what’s going on with me, but now, more than ever he

needs to choose his own path. I can’t let my changed circumstances be the deciding factor in what’s best for him. He’s the kind of

guy, who will stick it out with me until the bitter end, and I don’t want that for him, I want him to be happy.

I need to be strong. I can’t let my love for Elliot be the only thing I focus on or my life will fall apart. I’ve spent the last three months

trying too hard to put it back together, and I’m finally at a point where I don’t feel like my past is chasing me around, I feel like I can

move forward with my life, and I hope that Elliot manages to as well.

As I drift off to sleep, my dreams are filled with him. Nights are my favourite time of the day now, because I can indulge in him while I

sleep.





Elliot


Waking with a start, it takes me a moment to realise where I am. I was just having the most vivid dream where I was searching for

Paige but every time I found her, she’d turn around, and it would be someone else. I slide my fingers through my hair. I haven’t had it

cut since Paige did it nearly six months ago. I can’t believe it’s been so long, it feels like it only happened yesterday.

I only have a couple of hours left on this flight before I’m there. Jolene has agreed to pick me up from the airport, so I don’t have to

catch a cab this time. They don’t have a spare bed, but everyone is fine with me taking the couch for a couple of days until I sort

something else out.





Paige


My alarm sounds and I roll out of bed, yawning and stretching the kinks out of my back. It’s time to get ready for work. I don’t feel

much like using a lot of product so I twist my hair up in a bun and pull some curls down to frame my face, before I apply some

moisturiser, mascara and lip gloss.

I wear my black work pants, a white fitted singlet top and a grey asymmetrical cardigan that hangs long in the front and short in the

back. Grabbing my keys and the salon keys, I get in my car and head off to work. It’s my morning to open and prep the salon today,

so I pick up some breakfast on the way and eat it there.





Elliot


“Well, hello stranger!” Jolene calls out to me as I wheel my bags towards her.

“Hi Jolene, thanks a lot for coming to collect me,” I say, she leans up and gives me a friendly hug hello and kisses my cheek.

“It’s no trouble, I got picked up when I arrived, so it’s kind of a karmic thing to pay it forward,” she explains.

Driving to the flat is kind of surreal after being back in Sydney, but it feels like I’m going home. The big letdown is that Paige won’t

be there, but I feel so sure that I’ll find her. I realised on the plane that she would have needed to find another job, and that means she

would most likely have used Andrea as a reference.

The first thing I do after setting down my bags and saying a quick hello to all the house mates, is hand over the bag of Tim Tams I

brought with me and then take a walk to Stylz.





Paige


It’s almost lunch time, and I’m so close to finishing the extensions in my client’s hair. This has been a very labour intensive morning,

and I’m looking forward to the half hour I get to eat and sit down. I’m working with three other stylists today, and we’re booked fairly

solid all day long so besides my break. I won’t be getting much time to rest my legs.

Finally finished with the extensions, I style my client’s hair to blend in the new hair in with the old. The sound of the blow dryer muffles

the voice of Brooke, one of the other stylists, as she speaks to me.

“Paige!” she calls over the top of it.

I shut the dryer off so I can hear her. “Sorry,” I say turning to face her. “What’s u– ” I don’t need her to tell me because he’s the only

thing I can see when I look up. I shove the dryer into Brooke’s hand and mumble something about needing to do something

incredibly vague.

Wrapping my cardigan around my middle, I walk towards him, not entirely certain that this isn’t some sort of dream.

“You’re here!” I exclaim, not really sure what else to say. I want to jump into his arms and kiss him, but I don’t know if I can.





Elliot


Paige is standing in front of me, staring at me like I’m some kind of apparition. “I really thought you’d be harder to find,” I tell her.

“One quick conversation with Andrea and here I am.”

She looks me up and down, her arms wrapped around her waist defensively. “Here you are.”

I hold out my hand to her, craving her touch. “Can we go and talk?” I ask gently. She looks at my hand like she did that time on the

plane, like she’s really unsure as to whether she should take it or not. Just like I did six months ago I tell her, “I’m not going to bite.”

She keeps one arm round her waist as she slips the other one in my hand. The moment we touch again I get this charge travelling

through my body that reignites the life that I've felt lacking since I left her here.





Paige


I've become all heady being near him, and I can’t really think straight. I'm just kind of following along blindly behind him, not

questioning where we’re going.

“Stop!” I say suddenly snapping myself out of it.

“What? What’s the problem?”

“What are we doing? Why are you here?” I ask. The last thing I expected this morning was to see him. This is all so surreal; I don’t

know how to act, or what to say.

He stops and takes a step towards me, hooking his finger under my chin and tilting my head towards him. “I’m here for you,” he

whispers as he brushes his lips against mine, shivers run through my body as I forget what I did to him and my guard falls away. I

whimper a little against his mouth as I part my lips and allow his tongue access. Oh, how I’ve missed the feel of him in my mouth!

The taste of his tongue as it slides sensuously with mine! I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, pressing my body against

him as want takes over my senses.





Elliot


I’m lost in the sensation of her mouth as I pull her closer to me, our bodies meld together, and I can’t help but notice a … bump? My

eyes pop open and I immediately stop kissing.

Staring at Paige’s face as she slowly opens her eyes I slide my hands around to her waist and over the firm mound that is now

where her flat stomach used to be. Her eyes widen as she jumps away from me and wraps her cardigan back around her waist,

trying to cover up.

I shake my head, “No, no, no, do not cover that up.”

She releases her cardigan, and it falls either side of her protruding bump. I look from it to her, pointing at it as I ask, “At what point,

were you planning on telling me about that!?”

Her lip starts quivering and her eyes fill with tears, “I…I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want you to feel like you had to come back. It

doesn’t have to be your problem.”

“What!? How can you say that? How could you keep this from me? This is my child -right?” I glare at her, still pointing at her

stomach. She squeezes her eyes shut and tears start to roll down her face as she nods quickly.

“Yes it’s yours,” she barely even whispers.

I stand there and glare at her, trying to think of what to say without ruining everything completely, feeling so hurt and angry right now.

I close my eyes and press the pads of my thumb and index fingers against them, “What time do you finish work?” I say as calmly as I

can.

“Six,” she answers.

“Alright,” I say as I nod my head and walk away from her. I need some time to deal with this. I need some time to calm down.

“Elliot!” she calls after me. I shake my head without turning around. “I’m sorry!” she calls after me. I put my hands on my head, it

seems to be the only thing I can do right now to stop it from exploding. What the hell just happened?