Status: Live
Holding Hands Won't Be Enough
Chapter 28: Missed Calls
Los Angeles, 10:30 a.m.
Banging rattled through Milly’s house, causing a stir among her guests who were currently making breakfast for themselves. Burton who was, and was always, the most awake in the mornings strode purposefully to through the house to the front door and the source of the commotion.
”Milly’s friend, hi.” he greeted her, confused as to her obvious anger.
”Where is he?” she demanded to know, pushing past him into the house. ”Seth!” she yelled, striding down the hall, continuing to yell his name. ”Seth!”
”He’s not home.” Burton slotted in between yells. She turned on her heel and gave Burton a glare he had only experienced from his mother.
”What do you mean he’s not home? Has he been here since last night?”
”No, actually. We figured he took himself off until Ville came back. Is something the matter? Is it Milly?” she shook her head, it wasn’t her place to discuss it with them before she had had a chance to tell her best friend.
”No, I just need to know where she’s staying.” she frowned, gathering her scattered thoughts, ”Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your morning.” she sighed, annoyed at herself for letting her anger get the better of her. ”I just can’t get a hold of anyone and it’s driving me insane.” she growled. Burton chuckled knowingly.
”Linde spoke to Milly earlier, we couldn’t work the coffee machine.. He’ll probably know where he is if you would like to join us for some terribly shitty coffee?” he offered kindly. She looked at her watch and sighed, she hadn’t slept all night from what was playing on her mind, coffee was exactly what she needed.
”Carols?” Milly laughed dismissively at Missy’s plan for the evening. ”It’s the middle of November.”
”But we’re all here together!” Missy insisted, ”Oscar will love it, Ape and Phil will be here any minute, come on guys, it’ll be fun.” she pleaded. ”Please...” she grinned. A collective chorus of ’okay’ sounded from Milly, Bam and Ville, evoking an excited squeal and clap from Missy. ”Milly, Oscar will love it!” she beamed.
”I’ve no doubt.” she smiled lovingly. ”It sounds lovely, really.”
”Oh yay, I’m so excited!” she exclaimed, cuddling Oscar adoringly. She hadn’t let him go since they had all met for breakfast that morning. In true Bam style, he had taken them all shopping at the hugely extravagant department stores that had gone all out for Christmas, he and Missy buying Oscar a ridiculous amount of toys she had no idea how she would get back to LA, though Bam insisted he would ship them, much to her amusement at watching the joy he and Missy got from playing with him all day. Bam and Ville went off and did their own thing together once, as a group, they were clear of the toy department, leaving Missy, Milly and Oscar to potter about each department at their own leisure. Only at lunchtime, upon Oscar wanting a particular hat to wear from her bag, did she notice that she had a large number of missed calls from Gwen along with text messages urging her to call her back straight away.
Los Angeles, 12:15 p.m.
She knew putting it off would only make it worse, so she bit the bullet and dialed Milly’s number. Her hands trembled as her thumb hovered tentatively over the call button, it was for her best friend, she reasoned, finally clamping her digit down on the screen. For every time she didn’t answer, she rang again, and again, and again. She would intersperse the calls with texts telling her to call her back, and then after fifteen minutes, she did.
”Gwen, is everything okay? You’ve called me a million times!” she chuckled.
”Hey sweetie.” she smiled, speaking softly in that way people often do when delivering bad news.
”Gwen? Are you okay?” she demanded seriously.
”I’m fine sweetie, I’m not calling about me...” Gwen insisted delicately, ”It’s Seth.”
”What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Milly asked cautiously. Gwen had never done this before – broken the news that a relationship was undoubtedly over, worse still, that wasn’t the biggest news she had.
”Last night, I, um, was out to dinner with the girls.. I ran into Seth...”
”Right?” Milly asked, confused where this was leading.
”He was with a lady called Katia.”
”His brother’s friend, I’ve met her a few times... She’s nice.”
”Darling... No..” Gwen said, her voice cracking, her sniffle echoing in Milly’s ear. ”They were out together, on a date...” Milly fell silent, she thought that was the worst of the news, but nothing could have prepared her for what Gwen said next, ”They have a daughter.” Milly’s throat tightened and her eyes wouldn’t close through fear of tears falling and Missy seeing. ”Mal..”
”But Seth doesn’t have any children..” she almost whispered, trying only to run it over in her own mind, ”She’s been in my house, I’ve cooked her dinner... They both lied, straight to my face.”
”The girl, she’s nearly 3, she’s called Nora.”
”Seth.. he doesn’t..” she breathed, ”Nora?
”Yeah...”
”She’s younger than Oscar..”
”Yes baby.”
”I don’t understand.” she panicked, walking behind a display out of Missy’s sight, letting out a sob as she did.
”He started seeing you when Katia was pregnant. That’s why he’s not prepared to leave California darling.. He’s been living this double life the whole time and they’ve been carrying on their relationship for a while now. I’m so sorry sweetie.”
”But he said he wanted to marry me, to adopt Oscar.. You don’t do that if you have a whole other life?”
”Jealously Mal, he saw something between you and Ville that he obviously has never had with anyone and he got jealous and lashed out. I just don’t know how his mind works, honestly, I wish I did so I could help you, but I just don’t. I’m so sorry.”
”Gwen..”
”Yes?”
”Thank you for telling me.”
”What are you going to do?”
”I don’t know..” she laughed, wiping the few tears from beneath her eyes, ”Cry.. Drink a lot.. Bash my head against a wall.. I don’t know.. I don’t know.”
”I’m a phone call away if you need me. Hell, I’m a five hour plane ride away if you want a hug or someone to bash your head against. Okay?”
”Yeah, thanks Gwen.”
”I love you Mal, you’re my best friend, I’d do anything for you..”
”Milly? Hey, there you are!” Missy smiled broadly as she walked closer to her. ”We thought we lost you, didn’t we?” she said to Oscar, bouncing him on her hip.
”I am a bit lost.” she said, truthfully. She pushed her hair from her face and kissed her son’s head, ”Thank god you found me!” she giggled, lifting her tone as she pushed the phone call to the furthest corner of her mind.
Banging rattled through Milly’s house, causing a stir among her guests who were currently making breakfast for themselves. Burton who was, and was always, the most awake in the mornings strode purposefully to through the house to the front door and the source of the commotion.
”Milly’s friend, hi.” he greeted her, confused as to her obvious anger.
”Where is he?” she demanded to know, pushing past him into the house. ”Seth!” she yelled, striding down the hall, continuing to yell his name. ”Seth!”
”He’s not home.” Burton slotted in between yells. She turned on her heel and gave Burton a glare he had only experienced from his mother.
”What do you mean he’s not home? Has he been here since last night?”
”No, actually. We figured he took himself off until Ville came back. Is something the matter? Is it Milly?” she shook her head, it wasn’t her place to discuss it with them before she had had a chance to tell her best friend.
”No, I just need to know where she’s staying.” she frowned, gathering her scattered thoughts, ”Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your morning.” she sighed, annoyed at herself for letting her anger get the better of her. ”I just can’t get a hold of anyone and it’s driving me insane.” she growled. Burton chuckled knowingly.
”Linde spoke to Milly earlier, we couldn’t work the coffee machine.. He’ll probably know where he is if you would like to join us for some terribly shitty coffee?” he offered kindly. She looked at her watch and sighed, she hadn’t slept all night from what was playing on her mind, coffee was exactly what she needed.
--------
”Carols?” Milly laughed dismissively at Missy’s plan for the evening. ”It’s the middle of November.”
”But we’re all here together!” Missy insisted, ”Oscar will love it, Ape and Phil will be here any minute, come on guys, it’ll be fun.” she pleaded. ”Please...” she grinned. A collective chorus of ’okay’ sounded from Milly, Bam and Ville, evoking an excited squeal and clap from Missy. ”Milly, Oscar will love it!” she beamed.
”I’ve no doubt.” she smiled lovingly. ”It sounds lovely, really.”
”Oh yay, I’m so excited!” she exclaimed, cuddling Oscar adoringly. She hadn’t let him go since they had all met for breakfast that morning. In true Bam style, he had taken them all shopping at the hugely extravagant department stores that had gone all out for Christmas, he and Missy buying Oscar a ridiculous amount of toys she had no idea how she would get back to LA, though Bam insisted he would ship them, much to her amusement at watching the joy he and Missy got from playing with him all day. Bam and Ville went off and did their own thing together once, as a group, they were clear of the toy department, leaving Missy, Milly and Oscar to potter about each department at their own leisure. Only at lunchtime, upon Oscar wanting a particular hat to wear from her bag, did she notice that she had a large number of missed calls from Gwen along with text messages urging her to call her back straight away.
--------
Los Angeles, 12:15 p.m.
She knew putting it off would only make it worse, so she bit the bullet and dialed Milly’s number. Her hands trembled as her thumb hovered tentatively over the call button, it was for her best friend, she reasoned, finally clamping her digit down on the screen. For every time she didn’t answer, she rang again, and again, and again. She would intersperse the calls with texts telling her to call her back, and then after fifteen minutes, she did.
”Gwen, is everything okay? You’ve called me a million times!” she chuckled.
”Hey sweetie.” she smiled, speaking softly in that way people often do when delivering bad news.
”Gwen? Are you okay?” she demanded seriously.
”I’m fine sweetie, I’m not calling about me...” Gwen insisted delicately, ”It’s Seth.”
”What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Milly asked cautiously. Gwen had never done this before – broken the news that a relationship was undoubtedly over, worse still, that wasn’t the biggest news she had.
”Last night, I, um, was out to dinner with the girls.. I ran into Seth...”
”Right?” Milly asked, confused where this was leading.
”He was with a lady called Katia.”
”His brother’s friend, I’ve met her a few times... She’s nice.”
”Darling... No..” Gwen said, her voice cracking, her sniffle echoing in Milly’s ear. ”They were out together, on a date...” Milly fell silent, she thought that was the worst of the news, but nothing could have prepared her for what Gwen said next, ”They have a daughter.” Milly’s throat tightened and her eyes wouldn’t close through fear of tears falling and Missy seeing. ”Mal..”
”But Seth doesn’t have any children..” she almost whispered, trying only to run it over in her own mind, ”She’s been in my house, I’ve cooked her dinner... They both lied, straight to my face.”
”The girl, she’s nearly 3, she’s called Nora.”
”Seth.. he doesn’t..” she breathed, ”Nora?
”Yeah...”
”She’s younger than Oscar..”
”Yes baby.”
”I don’t understand.” she panicked, walking behind a display out of Missy’s sight, letting out a sob as she did.
”He started seeing you when Katia was pregnant. That’s why he’s not prepared to leave California darling.. He’s been living this double life the whole time and they’ve been carrying on their relationship for a while now. I’m so sorry sweetie.”
”But he said he wanted to marry me, to adopt Oscar.. You don’t do that if you have a whole other life?”
”Jealously Mal, he saw something between you and Ville that he obviously has never had with anyone and he got jealous and lashed out. I just don’t know how his mind works, honestly, I wish I did so I could help you, but I just don’t. I’m so sorry.”
”Gwen..”
”Yes?”
”Thank you for telling me.”
”What are you going to do?”
”I don’t know..” she laughed, wiping the few tears from beneath her eyes, ”Cry.. Drink a lot.. Bash my head against a wall.. I don’t know.. I don’t know.”
”I’m a phone call away if you need me. Hell, I’m a five hour plane ride away if you want a hug or someone to bash your head against. Okay?”
”Yeah, thanks Gwen.”
”I love you Mal, you’re my best friend, I’d do anything for you..”
--------
”Milly? Hey, there you are!” Missy smiled broadly as she walked closer to her. ”We thought we lost you, didn’t we?” she said to Oscar, bouncing him on her hip.
”I am a bit lost.” she said, truthfully. She pushed her hair from her face and kissed her son’s head, ”Thank god you found me!” she giggled, lifting her tone as she pushed the phone call to the furthest corner of her mind.