Fearless Heart (EDITING)

Part 10

Rain fell on the roof of the bus shelter which stood lonely along the nameless road. Harriet held her shoulders, shivering from the cold, her hair stuck to her face. She was sick of crying and she just wanted to be at home.

Even expecting the worst it hurt like hell when it finally struck.

Harriet watched the headlights appear as they drove towards her. The car stopped in the bus space and Clive climbed out of the car, running over to the shelter to collect her bags.

Clive looked at Harriet with a weak smile before he picked up the bags and put them into the boot of his car.

Returning to Harriet's side he guided her to the passenger's seat, shutting the door behind her as he ran to the driver's seat.

Neither one of them spoke, the sound of the rain deafening. The midnight music from the radio was chilled, soft, like a lullaby. Harriet watched Clive's hands, glancing briefly at the band on his left finger before returning her gaze to the road outside.

God, did she hurt.

She couldn't believe she had been so smitten with Vince, enough to be blinded by him. She knew what he was like now and that was the last straw. How dare he treat her like a second class citizen? Rage overcame her as she pounded her fist on the dashboard.

Clive reached out a hand, taking Harriet's in his.

"When we get home, how about I run you a nice hot bath and pour you a large glass of wine?"

Harriet stared at their hands as she felt the tears well up again.

"Yeah. That would be nice."

The ambient voice on the radio sang as Harriet listened to the words.

Well the room is crowded, people everywhere

And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?

Well if you sit down with this old clown,

Take that frown and break it,

Before the evening's gone away,

I think that we could make it,

And I hope that I don't fall in love with you.

Harriet watched as she relived the past few days. Stumbling across Vince fumbling with some pretty blonde.

She remembered seeing skin on skin and the taste of bile in her throat as she turned tail and returned to her room in the bus. She remembered thinking that he could have been more discreet about the whole thing. She knew they didn't have a label and he was free to do as he pleased but this? This was torture.

Vince had followed her, doing his belt up as he tried to explain himself.

"Enough is enough." She interrupted him, looking at her feet, "this was a mistake. I should never have got on this bus."

Vince had looked at her, silently watching her. She could smell alcohol on his breath.

Harriet took a deep breath as her stomach dropped another tier.

"I can't do this any more Vince." She had looked at his perfectly blue eyes gesturing between them, "whatever this is, is over. I can't feel the way I do and be around you."

Harriet was back in the car, the rain heavier now as they drove on.