Page 2 of Secrets of Riverside

As she pulled back a little to look her in the eyes, Ebony’s expression was one of complete sadness. ‘I’m so sorry you’re going through this, Millie, I just wish there was more I could do to help you come out the other side of this incredibly hard time.’

‘You’re doing everything you can, Ebs.’ Beyond grateful for her one and only true friend in what had proven to be a big bad world, Millie fell against Ebony’s shoulder as her hands came to grip the back of her friend’s nightshirt. ‘Thank you for letting me stay here while I figure things out.’ Her words were muffled. ‘I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.’

They stayed like that for a few moments more, two broken, deeply connected souls holding one another tight, until Millie’s tears slowed and she untangled her arms from Ebony. ‘I’m so sorry for waking you up again, Ebs.’ Sniffling, she wiped at her tear-stained cheeks. ‘I swear these bloody nightmares are going to be the death of me one day.’

‘It’s all good. I get it, and I got you, always and forever, my darling friend.’ Ebony smiled sadly. ‘After what you’ve been through lately,’ she rested a hand on Millie’s bouncing leg, instantly steadying her, ‘and with what happened to you as a child, well, they are things most people could never dream of going through.’ A frown creased her forehead. ‘Add in the living hell your bastard of an ex has put you through the past few years, and then losing your baby because of what he did, well … let’s just say you know how much I wish I could make him pay for treating you so horribly, and I don’t mean in a legal sense either.’

‘I know you want to hit him where it hurts, Ebs, but violence doesn’t solve anything.’ God only knew just how much she was aware of this after being Jason’s punching bag for way too long.

‘Yes, I know, but it doesn’t stop me dreaming of doing to him what he’s done to you.’ Ebony tucked wisps of copper hair behind her pixie-shaped ears that were dotted with a myriad of piercings. ‘And just for the record, you don’t have to keep thanking me for helping you. You’ve done your fair share of being there for me when my world fell apart too, don’t forget.’

Looking into her friend’s desolate gaze, Millie briefly recalled the night they’d gotten the call four years ago, telling them that Ebony’s parents had died in a light plane crash, but she quickly swallowed down the heart-wrenching emotions that came with the recollection. ‘Yeah, I know we’ve both been each other’s rocks, and partners in crime sometimes too, over the years.’ She nodded, trying to smile while sniffling. ‘But with the shifts you’re pulling at the hospital and then over at the youth centre, you need your beauty sleep when you can get it, instead of being up at all hours consoling me.’ Ebony had been saving money for her dream trip to Africa, and Millie was excited for her.

‘Meh, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.’ Ebony grinned then nudged Millie’s arm. ‘And for your information, Miss Price, I don’t need beauty sleep, I mean, just look at me.’ She pulled the most grotesque face possible. ‘I’m gorgeous just as I am, don’t you reckon?’

‘Oh my gosh, you loon.’ Chuckling, Millie kissed her friend’s cheek, and then gave her a playful shove, unwittingly propelling Ebony from the edge of her bed and to the floor. ‘Oh crap …’ Flopping to her side, she hung her head over the edge of the bed and matched Ebony’s sassy grin. ‘Sorry, I honestly didn’t mean to do that.’

‘Yeah, right, just come right out and admit it, you’re jealous of my insane beauty.’ Ebony pulled the same humorous facial expression again, sending both of them into uncontrollable laughter.

Gathering what she could of herself, Millie wiped tears of both misery and mirth from her cheeks as she rose from the bed and offered Ebony a hand up from the floor.

Accepting the offer, Ebony jumped to her feet and then plucked her knickers from where they’d crept up her bum. ‘Right, I’m going to go back to bed, to try and get a few more hours sleep before I have to get back to the grindstone of back-to-back shifts again.’

Millie nodded affirmatively. ‘Yes, good idea, you do that and I’ll make sure to stay super quiet while I get ready for another day spent job hunting.’

‘I’m sorry that arsehole fired you from the service station for not being able to work the days following your miscarriage.’ She huffed and shook her head. ‘I really hope you find something you’d love to do this time, like cooking or working in a quaint café, and not take any old job just to make ends meet.’

Millie crossed her fingers. ‘Let’s hope, hey.’

Ebony grabbed both of her hands and gave them a squeeze. ‘Are you sure you’re okay with money, on top of everything else? Because I don’t mind lending you some cash if you’re struggling.’

‘I’m okay, Ebs.’ She had a little bit tucked away, but a job would have to come sooner rather than later if she didn’t want to land in hot water, and she also wanted to contribute to staying with Ebony too, as soon as possible. ‘You’ve kindly given me a place to stay until I’m back on my feet again, and that’s priceless.’

‘Don’t speak of it, I love having you stay here with me, so stay as long as you want to.’ Ebony gave her a quick hug. ‘I love you so much, hon.’

‘I love you too, Ebs, to the moon and back.’ Millie smiled through her melancholy as a crazy thought came to her. ‘Hey, seeing as we don’t get to hang out much lately, how about I come with you on your jog Monday morning, so we can spend a bit of precious time together before we sail like ships in the night for the entire week again?’

‘Really?’ Ebony pulled an are-you-sure face. ‘Because you’re not really an exercise kind of gal.’

‘Yes, really.’ Millie’s trim body owed more to her having a fantastic metabolism and good genes, rather than her hitting the gym or treadmill.

‘Righto.’ Ebony smirked, and her green eyes twinkled with mischief. ‘Whatever happened to your motto of “why run when nothing is chasing you”?’

‘Ha, yeah, there is that, but I miss you, so I’ll brave breaking a sweat to hang out with you for a little bit.’

‘Alrighty then, it’s a date, my friend.’ Ebony grinned and waggled a finger at her. ‘And I’m holding you to it, so no excuses at six o’clock Monday morning, capisce?’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Millie replied spiritedly and gave a salute.

‘Good.’ Ebony nodded. ‘Night then.’ She paused and offered a kind smile before she disappeared through the doorway.

‘Sleep tight,’ Millie called back as a drawn-out meow brought her gaze to the huge tabby cat now pressing his face up against her bedroom window. ‘Oh hey, Felix, oh my gosh, I’ve been worried about you, buddy.’

Padding over to the slightly ajar window, she pulled it up and reached out to pluck her feral, and very heavy, moggy visitor from the fire-escape ledge – the safety feature that had been one of the main reasons Ebony had snapped up the pokey rundown apartment a year earlier. Millie understood Ebony had done it for her, for the occasional nights that she slept over, so she’d feel safe if there was ever a fire. Now that she’d finally plucked up the courage to escape from her violent boyfriend’s clutches – with her Suzuki Jimny that was almost as old as she was, a backpack of clothes and personal items, and nine hundred and seventy-two dollars in her pocket, along with an empty thousand-dollar credit card – this room was her haven. And she had Ebony to thank for her new path, which would hopefully lead to new opportunities and a bright future. Her forever friend had been her driving force, and her saviour, as she’d helped her to flee like a thief in the night three weeks earlier, leaving the man who’d ruled her with an iron fist and tight money strings passed out on the lounge room floor as drunk as a skunk once again. Thank goodness those days were behind her now, gone, part of her past. But leaving the skeletons in the closet was easier said than done. To this day, she longed to know who the guy was who had saved her from the fire.

Cuddling the cat, who had been visiting the apartment ever since Ebony had moved in, she placed herself back in the present moment as she relished Felix’s purrs that were so loud he sounded like a mini generator. ‘I was starting to think you’d skipped town, buddy, or one of those horrid alley cats had finally gotten one over you. Thank goodness you’re okay.’ She gently ruffled his head. ‘So what have you been up to the past four days, you scallywag? Huh?’

Felix responded with a string of meows, as if understanding her concerns and filling her in on his adventures on the streets of Parramatta, as she carried him into the kitchen of the small two-bedder apartment and plonked him down on the floor. Purring louder still, he furled himself around her legs, lovingly rubbing her ankles with the grace of a ballerina as she poured him a bowl of milk, placed it onto the floor to his delight, then grabbed a can of house-brand tuna from the back of the cupboard. After peeling back the lid, she tipped it onto a saucer and plonked it next to his now empty bowl. Folding her arms, she rested against the bench and watched him eat like he was starving. With his ginger coat and playful, loving nature, Felix reminded her so much of the cat her parents had gifted her on their last Christmas morning together. She’d even named him after her feline friend who was now in kitty heaven after succumbing to cancer. Felix the first had gotten her through countless nights of sobbing herself to sleep as a fifteen-year-old girl, and now Felix the second was doing the same when he dropped in for a visit.

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