Page 11 of Christmas off Script
‘They—’ He shook his head. ‘Those tight bastards made their son’s girlfriend pay adeposit? When’s the next payment going out?’
‘At the end of the month.’
‘Cancel it. You can’t trust those fuckers to give you back your deposit. They can use it in lieu of your last month’s rent.’
‘I can’t do that.’
‘Yes, you can.’ He paused, his body now as still as a big cat, preparing to pounce. ‘How much rent have you been paying them?’
What’s the point of covering for them anymore?Ella told him.
‘Fuck!’ Leo yelled to the ceiling, the tendons in his neck taut and a pulse beating wildly under his skin. He took a deep breath, then sat on the edge of the bath, his hands interlocked and his knuckles white.
‘Ella.’ His voice thrummed with anger. ‘That figure is way above the market average and should have been paid by youandOliver.’
She nodded, the lump in her throat too big to let any words out.
‘Please.Pleasecancel your next payment.’
Ella didn’t want to. To do so was to admit defeat. But what choice did she have? Oliver had made up his mind and his parents had never liked her, no matter how hard she tried to win them over. No doubt they were breathing a sigh of relief that their beloved son had finally ended his relationship with her.
‘I’ve got to take all the pictures of us down by Monday,’ she choked out. ‘So they aren’t in the estate agent’s photos.’
‘Oh, mate…’ Leo’s hand reached forward and took hers again. ‘I’m so fucking sorry.’
‘Me too,’ she whispered, tears falling from her cheeks into the bath.
‘You don’t deserve this. It’s not fair.’
Ella shrugged, her eyes on the surface of the water and her jeans underneath.
‘Come and live at the manor. You know there is masses of space and my folks would be over the moon if you moved in.’
She glanced up at him. Surely he couldn’t be serious?
His expression brightened. ‘It’s the perfect solution. My family adores you, it’s closer to your work than here, and you’ve stayed over so often you know what it’s like. And don’t eventhinkof offering to pay rent, or my parents will be horrified. Please?’
Ella remembered the first time she’d ever slept at the manor. It was Christmas, and she was only fifteen. Her mum had gone away with a new boyfriend, and her dad and Michelle had taken Kyla-Marie and Billie-Mai to Disneyland. With her only living grandparent suffering from dementia in Foxbrooke Haven, Ella had nowhere to go. The Foxbrookes had taken her in and she’d spent the happiest two weeks of her life with them. She’d fallen in love with Christmas as well as with Leo’s family, and they’d treated her as one of their own ever since, standing by her when everything went wrong with her dad.
The thought of staying there again, even for a few weeks until she found somewhere else, filled her with hope. Foxbrooke Manor was a fairytale, and where her heart felt safest.
Really? You felt safer there than with Oli?
The answer came back without hesitation.Yes.
She’d trusted Oliver to never leave her, but he’d discarded her more quickly and efficiently than the weekly recycling.
‘Ella?’ Leo squeezed her hand. ‘Please say yes?’
As she gazed at his anguished face, her heart grew too big for her chest. Leo loved her as much as she loved him. He was the truest of friends. Someone who took on her pain as if it was his own. If she turned down his offer, she’d hurt him as much as herself. She knew Oliver and his parents well enough to know there was no going back. And the longer she stayed in this house, the more miserable she would be.
Sniffing loudly, she braved a smile. ‘Thank you.’
His eyes widened. ‘You’ll stay?’
She nodded. ‘Christmas with you and your family sounds like my idea of heaven.’
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