Beautiful Pain (32 page)

“
Warning you? Are you sure?” He paused. “Well maybe he is trying to say that he is going to visit you?” Sophia shook her head.

“
No, he would never come here. We don’t have a great relationship. He only travels when he has to,” she explained.

“
Then?”

“
I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I am going to call my mum later to find out.”

Harry cupped her face between his hands and kissed her.

“
Don’t think about him. We still have the day to ourselves. Besides, it can’t be about us. No one knows that we are together.”

“
My cousin visited me a while ago and I told her everything. I know that she wouldn’t have said anything because she hates my father,” Sophia explained, thinking about Ramona. No one in probation knew that Sophia was dating Harry, unless someone saw them together. They were always careful and she’d never gotten friendly with anyone in probation.

“
You might be right,” she sighed. “Do you want scrambled eggs for breakfast?”

“
Let’s just skip breakfast and spend the rest of the day in bed having sex instead,” he chuckled and pulled her into his arms before she could protest. She wanted to reply, but he sealed her lips with passionate kiss. Sophia soon forgot about the phone call from her father and stopped worrying about the future.

Harry wanted to spend every spare minute that he had with Sophia. She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to deal with his visits in probation. For now he still had the sick note from his doctor. His bruises were healing well and in a few weeks he could drive again. Sophia had to go to work as normal, pretending that everything was all right. They hadn’t brought up the subject of money again, and Sophia decided to wait for a few weeks to discuss it again.

After the intense weekend together, they continued seeing each other as often as possible. Sophia became a regular visitor in Harry’s home and Mrs. O’Donaghue accepted her, not asking any questions. After all, she was in love with her son and hopefully Harry was in love with her. Sophia was afraid that once his leg healed and he could drive again he was going to be back to his old habits, back to dealing.

Chapter Thirty Three

When Sophia told Vanessa what happened during her absence, Vanessa screamed with excitement for at least ten minutes, not believing that Sophia had finally lost her virginity. After going through all the juicy details, Sophia switched the subject to Timothy. Vanessa was happy with the way things were going with him. They were getting serious again and Tim was even considering moving back to Belfast. Sophia was glad that Vanessa was sorting her life out. Her friend needed stability and a boyfriend that was going to take care of her.

The weeks passed by fast, and before Sophia even noticed she only had a few weeks left of her summer. Harry had been turning up to his appointments, pretending to be a client not her lover. Sophia always chose to use private rooms for their meetings so no one could overhear what they were talking about. She thought that people had been watching her and someone in probation was working for her father, especially after the phone call. She couldn’t get through to her mother. After a few attempts she got a text message stating that Michelle was traveling with work and she was going to call her as soon as she could.

She kept asking Harry if he’d thought about her proposition, but he muttered that he was still thinking about it. She put a new argument forward saying that the money was just sitting in her account and she wasn’t going to use it anytime soon. His mother’s operation was urgent, but Harry was still hesitating.

They slowly became inseparable. Harry spent a few nights a week in Sophia’s apartment when Vanessa was working. Sophia couldn’t lie to herself thinking that the sex wasn’t good. She enjoyed every minute being with Harry. She got used to waking up in the morning with him. She still hadn’t told him how she felt about him, but during one intense night of lovemaking she wanted to whisper in his ear that she was in love with him. Harry continued being supportive, caring, and annoyingly admiring. They stopped discussing the future; they both knew that their time was precious and they had to make the most of it.

During one sunny afternoon when Sophia was walking back to the apartment, she realised that in a few weeks her new life was going to end. She wished that Harry would tell her how he felt about her. She was torn between her parents and contemplating about staying in Belfast. She still had one year of University left and she couldn’t jeopardise it for a man that hadn’t even said that he loved her. However the idea of going back to that miserable life filled with books and nagging wasn’t appealing to her anymore. She couldn’t imagine being without him.

“
Sophia, hey wait!”

She turned around, seeing Mason rushing towards her, and the smile disappeared from her face. She didn’t want to see him again and she wondered if he’d followed her here.

“
What are you doing here, Mason?” she asked. She could only hope that Harry wasn’t thinking about meeting her somewhere here. He reached her, breathing heavily. His hair was slightly longer and he looked like he lost a bit of weight.

“
I was hoping that you might be going this way. Do you mind if we have a drink?”

“
Have you been waiting here for me?”

“
Well, I was hoping to bump into you. I wanted to talk to you.”

“
There is nothing to talk about, Mason. We aren’t going out anymore, so there isn’t anything that we have to discuss,” she added, glancing around. Sophia had hoped that she was clear when she told him that it was over between them. She shouldn’t have gone out with him in the first place.

“
Oh come on, at least let me try to be your friend.”

“
Mason, I really don’t think that this is a good idea. I’ve got to go.”

She was just about to walk away when he stopped her, touching her arm.

“
So you are seeing someone else, that’s why you don’t want to talk to me. I really don’t get what is wrong with you.”

“
Mason, I am not seeing anyone. I am going back to London in a few weeks. I think I am in a completely different place right now.”

She felt that she had to lie to him, she didn’t want to him to know about Harry. Mason was a clever guy, he was obviously still hoping that there was a chance for them to get back together, even if they weren’t serious.

“
I want to be friends with you, Sophia, and I don’t understand why you are making it difficult. Just tell me if you’re seeing anyone. I am sure you didn’t mean to break up with me?”

Sophia stared at him for several seconds, wondering what to tell him. Her gut was telling her that he wasn’t going to leave her alone.

“
I am leaving, Mason. Stop following me and just accept that we were never meant to be together,” she fumed with annoyance and started walking away.

“
I don’t give up easily.”

He didn’t follow her, but he’d made sure that she heard him. This wasn’t a coincidence they met near her house. He knew her routine, her place of work, and where she lived. She got home just before half past five. Harry was going to come after seven so Sophia had a bit of time for herself. She was glad that she got rid of Mason, but she was sure that this wasn’t the last time that she saw him. Mason saw Harry with her outside the coffee shop so he could easily jump to conclusions. He could also know that she wasn’t supposed to see Harry outside probation. She thought that she had to be really careful from now on. Belfast was a large city, but she wasn’t anonymous.

She had a quick shower, trying to forget about the unpleasant incident, and thought about Ramona. She hadn’t spoken to her for several weeks, as Ramona was away for the rest of the summer. Last night she had received another text message from Michelle asking if everything was all right. She also texted that she was looking forward to Sophia’s return, which sounded really bizarre. Michelle never expressed any feelings; she would never say that she missed Sophia.

***

Harry was worried about his mother. She was too weak to get out of bed this morning. He made her breakfast and she went straight back to sleep. He thought about Sophia’s proposition long and hard. He never owed anything to anyone and he wasn’t prepared to take money from her. Maybe she was wealthy, but he couldn’t build the relationship on false promises. He spent a few incredible weeks with Sophia, but the time was slowly running out. They purposely avoided talking about Sophia’s plans. They lived in the present, but there were only a few weeks to go before she would have to end his dream and go back to her old life.

He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and how much he wanted her to stay, but he didn’t want to blow it. His gut was telling him that he couldn’t rush anything. The plan was simple, today’s dinner was going to be special and Harry knew that his aunt and cousins wouldn’t let him down. He wanted to show Sophia that if she decided to stay in Belfast she wouldn’t be alone. This was all part of his big plan, but he imagined that Sophia had probably already thought about it. He couldn’t possibly leave his mother and move to London, even if he wanted to he couldn’t do it and he was hoping that Sophia understood that.

Harry made a few phone calls, Patrick still on his mind. His revenge was going to be sweet and filling. He still had a lot of good contacts in the city, even though he wasn’t dealing. His source told him that Patrick had a really good day yesterday and he’d made a significant amount of money. Harry smiled, feeling incredibly lucky today. His leg was still stiff, but he didn’t care; he jumped in his car, taking this opportunity to relax in front of the wheel. Harry knew exactly where he was going. Patrick lived in the east part of the city with a group of friends. Harry clenched his fists around the wheel, imagining what he would do to him if he could corner him alone in some dark alley. He knew that this was just too easy, and that’s why he thought about a different plan. The neighborhood was quiet, but Harry knew that at night that part of the city gave people the creeps and no one walked around here alone after dark.

He waited in the car for a while until a black Punto pulled out in front of Patrick’s house. He got the text message a few minutes ago that he shouldn’t have to wait long. Harry thought about Sophia again. He wasn’t sure if he was going to share with her what he’d planned. He wanted to keep her away from that part of his life. He lifted his head and saw Patrick had just entered the house. Harry waited five more minutes before making the phone call. He hesitated for a little while, biting his lips. He ran his hand through his hair, thinking about the consequences. One phone call and Patrick was going back to prison. Harry shook his head; he was beaten up by Patrick and his mates because he refused to continue with burglary and assault. Now Patrick was going to pay for what he did. He reversed back, got out of the car, and entered the phone booth.

“
999, what’s your emergency?”

“
21 Elm Street in East Belfast, someone is dealing drugs in there,” he began in a hoarse tone. There was silence on the other end of the phone. The dispatcher probably already knew Harry’s position.

“
Drugs, have you got the name?” she asked.

“
Patrick Samson.”

“
What’s your name and telephone number?”

“
I repeat, 21 Elm Street, heroin and cocaine.”

Then he hung up and jumped back into the car. His heart was pounding in his chest. Patrick was done, he just needed to wait for the police. He parked the car away from the alley where he could see exactly what was going on. He couldn’t stay long, but he was sure that this call wouldn’t be ignored. Patrick’s house was full of stolen goods. He was still dealing drugs and he wasn’t that stupid to drive a flashy car. He was trying to keep a low profile in his black Punto.