In It Together Read online

  In It Together

  by

  Jade Winters

  In It Together

  by Jade Winters

  Published by Wicked Winters Books

  Copyright © 2015 Jade Winters

  www.jade-winters.com

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Other titles by Jade Winters

  Novels

  143

  A Walk Into Darkness

  Everything To Lose

  Caught By Love

  Guilty Hearts

  Say Something

  Faking It

  Second Thoughts

  Secrets

  Novellas

  Talk Me Down From The Edge

  Short Stories

  The Makeover

  The Love Letter

  Love On The Cards

  A Story Of You

  Be the first to be notified: Click here to be notified of new book releases and special offers.

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter One

  ‘That frigging bitch! The dirty, lying scumbag! How could she have done this to me? And with Jenny of all people!?’ Cara said aloud as she raced down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She winced as a sharp pain shot through her swollen lip, followed by a stream of liquid that trickled from her mouth down onto her chin. Using the back of her hand she wiped it away, eyeing the smear of blood in dismay. Anger rose within her again. Cara was not a violent person by nature but Jenny had asked for it. Anyone in their right mind would have done the same thing given the circumstances; slapped Jenny hard across her smug face. What sort of flatmate, sorry ex-flatmate, would have written such intimate details about someone else’s girlfriend? God she hated her! She hated them both!

  Cara grimaced as she recalled what she’d read in Jenny’s diary. The diary that had been lying innocently on the kitchen counter for all and sundry to see. Maddie made me come three times last night…I bet when she’s fucking Cara she’s thinking of me…I love her delicious scent. Pages and pages of smut that would make the snake in the Garden of Eden blush.

  Yes, Cara knew it was wrong to ‘peek’ at Jenny’s diary, that it was an invasion of her privacy, she completely got that, but she had only been trying to understand why Jenny had been acting so awkwardly around her lately. Well, she certainly knew now and it was a lot more than she’d bargained for.

  Reaching the ground floor, she dropped her case on the floor and glanced over her shoulder in the vain hope Maddie had followed her to beg for forgiveness, to tell her she had experienced a period of madness and had now come to her senses. Nope. The stairwell was empty. No doubt Maddie was up at the flat playing the knight in shining armour to her damsel in distress. The one she’d been fucking for the past year, if Jenny’s diary was anything to go by. Four years of loving Maddie and putting up with her endless dramas and this was how she’d repaid her. Well good luck to them both; they deserved each other as far as she was concerned.

  Cara knelt down and tugged the case open, frantically looking through the clothes and toiletries she’d haphazardly thrown into it.

  ‘Great, this is all I need.’

  Everything but her car keys. She leant back against the wall, her elbows propped up by her knees. Could she find the courage to go back upstairs to retrieve them? Before she had a chance to make a decision, the sound of a car pulling up outside caught her attention – the police. Her heart pounded against her chest as two officers exited their vehicle and headed up the path towards the main entrance.

  ‘Shit, shit, shit.’

  Cara scrambled to her feet and quickly pushed her belongings back into the case, then half lifted, half dragged it towards the emergency exit. She gave one last look down the hallway as the police neared the entrance then fled through the back door and along the path at the side of the flats.

  Stopping briefly, she braved a glance up to the balcony of her old flat and drew a deep breath when she saw them both standing there. Maddie’s arm was wrapped around Jenny’s shoulder, holding her close. If the circumstances hadn’t been so tragic they would have just looked like any other couple in love. As if sensing her presence they both turned their heads in her direction. For a second Cara thought they were staring at her. She fought the urge to give them the finger, but didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She was sure Jenny would think nothing of alerting the police to their fleeing suspect.

  Cara’s stomach churned violently. She still couldn’t believe that Maddie was having an affair with her flatmate. The two of them were so different. Maddie was an interior designer with a flair for the dramatics. Jenny, on the other hand, was a serious academic in the midst of a doctoral program in mathematics. Their coupling made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

  Nervous energy pumped through her veins as she ran towards an alleyway that led to a small secluded park, dragging her case behind her. Cara scanned the area vigilantly before hurrying to a bench hidden behind a large oak tree. Her legs gave way beneath her as she sank onto the wooden seat and let her case fall to the ground with a thud. In the space of an hour she’d gone from being the pampered birthday girl to a fugitive.

  Sudden tears blurred her vision of the lush and green park that at one time had been their playground; throwing Frisbees in the summer, picnics, or just chilling and reading books. Always the two of them. What a fool she’d been. How could she have missed the signs? Maddie was her boss after all and they spent most of their time together. Cara had thought they were happy, that they were finally going to move in together – it had been on the horizon for ages. But there was no chance of that ever happening now. No doubt Maddie would be moving in with Jenny, as her protector in case the ‘psycho’ came back to finish her off.

  The thought of the cat fight she’d had with Jenny made her cringe. It was so out of character for her. She’d never raised her voice, let alone her hand, to anyone in her life. O
kay that was a lie – she’d shouted at her childhood boyfriend Randal, better known as ‘Randy’, when they’d played doctors and nurses, but only because he’d insisted his role as a gynaecologist allowed him to see her ‘moo moo’. She may have only been six but she had turned the air blue with a barrage of words a child her age shouldn’t have in their vocabulary. She thought that scene may have scarred poor Randy for life.

  Cara pushed the memory to the back of her mind. This was not the time to be reminiscing about her childhood. She needed a plan of action and needed it fast. She looked up towards the darkening clouds. ‘Yeah that’ll be just about right. Piss down on me. Hell, why not throw in some hailstones and lightning while you’re at it,’ she said, opening her case and rummaging through it for her purse. Fuck noooooo; please don’t let me have left my purse behind as well. She punched her clenched fist down on her knee in frustration before bending over and emptying the contents of her case onto the ground. Anything but my purse. How am I going to pay for anything? Where the hell am I supposed to sleep tonight? Gripping her hair in her hands she gave a sideward glance to the bench she was sitting on. Hell no, I’m not sleeping on this! She may have been desperate but she wasn’t ‘that’ desperate.

  Patting the sides of her jacket, she sighed with relief when she felt a small bulge. At least she had her phone with her. Maybe she should call one of her many friends who had unceremoniously dumped her when she started a relationship with Maddie and see if they had a spare bed for the night. Hell would freeze over before I’d ever do that.

  Unease spread through her body as Cara contemplated her future; she needed to get out of London. Phone in hand, she began to punch in the numbers. Cara only had one choice – she would have to go back to the one place she had sworn blind she would never return – home.

  Chapter Two

  Light poured through the low dark clouds, blanching the barren hilltops beneath it. The train chugged past the rugged valleys and vast emerald fields as Cara took in the panoramic landscape in awe. It was as if she was seeing Cumbria for the first time. In all the years she’d been away, she was glad her true home had lost none of its magical appeal.

  The train driver announced they’d be arriving at Windermere station in five minutes. The few remaining passengers in her carriage stood and gathered their belongings from the compartments above. Cara remained seated, her forehead pressed against the cold window pane, lost in thought. The four-hour journey had given her time to think – to assess her situation. Cara was beginning to regret behaving so hastily. She should have given Maddie a chance to explain why she’d cheated on her. By leaving so abruptly, she had played right into Jenny’s hands and given Maddie to her on a silver platter.

  But what could she do now? Take the next train back to London and see if they could salvage any remnants from the ashes? Kick Jenny out of the flat and move back in herself? Not likely, for starters her dad had only paid for a one-way ticket so she couldn’t go back even if she wanted to. Not today, anyway.

  No, there was no escaping her fate – Cara was going to have to face her mother whether she liked it or not.

  The train stopped with a sudden jolt and Cara prised her head away from the window, grabbed her case and joined her fellow passengers as they disembarked the train.

  Making her way to the taxi rank she inhaled deeply, immediately noticing the difference in air quality. Clean, fresh, summer air. A far cry from the polluted muggy air of London.

  Lining up behind the queue of people, Cara checked her phone again to see if she’d had any messages from Maddie. Not a peep. Pair of bitches!

  Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder. She stifled a scream as she instinctively shoved her iPhone into her pocket. This isn’t London! People didn’t mug you for your phone in broad daylight in Cumbria; at least she hoped they didn’t. She whipped around to see a dark haired man in his early thirties with a tanned face, bulky body and blue eyes. He didn’t look like a criminal, at least not like the men in mug-shots she saw on the news.

  ‘Can I help you?’ she demanded, putting on her streetwise, don’t-mess-with-me-I’m-from-London, tone.

  The man ran his hand over his head, his eyes widening in disbelief.

  ‘Well I’ll be damned, it is you! Cara, don’t tell me you don’t recognise me. Have I changed that much?’

  Cara studied him closely. The sudden realisation of who the man was hit her like a ton of bricks.

  ‘Matt?’

  ‘The one and only,’ he said, breaking into a grin.

  ‘Shit, I don’t believe it.’

  What was the likelihood of being back in Cumbria barely five minutes and already bumping into one of the people she least wanted to see – Matt Brody?

  ‘I barely recognised you. When did you get so beefy?’ The last time she’d seen him, he’d been as thin as a rake and as heartbroken as a love-sick puppy.

  Matt chuckled and flexed his muscles. ‘I spend most of my time in the gym. Not much else to do round here.’

  ‘Nothing’s changed then?’

  ‘No, Cara, I don’t think it has,’ he said with a teasing smile.

  Cara shifted on her feet. Feeling awkward, not to mention tongue-tied, she said, ‘How are your mum and dad?’

  ‘They’re really well. They’re living on a houseboat now. Never stay in one spot for more than a few days.’

  Cara laughed. ‘Your parents were always travellers at heart.’

  ‘So you’ve not forgotten?’

  ‘Of course not, how could I?’

  The man standing behind Matt cleared his throat and jerked his head up. Cara turned and was relieved to see a space had opened up – just one person stood between her and the next cab.

  ‘So, how long you back for?’ Matt asked.

  ‘Not long. Just passing through, really.’

  ‘Matt. Hell-o!’

  Cara and Matt turned towards the voice. A woman stood on the edge of the pavement, with oh so obvious blonde hair extensions and protruding breasts that peeked out from her tight, fitted top. She held shopping bags in each hand.

  ‘You said you were going to bring the car round,’ she complained, in a whiney high-pitched voice as she eyed Cara suspiciously.

  Matt’s face reddened. He threw his car keys up in the air. ‘So I did.’ He turned back to Cara. ‘We should get together before you leave.’

  Cara nodded, a dull ache in her stomach. ‘Yeah sure.’

  ‘We’ll go for a drink. Old times’ sake and all.’

  ‘I’m waiting, Matt!’ the woman said dramatically, her lips forming into a pout.

  Matt looked over at her impatiently. ‘Alright, Claudia, I’m coming, I’m coming.’ He gave Cara a quick smile. ‘See you soon then.’

  ‘Yeah, can’t wait.’ Cara tried her best to sound convincing. With any luck she’d be on her way back to London tomorrow.

  ‘Great.’ Matt shook his head as he walked to join Claudia. ‘I still can’t believe it’s you.’

  As he strode towards the car park, Cara suddenly remembered something – she hadn’t asked him about Erin.

  Chapter Three

  Fifteen minutes later Cara’s taxi drove along her mother’s street, barely a stone’s throw from Cumbria’s rolling hills. Tall, mature trees lined the streets that led to the small detached cottage of her childhood and she was flooded with memories of days gone by. Cara asked the driver to pull over to the side of the road for a moment. She bent forward, put her head on her knees and sat immobile like that for a couple of minutes. Her mouth trembled and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. She knew she needed to get the crying out of her system before seeing her mother. Dee Lewis would have nothing to do with weakness in the form of unseemly tears.

  To be fair, the sudden rush of emotion wasn’t entirely due to Cara’s recent traumatic discovery. The memories engulfing her at the moment were much more poignant – loss, betrayal, and incomplete and unhappy endings. There were things she had done, people who she’d hurt, that s
he’d now potentially have to deal with. Maybe at some point during her visit she’d have a chance to right her wrongs and tie up the loose ends that she’d left behind, but, for now, she just wanted to climb under the covers of her oh-so-soft bed in the familiar comfort of her old room and sleep for days.

  The taxi driver’s voice was tender. ‘Are you alright, lass?’ he murmured softly, sympathetically.

  Cara brushed her tears away with both hands, straightened her back and took a few deep breaths. ‘Yes, I’m fine really. Sorry about this, coming home after so many years has kind of overwhelmed me.’

  He smiled at her in the rear view mirror. ‘Cumbria has that effect on you. Do you want a few more minutes before we carry on?’

  Cara shook her head. ‘No thank you. I’ll be fine now.’

  The taxi driver dropped her outside her mother’s home and gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze before departing. She stood at the end of the path looking towards the front of the cottage, admiring its quaint features. Walking up the narrow pathway, Cara noted how different the place looked. Flowerbeds, overflowing with red tulips and daffodils, now filled the once bare front garden. The cottage, which had been rundown and tired when she’d left, seemed to have had a makeover. It now actually looked homely.

  As she reached the doorstep, almost on cue the front door swung open and her mother stood before her, hands on hips, a stern look of disapproval on her face. Cara reached out to embrace her but quickly dropped her arms to her sides. Nothing’s changed here then. Instead of the intended hug, Cara, a good five inches taller than her mother, bent down and pecked her cheek. ‘You alright, Mum?’

  Dee gave her a curt nod. ‘I hope you’re not here to cause any more upset.’

  ‘Nice to see you too.’

  ‘I mean it, Cara. You can stay here as long as you behave yourself. Is that understood?’