Chapter 1

Rain streaked down the windows in greasy rivulets, distorting the myriad of reflected lights. The bus trundled on, rumbling through the dirty streets and by-ways of the dreary town. Eventually the houses and factories gave way to endless fields and flat scrubland. It was featureless and grey — just like the rest of Nicole's world.

She sat huddled next to a grubby window with her face pressed to the cold glass. Her cheeks were damp with salty tears and her pale blue eyes gazed unseeing out into the bleak countryside. Her mind was focussed inwards, continually playing the reel of memory that had brought her to this miserable point in her life.

The two people, who had meant everything to her, had betrayed her in the cruellest of ways.

"Is this seat taken honey?"

Nicole snapped out of her reverie when the bus pulled away from another remote bus stop. She looked up, her eyes still blurred with tears, to see a young woman smiling at her, her long red hair braided and tied with bits of ribbon. She wore a short denim skirt with black leather biker boots and the hint of a tattoo peeked out from the front of a ragged tee shirt.

"Erm ... no," Nicole said, wondering why when the bus was half empty, the girl wanted to sit next to her.

"Cool," the girl grinned amiably, her green eyes sparkling brightly. "My name's Danni, what's yours?"

"Nicole."

"Like the car ad..."

Nicole stared at the girl in bemusement. What the hell was she talking about? For a moment she forgot all the reasons she came to be sat on this bus with a small bag containing everything she owned, plonked at her feet.

"Ya know, the french chick in the car advert from a few years back — Papa, Nicole!" The girl burst out laughing merrily and Nicole found herself almost smiling too. Danni's sense of humour was infectious.

"Oh I see," Nicole said slowly, privately thinking that no, she didn't see exactly.

"So ... where're you heading?" asked Danni, eyeing the holdall bag on the floor.

Nicole shrugged. She honestly had no idea where she was heading. The final destination had seemed unimportant when she jumped on board the first bus leaving the station a couple of hours ago.

"I err ... don't know," she replied. It sounded totally lame and she really wished this nosy girl had sat somewhere else. The last thing Nicole wanted to do was talk about everything. That required her to then THINK about it — which was painful.

"Okay, let's try another question," Danni said dryly. "Have you got anywhere to stay at this mystery location that you're not going to?"

Nicole looked at her and felt the tears welling back up again. This annoying girl actually had a point — she had nowhere to go to, nobody to ask for help and very little money left. She really had landed herself in dire straits.

The trouble was, when she had left, she had done so in a blind rush. She had flung some clothes into a bag and grabbing her purse, she had run out of the door and onto the first bus that came along. The image of Sean and Kate, naked and entwined on their bed, was permanently etched on to her retinas. Whenever she shut her eyes, she saw them locked together in a carnal embrace. It felt like acid was being poured on the open wound each and every time she remembered the gruesome tableau.

If only she hadn't returned early from her evening class, she would never have caught them out. She still had no idea how long it had been going on — possibly months for all she knew. Nicole felt so stupid. She couldn't quite believe she had been so blind to what had been happening.

They had made a fool out of her. There was no way she could stay in that flat with the two of them — so she did the only thing she could do — she ran.

"I'm sorry," Nicole sniffed, unable to stop the tears falling relentlessly down her cheeks. She could taste the salt as it trickled over her dry lips.

"That's okay honey — here have a tissue." Danni pulled a dubious looking wad of tissue from her bag and passed it to Nicole. "Your mascara is running," she added helpfully.

"Thanks," mumbled Nicole, dabbing at her red eyes and wishing she could erase the last twenty-four hours. In fact, make that the last three years — that way she would never have met Sean and fallen in love with him.

All those people who said it was better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all — spoke rubbish. In her opinion, it was far easier to keep your heart locked up securely, than give it away to someone who didn't deserve it.

"So ... I'm guessing that you have nowhere to go tonight?" Danni asked perceptively.

"No." Nicole was beginning to realise that running away blindly was perhaps rather hasty given her precarious situation. She had barely enough money to pay for a room in a fleapit for the night. And with no job ... it was not looking good.

"Tell you what, if you want to, you can stay with me 'til you get sorted?"

Nicole wiped her eyes and stared at this strange looking girl with the scary make-up and pierced eyebrow. Why on earth would she want to help her? She didn't know her from Adam.

"I can see you've had some kind of trouble and between you, me and the bus conductor, I was in that place once upon a time," Danni stated gravely. "Somebody helped me and now I'm trying to help you — Karma it's called."

Nicole wasn't so sure about Karma, but she recognised when fate was stepping in to give her a helping hand.

The street was steep and the rain continued to hammer down on the cobbles in huge drops that soon soaked through Nicole's thin coat. She shivered slightly as she followed Danni past small touristy shops and quaint tearooms. The smell of salt in the air coupled with the sound of gulls wheeling high above almost made her smile.

She loved the seaside and had experienced a brief spark of excitement when the bus finally came to the end of the line in the scenic seaside town. Danni had chattered every mile of that journey, seemingly determined to distract Nicole from her abject misery. Surprisingly the ploy had worked — Nicole had for a while forgotten the sorry train of events that had brought her to the town and she found herself rather enjoying Danni's light hearted anecdotes and mindless gossip about pop stars and television programmes she liked.

"Not much further," Danni told her as they tramped down a side street. The sky was black and the wind was picking up; a harsh biting wind blowing straight off the sea. In the far distance Nicole imagined she could hear the surf crashing on the beach.

In reality this was unlikely as the bay was too sheltered to experience huge waves. It was a natural harbour and hundreds of small craft were usually moored there throughout the summer. The best sand beaches were the other side of the headland and that was also where the majority of the shops and amusement arcades were situated. This part of town was the old town — quiet, with narrow streets and scruffy Victorian boarding houses.

Eventually they reached a red door next to a small café and Danni pulled a key from her pocket. "Home sweet home!" she grinned. "I should warn you though, my brother is a pain in the arse, so just ignore him — I try to."

Nicole followed Danni up two flights of narrow stairs until they reached another door. "Rob, I'm home," she yelled, her voice echoing through the small flat.

"Did you buy some milk?" The muffled voice came from the other side of a door and a few seconds later a young man appeared, running a hand through his tousled blond hair.

"Oops!" said Danni with a rueful grin. "I forgot..."

"Aww Danni! I could have gotten some if I'd known!"

"Nicole, this is my brother, Rob," explained Danni. "Rob, this is Nicole — I said she could crash here for a bit."

Nicole looked with embarrassment at Rob, taking in the tight tee shirt and Nike tracksuit bottoms that clung to a muscular body. He was pretty damned hot and she was stood here feeling like shit warmed up, her lanky hair plastered unattractively to her head.

"Another stray, Danni?" Rob said dryly and Nicole felt her cheeks grow even warmer. Oh great — Rob was pissed at her being here.

"Yeah — just like you dickhead! When exactly were you were moving in with Lizzie? Months ago last time I checked, so shut it."

The two siblings scowled at each other for a few chilly moments and Nicole tried to wish herself away on a magic carpet. It didn't work.

"Sorry, Nicole," apologised Danni. "My brother has forgotten his manners, but while he's making you feel a little more welcome, I'm off to Mrs Dryzmalski's shop for some milk. Just as well she stays open all hours!"

She grabbed her bag and disappeared back through the door, leaving Nicole and Rob staring at each other awkwardly.

"So..." he ventured after a long pause. "Where did Danni find you then?"

"On the bus," replied Nicole. "I had nowhere to go and she—"

Stopping abruptly as tears threatened to overflow, Nicole hurriedly wiped her eyes on the cuff on her coat.

"Hey, I didn't mean to have a go at you — sorry!" Rob looked chastened when he saw how upset she was. "I just know how much of a soft touch she is and I hate to see her taken advantage of. Not that I do that of course..." he grinned, his eyes crinkling up attractively.

"Come on through and take your wet coat off — you're dripping all over our lovely carpet."

Nicole looked down to see a hideous threadbare carpet, swirling with psychedelic colours. When she looked back at Rob, she realised he was laughing at her and she smiled despite her sense of embarrassment at crashing in on two complete strangers.

"Joke!" he said light heartedly. "Follow me and I'll put the kettle on while we wait for my darling sister to return."

Nicole took a seat at the scratched pine table, her bag dropped on the floor beside her. She felt like she was dreaming — any time now she expected to wake up and find herself back in bed with Sean snoring next to her.

For a moment she allowed herself to think about him.

She remembered how he felt snuggled up to her; the scent of his skin and the feel of his hand on her body. If she tried really hard she could picture him as he turned over and kissed her, his lips soft on her mouth. But these thoughts were painful and only led her to other images of Sean kissing Kate; touching her body as he had touched Nicole's.

"So, what brings you to our lovely town?" asked Rob while he washed up some mugs.

Nicole tore her thoughts back to the present and lifted her blue eyes towards him. A stray tendril of mousy hair drifted over her cheek and she pushed it back behind her ear. "I needed a change of scenery," she said flatly. Understatement of the century, she thought sadly.

Rob looked closely at her but evidently decided not to pursue the subject. "How long are you planning on sticking around?"

How long is a piece of string?

"Don't know..." Nicole replied. She sniffed as a tear threatened to escape and Rob glanced back at her, a tea towel in his hand.

"Look," he said gravely. "I don't mean to pry, but if you want to talk about it, I'm happy to listen, okay?"

"Thanks," she whispered. She couldn't quite believe he was being so nice to her — just like Danni had. Maybe there was a God after all. Maybe it would all turn out right in the end...

"I'm back!" yelled Danni and they both heard the front door bang shut.

"God she's like a bull in a china shop, that girl," muttered Rob.

"Tea or coffee?" he asked Nicole gently.

"Tea please."

"Next time we need milk, you're going to the corner shop..." Danni said darkly as she walked into the kitchen scowling. "If Mrs Dryzmalski tells me about her son, Jakob, one more time, I swear I'm gonna kill her! I get the distinct impression she's trying to marry him off to a 'nice' girl like me."

Rob snorted with laughter. "Has she confused you with someone else?" he sniggered.

"Oh fuck off!" Danni scowled at him. "At least I'm not a skanky ho like Lizzie!"

"Thanks, Sis!" Rob glared at her and threw the tea towel down, before stomping out of the kitchen with a face like thunder.

"Oops..." Danni grinned, looking far from sorry. She rolled her eyes at Nicole and proceeded to make their drinks. "Lizzie is his sometime girlfriend," she explained. "Trouble is she is also everyone else's sometime girlfriend! I've told him to dump her, but so far he hasn't quite managed it. He's too nice for his own good and Lizzie takes advantage something wicked."

She sipped her tea and stared off into the distance reflectively. "I just wish he'd meet someone who appreciated him. Lizzie just takes the piss."

Nicole could relate to that. Sean had taken the piss by fucking her sister behind her back. Poor Rob — yes, she knew exactly how he felt.

By the time Danni showed Nicole the bed settee in the living room, she was more than ready to sleep. Her eyes were beginning to shut of their own accord and she felt like a zombie. The prospect of sleep seemed a blissful escape from the horror of the day's events. She was emotionally exhausted as well as physically tired.

"You gonna be okay?" asked Danni from the doorway.

"Yeah..." said Nicole. She yawned heavily. "Thanks for everything, Danni. I don't know what I would have done if you—"

"Hey that's okay," interrupted Danni. "Get some sleep and we can talk in the morning." She shut the door, leaving Nicole in peace.

Once she had settled down on the sofa bed, Nicole soon found her thoughts crowded with images of Sean and Kate again. As hard as she tried, she could not push the pictures from her head. The tears began to rain down and before long the pillow was soaked. Her body was racked with painful sobs and Nicole wished that she could cut her heart from her chest and make it all go away. Eventually she fell into a fitful sleep.

Rob opened the lounge door quietly. It was still early; the sky was just beginning to streak with pale dawn light. He would have liked to have stayed in bed, but it was impossible. Once he was awake, he had to be up and about. It had always been the same with him.

Danni was still fast asleep naturally. She was far better left to awaken on her own as she was notoriously bad tempered if disturbed. He grinned at the memory of throwing cold water on her when they were kids. How she had screamed! She had gotten her own back though and he still had the dent in his head to prove it. Frying pans hurt when thrown in temper.

Nicole was stretched out along the narrow sofa bed, her dark blonde hair lying across the pillow in tousled waves. One arm held onto the edge of the duvet tightly and he could hear her breathing faintly. He wasn't sure why, but she intrigued him. There was something incredibly vulnerable about her and the sight of her pale sad face last night had touched him deeply.

He had no idea what had happened to her — she didn't seem inclined to talk about it — but he knew someone had hurt her badly. He could only hope that this person lived to regret it. With a sigh he pulled the door closed again. He needed to go for a run before breakfast; if he left it much longer the tide would be turning.

Nicole awoke feeling immensely disorientated. For a split second she reached out her arm expecting to feel Sean's warm back. Instead she encountered the rough texture of the sofa arm. With a pang of misery the events of the previous day flooded through her consciousness like bile and she curled up tightly in a futile attempt to curb the pain.