Chapter 3

Miah closed the bedroom door behind her; her heart was still pounding from the excitement of that evening. She didn't know whether to be thrilled that she'd just had sex with a stranger in public or be mortified by it. In the end she chose to distance herself for a while, take a shower, watch crap T.V and then go to sleep.

Miah was just falling asleep when she heard a gentle tapping at her bedroom door. Drowsily she climbed back out of bed, her little baby pink satin nightdress tickling at her thighs as she walked to the door. The tapping grew a little louder as she approached.

"Okay, okay I hear you." She grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

The light flooding in from the corridor half-blinded her when she opened the door, she blinked rapidly to clear her sight. Stood before her on the landing was the last person she expected to see that night. A very bedraggled and sobbing Abby stood in the doorway, dripping rain water on the carpet.

"Kian's gone, gone back to Ireland and taken some bloody skinny, ginger tart with him. He picked her up during the interval, while I was on the loo. I was gone for less than 3 minutes for god's sake!!" Abby burst into a storm of snot and tears and threw herself onto Miah's barely warm bed.

Miah closed the door and traipsed back to her bed, muttering to herself about sleep deprivation and bloody men. She perched herself on the edge, beside her weeping friend and placed her hand on her shoulder, patting gently.

"He's quite obviously a twat then!"

Abby looked up through her sodden hair and scowled.

"But he seemed so sweet and into me, you know? He really seemed to take the time to get to know me." Abby threw her head back down and howled a bit more, covering the duvet in rain, tears and snot.

"Hon, I think the only thing he was into was your pants and obviously the only bit he wanted to know about you too."

Abby looked back up, horror etched on her face.

"We never got that far! What kind of girl to you take me for?"

Miah blushed furiously. Of course, her best friend was clearly more ladylike than herself.

"I'm so sorry, I just assumed ... What with the pair of you spending so much time together ... just a natural progression ... err, sorry!" Miah now felt even worse, not only had she just made the assumption that her best friend would sleep with a man she hardly knew, but she herself had done just that. She felt thoroughly ashamed of herself and embarrassed.

Abby stayed a little while longer and since Miah was not really in much of a mood for chatting she soon went back to her own room. Miah was now left on her own feeling dirty, relieved that she would be leaving Whitby in the morning and returning to Durham.

Miah finally settled down in her now slightly damp bed. She just started to drift off to sleep when a tapping started on her door. Miah rolled her eyes and pulled the bedding over her head. She'd ignore them and they'd go away, after all how much more could Abby cry over a bloke she'd known for less than a week. The tapping continued, it wasn't getting any louder but it was more persistent. Finally after what felt like too long Miah popped her head out of the covers, gasping for fresh air and now very hot and sweaty. The tapping had finally stopped she thought. Miah snuggled her head into her pillow and got nice and comfy again.

TAP, TAP, TAP.

Whoever was at the door, Abby most likely, she thought, was going to get a telling off now. Miah bounced back out of bed and stomped over to the door. She pulled the door open so fast that she hit herself in the face with the edge of it and knocked herself to the floor. Dizzied, in pain and confused, she allowed the visitor to help her up. It was dark now, the corridor light was switched off; the bed and breakfast owner had obviously gone off to bed themselves and turned all the lights out. The only source of light was the pale strip of moonlight coming in through the bedroom window. Her visitor had not spoken a word as they had led her back to her bed. Miah looked at their silhouette and saw that they were only slightly taller but wider built than her. The person before her was quite clearly not Abby. This was quite obviously a man. Fear gripped Miah and she took a sharp breath of air to shout at them, for waking her and then for coming into her room uninvited (even if they had just picked her off the floor after nearly knocking herself out). The man knew what she was about to do and held his hand over her mouth.