Read Matilda Wren for Free Online

chest. For a split second, Rachel considered walking away, before he saw her, before she opened that door again.
    The door that had stayed closed for a long time.
    “You’re not causing trouble are you, Mr Fergus?”
    The words were out before her brain had even registered what was happening. It was too late now. Walking away was not an option anymore. She had made that initial contact.
    She had crossed the line. Rachel knew that.
    She knew she should have walked away, before he had seen her, before he could enchant her with that smile; the smile that was enchanting her right now.
    Why, out of all the bistros, had he walked into hers?
    After eight years, why today? Why did he look so damn good? Rachel’s head was full of why’s.
    “Not anymore. Can I get you a drink?”
    That smile was still there. It transported Rachel, back to a time where she was young and free, when she first met him, when he had swept her off her feet, when he had managed to take a piece of her heart that would never be owned by another person ever again.
    “I don’t finish for another two hours. If you are still here, you can buy me a drink.” With that, Rachel turned around and walked out, to the back of the bar.
    He watched her leave and smiled. His day just got a whole lot better. He picked up his coffee and went over to a table that was near the kitchen entrance. He would see her come out when she had finished her shift. He wouldn’t miss her. No way. He had only just found her again.
    Rachel sat down outside, on the step at the back of the Bistro. She lit herself a cigarette, dragging deeply and exhaling loudly. The small car park was full, which was surprising for a midweek lunchtime.
    She thought it had been more busy than usual. The steps in front of her were littered with cigarette ends and half drunk coffee cups. She cursed the kitchen boys and made a mental note to remind them to clear up after themselves.
    She stared out across the industrial sized bins that were lined up against the wall of the bistro; flattened cardboard boxes lay in metal cages to the side of the steps. It was a beautiful day, considering it was still late winter. The sun was high and the air was so still against her skin, she was assailed by the memory of him once more.
    Then she realised that, as cool as she had thought she had just handled the situation, it was all undone by the fact she was wearing the bistro’s strict white blouse, black skirt, black low heeled shoe dress code, a very unflattering hairnet and an incredibly dirty apron.
    Oh she had it going on all right. She groaned inwardly.
    She looked a mess. As if he was going to still be there in two hours. What was there to wait for? She hardly oozed style.
    She finished her coffee and smoked another cigarette.
    Walking back through to the kitchen, her mind wandered back to the day she realised she could not be with him; not ever. They were seventeen and completely smitten.
    Actually, infatuation was probably the better term to use; it bordered on fanatical and obsessed. It only lasted a few months. Rachel put a stop to ‘them’ on January 24th 1997. The date she will remember forever. It was the day she made either the best decision or the biggest mistake of her life.
    Even now, nine years later, she did not know which one it was. She knew that there had not been a day gone by when she had not thought about him, dreamt about him, fantasised even. Sean Fergus.
    She had fought against her every instinct every day. He was the love of her life. That she was certain of. But they were self destructive together. That she was certain of too.
    Although nothing had ever happened between them when they were together that had caused her to think this, the amount of sheer physical emotion she felt for this boy terrified her.
    At seventeen, the brain is not mature enough to cope with that magnitude of passion. She genuinely believed, what she felt for him would be what destroyed them in the end. So, she had chosen