Arabella allowed Eddie to guide her inside the flat. He’d insisted he blindfold her and that there was a surprise waiting.
‘Is this really necessary, Eddie?’ Arabella asked, stumbling over her own feet and feeling Eddie correct her stance.
‘Yes it’s necessary. This is the first time we’ve been together on our own in almost a year. I want it to be special.’
Arabella rolled her eyes behind the blindfold. Eddie was always trying to be a romantic but failing miserably. The last time he’d surprised her was after she’d mentioned seeing the new Shark vacuum cleaner advertised on the television and thinking it looked amazing. He’d gone out and bought it for her. But not just because she liked it. He’d wrapped it up for her birthday. The look on her face must have given her away because he’d insisted he return it, but he still hadn’t understood. He hadn’t realised she was disappointed about getting the Shark for her birthday – he’d just thought it was the wrong model. That in itself had made her laugh, and his failed attempt to be romantic made her love him even more.
‘Right, stand there,’ Eddie said before letting go. She felt him move away and listened as he busied around her. ‘Okay, take it off.’
Arabella did as requested and removed the blindfold. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she took in her surroundings, amazed at what she was seeing.
‘Welcome home, Ms MacQueen,’ Eddie said, standing by the coffee table in the centre of the living room. A huge grin spread across Eddie’s face as he drank in her reaction. An ice bucket with champagne sat in the centre of the table, two flutes either side. There was a vase of flowers on the window ledge to her left and a ‘welcome home’ banner hung on the centre of the back wall.
‘Eddie…’ Arabella started. Then she stopped, the sudden lump in her throat almost suffocating her.
‘You like?’
She manoeuvred around the coffee table towards him and slung her arms around his neck before kissing him gently. ‘I love it. But I have to admit…’
‘Oh god, what? Did I get the wrong champagne?’
‘No it’s not that. It’s just… well, I was expecting the latest vacuum cleaner.’ Arabella gave a devilish grin and Eddie laughed.
‘It’s good to have you home wee yin,’ he said. ‘Just do me a favour, eh? Don’t get involved with that crowd again. They’re bad news, Arabella. I swear if I ever see any of them again I’ll knock fuck out of them.’
Arabella winced at how quickly Eddie’s mood changed when he talked about her old friends. She’d been stupid to go along with them. But it wasn’t just their fault. It was her. She was the destructive one, the one who couldn’t say no to a couple of little lines of coke, along with the booze.
‘Let’s not waste our breath on those idiots. I’m back now and I won’t be making the same mistakes again. From now on it’s just you and me.’
Eddie’s expression softened and he bent down to kiss her. ‘Hey, why don’t we take the bottle to the bedroom?’
Arabella smiled and lifted the bucket. She wanted to forget prison, forget being locked away from Eddie and her life for the past year. Getting drunk and having sex with Eddie was a start.
Arabella rolled onto her back and lifted the cigarettes from the bedside table. Opening the box, she pulled one out with her teeth and lit it.
‘How’s that for a welcome home present?’ Eddie laughed, adjusting his position on the bed and leaning over Arabella. Taking the pack from her, he lit up too and the room was filled with a double haze of blue smoke.
‘You really do rate yourself highly,’ Arabella smiled.
As much as she was joking around, Arabella was more than glad to be home and back in Eddie’s bed. Her stupidity had landed her in a place she never could have imagined she would have ended up.
Arabella’s thoughts of her friend were interrupted by Eddie leaning in for a kiss. ‘So tell me, was your head turned in there?’
Pulling away, Arabella frowned. ‘Eddie, don’t be so disgusting.’
‘Ah come on, I’m only kidding.’
‘Actually, if you must know, there was one good thing to come from being in that hellhole,’ Arabella said, flicking the ash into the ashtray on the side of the bed.
‘Oh aye?’
‘Her name is Roxanne. She’s just about at the end of her sentence of ten years. If it wasn’t for her I don’t know if I’d have gotten through my own time.’
Eddie raised a brow and Arabella knew he would be thinking the typical guy thing. Had there been more than just friendship? She chose not to dignify the thought with a response.
‘You were in there for almost a year, Arabella. How come you never mentioned her before?’
Thinking about the question, she had to be honest. She didn’t really know why she hadn’t told him. Rox was part of Arabella’s life on the inside. When Eddie had come to visit her at prison, she’d kept inside life and outside life separate. Not that she had anything to hide.
‘There was nothing to tell. Anyway, she’s getting out soon and she wants to meet up.’
Eddie paused, giving Arabella a hesitant look. ‘What is she in prison for, Arabella?’
‘Attempted murder,’ she said without hanging back. ‘And before you say anything, no, I don’t have to worry about her.’
‘Attempted murder?’ Eddie’s frown grew deeper and Arabella could feel herself getting annoyed.
‘It’s not like it sounds.’
‘Oh, so she accidentally tried to kill someone? Or was she falsely accused?’
Arabella sighed. ‘No, but all I’m saying is, don’t judge. She’s my friend and I really want us to stay that way once she gets out.’
Eddie held his hands up and pursed his lips. ‘Hey, I’m not judging. If you’re happy then that’s all that matters.’
Arabella smiled in her victory. Eddie was protective but he could also be a softie if she wanted him to be. She was glad their relationship was still intact after her prison stint and that she still had someone like him to protect her from herself.
‘Good. Because I want you to meet her. She has a partner too, so maybe we could all get together at some point.’
Eddie smiled and nodded in agreement, but Arabella knew deep down that he wasn’t convinced that her friendship with Roxanne was going to last, or that it was a good thing at all.
She’d just have to prove him wrong.