Miranda’s foot was tapping against the tiled floor in anticipation, and she kept ringing her hands over and over again. The receptionist, a man who seemed far nicer that Cara, had asked her to wait in one of the student areas. It wasn’t far from the Professor’s offices. The space was filled with squishy chairs and beanbags, along with the normal computer desks. There was even a small kitchenet at the back wall where students could make a hot drink or microwave their food.Thursday evening was student night in this city. That basically meant that all the bars and clubs were open with promotions for its binge drinking patrons. As a result, a lot these university scholars would be back at their halls swigging their pres. Miranda wondered if they even still called them pres anymore. The students that were in this space, were eyeing her with interest. She clearly wasn’t a student. You only had to compare their casua

The next morning, she opened her eyes to find Josh lying next to her in bed. He was on his back with his right arm stretched above him. Sunlight was beaming through gaps in the curtains, caressing parts of his face and exposed chest. She couldn’t resist gently pushing a stray piece of hair from his forehead. As it didn’t cause him to stir, she decided to get out of bed and go outside. She was desperate to see the view from the cottage in the light. Wrapping her dressing gown around her and pulling on some thick socks, she walked out to the hallway where they’d left their shoes. She knew she would need their welly boots for this weekend, it could get very muddy here this time of year. She pulled them on and shut the front door gently behind her. Considering it was the end of February, it was actually a beautiful day. It was cold, but it was a cloudless sky, so the sun was shining bri

When Miranda woke up, the first thing she felt was a sore head and dry mouth. She instantly knew she’d had too much wine the night before. Gingerly opening her eyes, the image of Josh lying next to her came into focus. He was watching her. “Good morning sleeping beauty, and how are we feeling?” His tone told her she had definitely indulged the night before. “Erm…yeah...not great.” She pulled the cover up and suddenly realised she was naked. “Oh…did we…” Josh raised his eyebrows. “Hell no. You’re great in bed, but I’m not doing you when you’re semi-conscious.” “Then why…” 

Once they’d sat down on Miranda’s sofa, Josh started to fill her in on what had happened after she’d left. He looked tired and upset. There were red splotches around his eyes, and Miranda was pretty certain he’d been crying. “Mum basically gave me an ultimatum. Either I don’t see you anymore, or I leave her house. You can probably tell which one I chose.” He ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled heavily. Her heart ached for him. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to destroy your relationship with your mum for me.” She took his hand in hers and began softly tracing the back of it with her finger. “Did you mean what you said?” Miranda looked up to meet his gaze. “Did you mean it

The whole shop was silent. Natasha was holding her Champagne mid sip staring wide-eyed at Miranda. Her mum looked horrified, and Chloe…well. Miranda didn’t have to wait long to find out how she was feeling.“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Within a fraction of a second, Chloe was launching herself at Miranda. Clear intent to use her stiletto shaped acrylics to gouge out her older sisters’ eyes. Miranda was unusually quick however, and dodged her sister's attack, the dress she was holding crashing to the ground.The sound of her mum’s voi