She was suffering tonight. Every muscle in her body ached and every joint felt out of place. He could feel her still unease as she lay unmoving beside him, knowing he could do nothing about it. Not even holding her body close as he was, could shake her want to slip into unconsciousness away from the pain. He had known then, back in her teenage years, that the physical, hard, labouring job she did would do her no good in the long run.

He slipped into his memories again.

It had been eight years ago when they had met and he had been attracted to her instantly. She had a grit and determination about her that other girls her age lacked. He was unsure of her age at first, but her attitude towards life had drawn him to her. He was training her Tug-Of-War team for the county competitions and there was something about the grimace of pain that passed through her face when she leant back on the rope without uttering a cry.

It wasn’t until later that year, after he had found that she was a mere seventeen and he had pushed her away once already, they had actually gotten together and he remembers with a smile that night, how happy she had been in his arms, the good times they shared. His smile falls when he remembered how he pushed her away, told her he didn’t want her. Things were happening at home for him. Things he didn’t want her subjected to. Things he knew would hurt her more than he would.

He had nearly lost her for good. It was that thought that made him pull her a little closer, made her utter a faint moan. At least she was still there. Back in the past and it was at one event she was nowhere to be seen. That was unusual for her. He had overheard her friends saying she was disappointed that she couldn’t make it but events kept her held up at university. He had wondered if it was a partner from there. He had wondered if he had left it too long. He then remembered the hurt smile she had given him at the last event and kept that in mind that she still did like him. He continued to hope.

It was three years after they had first met that he came to the conclusion that he ought to start being honest, with himself, with her, with everyone. He had liked her from the start and despite his off-hand and dismissive attitude towards her, this feeling had never wavered, not even in the slightest. He remembers telling her, nine months after the training sessions, that she was the next person he would fall in live with. He had been pretty drunk but there was truth it in. He was pretty sure he had ruined her Christmas that year. He had known then, when she was just eighteen, a few months after he had pushed her away, a few months after the biggest mistake he’d made in recent years, that he did want her.

But here they were. It was the first event she attended after she finished university, when she was back to stay, back for good, that he made his move.

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