One Last Chance (6 page)

“I won’t get in
to any trouble,” he said with a smile. “I promise.”

Ally stood helplessly as she watched C
ole head off in the direction of the bathroom, followed closely my Nathan and Nick.

“Ally,” she heard from behind her. She turn
ed and saw Gus standing there staring at her. “Why didn’t you tell me what he did to you?”

“What who did?” Laura asked moving closer to Ally
once again. Ally looked from Gus to Sid who was now standing behind Gus. She could feel the blood drain from her face as Laura continued to push. “What is going on?”

“
Ally, why didn’t you go to the police?” Gus demanded. He was clearly very angry and Ally cringed “You need to report this to the police immediately.”

“Who are you talking
about?” Laura asked looking at Gus impatiently but Gus just stared at Ally.

Ally’s eyes darted from Gus to the direction Cole had disappeared as her heart pounded rapidly in her chest.

“Ally,” Gus said, drawing her attention back to him. Ally could take it no more. She looked around the group and all eyes were on her. Now, they would all know what had happened. “Ally, you can’t let him get away with this. He tried to rape you.”

“Oh my god!” Laura exclaimed as her hand flew to her mouth.

“ENOUGH!” Ally screamed unable to listen to anymore. “Just…stop.”

Before anyone could say a wor
d, she grabbed her bag from the table and quickly headed towards the door. When she stepped out into the chilly March night, it was raining heavy.

She thought for a moment
what to do. She saw a taxi coming towards her and she tried to wave it down. But it just whizzed past and she knew in this rain it would be impossible to get a taxi now.

She began to walk, unsure really where she was going. All she knew was she couldn’t be there with everyone looking at her, knowing what Jason had tried to do. Knowing how weak she was.

As she walked, she sobbed uncontrollably as the rain pelted against her woollen dress, which was not completely soaked as was her hair.

S
he stumbled in her Louboutin’s and nearly fell. Once she had regained her balance, she reached down and slipped off her shoes one at a time. As she did, she wobbled again and this time she landed on her backside right in the middle of a huge puddle.

She sat there in the middle of the street, in the dark and the pouring rain, her face buried in her hands as she cried.

***************************************

When
Cole came out of the bathrooms, he was angry. He had missed Jason and he was not happy. Then when he discovered Ally had left the pub, he flipped out. He couldn’t believe they all had let her leave alone.

He pulled his phone out and phoned Liam to see if she had called him to come and take her home. She hadn’t. Liam said he had just pulled into the car
park when Cole told him he was on his way out.

When Cole got to the car
, he climbed in next to Liam. Liam said he had just come up the road and hadn’t seen anyone, so they decided to drive in the other direction.

Cole could feel the
wave of dread wash over him. The same one he had the morning he arrived at her apartment the morning after Christmas and she was gone.

They
hadn’t got far when Cole spotted a figure sitting in the middle of the path, their face in their hands and looking desperate and broken.

“Stop the car!” Cole shouted as Liam hit the brakes. Before the car had come to a full stop, Cole was out of the car and running to Ally
.

“Ally sweet heart,
” Cole said as he reached her. He dropped to his knees in front of her as he slipped his jacket from his shoulders and wrapped it around her.

When she looked up into his eyes, his heart almost broke.

“They all know now,” she sobbed sadly. “They all know what he did. They all know how stupid I was.”

“Sweetheart,” Cole said pulling her closer to him. “No one thinks you’re stupid.”

“I think I am stupid,” she protested. “I knew not to open the door without checking but I did. I let him in and I tried. I tried to fight him off but I couldn’t. He could have done anything and I just couldn’t stop him.”

“What happened that night was not your fault,” Cole
said as anger filled him inside. He was angry at Jason for dragging all this back up. But he was angrier at himself for letting her down.

He knew the only reason she opened the door that night was because she thought it was him.

“Ally none of this was your fault,” he said, taking her face in his hands and lifting it up to look at his. “But it’s over now. He will never get to you again. I promise I will never let that happen.”

She didn’t reply, instead she just cried harder.

“We need to get you home and dry before you catch your death of cold,” Cole said as he reached down and scooped her up off the ground and stood up.

Holding her close to him, He carried her to the car w
here Liam was waiting with the door opened.

When he slipped into the back seat
, he held her on his lap and hugged her tightly as she softly sobbed into his neck.

“Please don’t cry my gorgeous girl.” he breathed against her ear softly. He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the top of her head and promised himself he would see to it that
, that asshole would never make her cry again. This would be the last time.

Cole lay next to Ally as she drifted off to sleep. Once he got her home, he took her straight to the bathroom and turned on the shower, then stripped them both and led her into the shower. He was trying to get the heat back into her because she was soaked to the skin and shivering with the cold. He washed her gently and took his time making sure she was warm and felt safe and loved.

W
hen they climbed out of the shower, he dried her and slipped one of his t-shirts on her before he dried her hair.

The
whole time she cried silently, the only proof were the tears trickling down her face, neither spoke a word. Ally was lost in her own thoughts and Cole was giving her time, just waiting until she was ready to talk.

As he lay next to her and watch
ed her sleep, he ran over the nights events. How he was consumed with both fear and overwhelming anger in equal measures when his phone rang and he could hear her talking to Jason, the fear in her voice very evident. All he could think about was getting to Ally as fast as he could.

Then, when
he came out of the bathroom and found she had left alone, the same knot of fear gripped him that he had felt the morning he raced after her to the airport to stop her from going to London.

He thought back to that day.
He was heartbroken he had missed her at the airport but was more devastated he had pushed her into doing this in the first place.

He knew then
and there, that she loved him so completely and unconditionally, she would do something she would never forgive herself for, purely to keep him happy. How had he not seen the pain he was putting her through with his angry words. He was so mad with himself for his behaviour.

When he turned and saw her standing in the living room
, he was beyond happy.

That night, he had been afraid to let her out of his sight. They spent hours curled up on the sofa
, making plans.

Cole knew that Ally was still a
little unsure of his feelings and that was hard for him to take. He knew that her uncertainty came solely from him and his words. This was something he would always regret but he was determined he would put this right.

They had agreed that night that they wo
uld set the wedding for 8 weeks’ time. But as there was twelve weeks waiting period required in Ireland to get married, they were going to have to get married in London instead.

Cole insisted on paying for all of Ally’s family and friends to fly over, except for Nan and Pops. They were coming across in Cole’s private plane with Cole and Ally.

Cole hadn’t spared a penny to make sure everything was ready on time and was perfect.
He wanted her to have a day to remember. A day she so rightly deserved.

But he remember
ed that night in particular. He watched her sleep as he was watching her now and he felt nothing but love for her. She was going to be the mother of his child. She was going to be his wife. She was everything he never knew he wanted but now, could never live without.

He reached out and traced his fingertips softly
along her face and she sighed contently. He reached behind him and switched off the bedside lamp and slipped down further into the bed, pulling Ally closer to him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered into the darkness of their room.

“My gorgeous girl,” Cole sighed holding her tighter. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I am only sorry you have had to go through this. But I promise you he will never get near you again.”

“I was texting you,” she explained
. “I wasn’t watching where I was going, I walked out of the ladies toilets and ran straight into him. I swear I didn’t know he was there.”

“Ally, sweetheart.” Cole said leaning up
on his elbow in the bed and rolling Ally on to her back so she was facing him. “Please, stop.”

“I was so scared,” she replied
barely in a whisper, staring up into his face. “All I could think about was that night and his face and his eyes as he pinned me to the bed.”

Cole reached up and gently wiped the tear that had broken free from her eye. Then he leaned down and softly kissed her lips.

“He will never hurt you again,” Cole whispered against her mouth. “I promise you he will never get near you again. And I will kill him if he even tries.”

Ally leaned up and kissed Cole on the mouth. She believed what he said. She knew he would do whatever it took to keep her safe from any harm. She could feel herself relax, finally letting herself believe everything was going to be perfect.

********************************************

The next morning, Ally and Cole stopped by Nan and
Pop’s on the way to the airport. Cole and Nick hurried to the door to help Ally’s grandparents with their bags.

The
y climbed into the back of the car next to Ally, While Cole sat in the front passenger seat next to Nick, once they had both packed the old couples bags into the boot and soon they were on their way.

“
Now isn’t this all very exciting!” Pop exclaimed as they pulled up on the tarmac next to Cole’s private jet. “Wait till I tell the lads down at the pub when I get back. Sure they will never believe me.”

Ally’s eyes met Cole
’s in the rear view mirror and she could see he was smiling with pleasure, and she returned his smile.

“Maybe I should take a photo?”
Pop said as he pulled his camera from his coat pocket. “Molly, stand there on the steps so they know it’s not fake.”

Cole couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped from him at
Pop’s words.

“I have a better idea,” Cole said walking over to
Pop and holding out his hand. “How about I take a picture of you both. That way you can really show everyone.”

Ally smiled as her heart soared. She knew
Pop was hard work sometimes, but Cole was always patient and kind to both him and Nan, and she loved him all the more for it.

“Sure it’s a gentleman you are,”
Pop said with a big grin as he rushed to Nan’s side and stood next to her proudly.

Cole took a few pictures, including one with Ally,
Pop had insisted she got into. Cole couldn’t help but laugh as Ally protested, but then stood and forced a smile while he took the picture.

“Now isn’t this marvellous!”
Pop exclaimed when they finally climbed the steps and boarded the plane. “I feel like that fella Simon what’s his name? Off the TV.”

Cole laughed out loud
as he directed them to their seats before he and Ally took their own seat to prepare for take-off. Nick was the last one to board the plane as the co-pilot shut the door and secured it.

“Thank you.” Ally whispered leaning into Cole a
s the plane taxied out onto the runway.

“What for?” Cole asked, looking at her with a curious grin as she looked up into his eyes

“For being you,” she replied and let her eyes drop down to her grandparents. Cole new exactly what she was referring to and his smile widened.

“My pleasure gorgeous girl,” he said and
leaned in and kissed her softly.

A few minutes
later, they were in the air and heading to London.

As they made their journey, Ally’s mind wander
ed back to the night before. Her stomach heaved at the memory of Jason’s aftershave invading her senses. She remembered the expression on his face when he realised she was terrified of him. She hated he saw her weakness. It was giving him power he did not deserve. God how she hated him.