Soul Protector Read Online Free PDF

from
someone’s cake, before sitting down and biting into the warm tuna
and melted cheese.
    I peered around at the other
customers as I chewed. There was an old couple sitting nearby,
sharing a pot of tea and a cheese baguette. Neither of them seemed
interested in me. They were more interested in the woman sitting
opposite, trying to encourage a fidgeting toddler to eat his
sandwich.
    My attention was drawn to a
couple sitting in the far corner who appeared to be in the middle
of a domestic. The girl was narrowing her eyes and shaking her
head, but it was the guy I couldn’t take my eyes off. He was the
spitting image of my ex, Mike. He had the same surfer dude style
going on, all tanned skin and scruffy blonde hair.
    I watched Mike’s double trying
to placate the girl opposite him, and my heart sank as a memory of
mine and Mike’s last night together popped into my head.
     
    It was a few months earlier and
I’d thought we were ticking along okay up until then. We’d shared a
takeaway pizza and some wine, had a play fight which ended with us
falling into bed as usual, fumbling to get each other’s clothes
off. Our lovemaking had been clumsy and fast, but I didn’t mind. I
was happy if Mike was happy. I’d drifted off to sleep contentedly
wrapped in his arms, but as daylight dawned I was aware of being
watched. I gingerly opened one eye to be faced with Mike, leaning
on his elbows, staring at me. His blonde hair was all messed up and
his fringe was flopping into his eyes.
    “Gracie babe, I think it’s time
for a break,” he’d said, matter-of-factly.
    In my half-asleep confusion, I
honestly thought he was talking about a holiday, or maybe a weekend
mini-break in a nice hotel somewhere. A lazy smile had started to
form on my lips, but froze in its place after the next killer
line.
    “I think if we end this now,
we’ll have great memories between us, but any longer and we’ll just
end up hating each other.”
    “Wh-what?” I’d whimpered
pathetically, my mind catching up with his wild statement, “I
couldn’t hate you, I-I could never hate you, I thought we were
happy?” I felt my chin start to wobble. “Did I do something
wrong?”
    I sat up and raked my fingers
through my hair, pulling it over my ears. Why is he telling me
this now? How could I put over a good case for him to stay with
last night’s make up smudged down my face, and morning breath?
    He rolled over, got off the
bed, and turned to look at me with pity in his eyes.
    “Gracie, it’s over. I’m
sorry.”
    I watched him pull on his white
boxers, the Calvin Klein’s I’d bought him for his birthday in July,
and felt my emotions start to run away with me. It all got a bit
messy after that. To my great shame I remember crying and begging
him not to leave, but he had been firm. “Don’t do this babe, don’t
embarrass yourself. You deserve someone better than me.”
    He was right of course, but I
couldn’t see it then. I even struggled to see it when I found out
he’d been sleeping with my younger sister Michelle, while we’d
still been together. The final nail in the coffin was when Michelle
moved out of Mum’s, and into Mike’s bedsit.
    I’d tried to put on a brave
face and tell myself they weren’t worth my tears, but I was a fool
to think I could control my emotions. If I didn’t keep my brain
occupied at all times, the raw feelings would come from nowhere and
overwhelm me. No matter how bad it was having my heart broken by
Mike, the betrayal I felt by my little sister had knocked me
sideways.
    As children we’d endured more
than most, and the result had been a bond so strong, I thought
nothing could break it. How wrong could you be?
    My confidence was in tatters
and, bit by bit, I’d withdrawn into my shell, turning down Kerry’s
relentless offers of nights out and the odd blind date.
    After things settled down a
bit, Michelle began turning up at Mum’s when I was there. It was
far too often to be a coincidence. As soon as