Passing Through

Part Twenty Eight

A/N - So we get to know a lot more about Natasha, her broken past. Hope you appreciate...enjoy isn't the word! Next chapter soon, promise. MZ, xxx

 Chapter Twenty Eight

Natasha could barely function after the encounter, she was so incensed at Bo's behaviour, and hated that it literally shadowed all of her anger, frustration and pain. It dragged her into the past, and that was somewhere she never went. It had taken years to get over all that Torrie did to her, and she never wanted to go there again mentally. And he'd done that!

Freya was eyeing her suspiciously from the other end of the bar/refreshment table, obviously aware of the dark cloud that was suddenly hanging over her, she tried, but she couldn't shake the mood, no matter how many cherubic kids came up and asked for "more cake please."

After half an hour, as noise from the games being played on the rink echoed into the lounge, Freya came over to her.

"You OK?" She placed a hand on her arm, "you look stressed."

Natasha shrugged, "men being knobs. Nothing exceptional."

Freya rolled her eyes, "sometimes you wonder if it's worth it."

Shaking her head, Natasha cleaned the counter, fighting the scowl, "you can't complain, you've got Coop, the most well rounded and hunky man I've ever met. He is like the perfect man."

That made Freya scoff, "don't buy into that! He is just like the rest, I almost walked away from him at pace when I first met him. They don't know how to open up, how to get their heads out of their own arses."

Natasha sighed, "I can't ever imagine Coop being as emotionally inept as Bo, I really can't."

Freya poured a mug of coffee and handed it to her, "look, Coop was equally as difficult when I met him, I mean I was pregnant before he was happy to commit to anything..." She sighed, "he had an ex really screw him over and he couldn't get past that. Almost lost everything."

Natasha blinked away the tears not wanting to cry in front of her new friend, "that sounds like him, Bo is constantly comparing everything to what he had when he was in the NHL, rich, famous and all the rest. This place and me...we don't even figure."

"He really cares for you, anyone who sees you together can tell that."

She sighed, "not enough, Freya. And I swore I wouldn't be sucked into something like this, so one sided again."

She wanted to cry, but she couldn't, she wouldn't, instead she plastered on a smile and served coffee and cake to the family that arrived in front of her. But ten minutes later, Freya placed an arm around her, "go home, relax. I love how much you've helped, but you need to be free of this place when the session finishes."

"I..." she wasn't one to run away, but the thought of seeing Bo again really wasn't appealing.

"Go, the worst is over, and you did provide most of the cakes. You are a Hornet legend!"

She didn't argue, instead, grabbing her coat and bag, she literally fled, driving straight home and reaching for the bottle of whisky as soon as her front door was closed.

Bloody Bo, how dare he push her away, treat her like shit. Shaking her head, she poured more than two fingers into a glass then downed a huge gulp with a grimace. Whisky was not her drink, but she needed something strong and aggressive to match her mood, because suddenly the last fifteen years had disappeared, and she was back in those last days in Boston before she fled to her Nana H.