A Hidden Chapter

James was a great boyfriend, but Linzi wasn't sure she was getting the whole story...

- BECCA ROBIN

FROM childhood, Linzi had always been a big reader. She loved nothing better than to switch off her phone, snuggle up with a good book, and get carried away by a story.

In Linzi's imagination, the people she loved were a bit like books.

From time to time, they would allow her to read a few more pages of their lives, which was always a real privilege.

Linzi even knew on which library shelves she would place some of these people.

Her best friend, Nicolette, for example, seemed to belong on the romantic comedy shelf.

Each new chapter of her love life was fraught with odd misunderstandings and escapades, which she would relate hilariously over a bottle of wine, leaving them both in stitches.

Several friends were like family sagas, and she had come across the odd suspenseful thriller.

Her boyfriend was more like an adventure story.

She had met James at a party, and they had been going out for three months.

James was so very alive, enthusiastic, and ready for new experiences.

He had certainly opened her eyes to more of what life had to offer: places to go, people to see, things to do.

On the other hand, he was also kind, sensitive, and considerate.

Linzi loved spending time with James, and she suspected she was falling in love with him.

Yet Linzi was also conscious that she had a left a bookmark between the pages of James's story, marking a hidden chapter.

A few times, he had started talking about what life had been like three years before.

From his tone, she gathered there had been some kind of problem.

The trouble was, he'd never got very far in telling her.

Something had always interrupted him at the crucial moment.

It was all so mysterious.

Linzi kept reminding herself that at some point she would need to return to the hidden chapter in his story.