by G. Bailey
“Are you excited for the baby to come?” I ask her about the planned birth as we walk down the corridor, and I don’t let go of Tilly’s hand. I’m not hiding how I feel about her anymore.
“Very,” she says, rubbing a hand over her bump.
We walk into the dining room to see everyone is seated, and Izzy hands the baby monitor to Tilly before sitting down. I lean over and kiss Tilly gently on the lips before I sit next to her, and I’m aware of how silent the room has gone as I look at her blushed cheeks.
“About time,” Sebastian mutters, and I look over to see them all staring at us.
“When did this happen, and how did I not realise?” Izzy asks.
“Just now, and I don’t know,” Tilly answers with a smile.
“Damn . . . I owe you fifty now,” Elliot says to Luke, who laughs.
“Me, too,” Sebastian nods.
“Why wasn’t I included in this bet?” Izzy asks, making us all laugh.
Allie comes into the room with two drinks and takes the seat next to Elliot. “So . . . what did I miss?” she asks.
“Those two are together,” Elliot waves a hand at us as he speaks.
“Dammit. Fifty quid went,” Allie mutters, and I can’t help but laugh at her.
“Best bet I ever made,” Luke says, but he goes silent as Emilia walks into the room.
Emilia is one of Izzy, Blake, and Allie’s roommates, and there’s something weird going on between her and Luke. Everyone has mentioned it, but if you ask them, they won’t talk about each other. Emilia sits next to Tilly.
“You dyed your hair black, it looks really nice,” Tilly comments, and Emilia smiles.
“Wanted a change,” she shrugs.
“Like the new tattoos, too?” Allie responds as I get some pasta for my plate. We all start helping ourselves to the food as Emilia talks.
“Only one or two,” she comments, her cheeks going a little red.
“Why didn’t you come to me? I would have done them for you,” Luke says.
“I didn’t want to, but thanks,” she responds, her tone curt and short with him.
“Why not?” he asks, his tone is downright pissed off, and I raise my eyebrows at Tilly as she gives me a wide-eyed look.
“Because, despite what you think, Luke, the world doesn’t revolve around you,” Emilia snaps.
“Guys,” Izzy tries to break up the argument, but it doesn’t work.
“I never said it did, I only offered to help you,” he comments.
“I don’t need your damn help,” Emilia says, standing up and walking out of the room. Luke pushes his chair out and follows her out.
“Who wants to make a bet that they will be with each other soon?” Elliot asks, breaking the tension.
“I’m in,” Tilly responds, and I laugh.
“Yeah, me, too,” I agree. There’s something there between them.
“Nah, I don’t think so,” Sebastian says, shaking his head.
“Why?” I ask.
“They argue too much, and they are both so young,” Sebastian says, and he has a point. Out of all of us, Luke is the youngest, but then, I saw the way he looked at Emilia.
“So? We met younger than them,” Maisy answers.
“True, but I don’t know,” Sebastian shakes his head.
“I totally think they have already done it,” Allie says.
“Why?” Izzy responds.
“Just something she said once.” Allie shrugs, and then the baby monitor starts beeping before the sound of the baby crying comes through. Tilly goes to get up, and I stop her by placing my hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll go,” I say, knowing Tilly has been up half the night with the baby. I tried to help, but she only seemed to want her mum.
“Thank you,” Tilly says, and I get up, walking out of the room.
I go straight upstairs and into Tilly’s room. The bad smell hits me straight away, and I know what the problem is. Once I change the baby’s nappy, I sit in the nursing chair and rock her in my arms. I look down at her cute, little nose and her little strands of red hair. She looks every bit like her mother. I rock the baby until she falls asleep on my chest and lean my head back on the chair. She might not be my daughter, but it’s starting to feel like I would do anything to protect both her and her mum.
101
Tilly
"Is this your way of distracting me from tonight?” I ask Izzy, who nervously laughs as she pushes her long, blond hair over her shoulder, looking away from me.
“No, of course not,” she says, proving my point that it is.
“I know Harley is fighting tonight, and I know you think distracting me by taking me out shopping for baby clothes is going to stop me from worrying or something, but it’s not going to work. I can’t stop thinking about tonight, and every part of me just wants to tie my giant to a chair,” I tell her, and she gives me a worried look as we walk through the shop.
“Don’t you think I worry?” Izzy comments.
“I know you do, it’s just . . . I can’t lose him,” I say when we get outside the shop, and Izzy puts an arm around me.
“I feel the same way every time one of them fights, but these are the Kings. Since I met them, I’ve known they are strong, and they walk out of that cage every . . . damn . . . time. This is the last one, Tilly, and then, they are all free from their past, and Harley finally has someone waiting for him,” she tells me, and her eyes, so much like Harley’s, watch me with concern.
Izzy looks as tired as I do, her eyes dark and her clothes half ironed, same as me. I woke up to find Harley in the gym, beating the crap out of a punching bag. He didn’t even notice me there, not as I looked at the scars on his back, which looked like knife cuts, noticing the way his muscles almost hides the scars. I never interrupted him because I didn’t know what to say. Watching him fight a punching bag like that made me realise how he has to fight tonight.
“I just didn’t expect to finally be happy with an amazing guy and then have to watch him do something that could kill him,” I say.
“I know, Tilly. I wish I could tell you not to worry and that you’re going to get your happy ending, but I can’t. I’m just as scared as you,” she says.
A woman walks past with her baby in a pushchair, and I smile. My mum and dad have my baby for the day, and I’ve still not been able to come up with a name for her. I actually have to before the six-week deadline to register her birth, and yet, here I am, not choosing her name and calling her ‘baby girl.’ My parents have actually said ‘baby girl’ suits her, so I know I need to change it before my poor daughter gets stuck with that nickname for the rest of her life. That would not be a good nickname when she is a teenager.
Baby girl has the whole family in love with her; well, make that two families. She has the Foxes and Kings wrapped around her tiny fingers. Even my brothers take turns holding her, and I actually saw Ace kissing her forehead yesterday when I took her over to see them.
"I just think you could use some girl time and, also, I want to hear about how you and my brother… Well, actually, no I don’t," she says, shuddering a little.
"You want to know how we got together?" I ask, laughing a little but getting what she is asking me.
"Yes, exactly," she says, thankful for my save.
"I think it’s just because I get him. There isn’t anything else to it. And, for your information, we haven’t done anything but kiss,” I say, though, not for my lack of trying. I know Harley doesn’t want to take things farther than kissing, but it’s teasing to have all these kisses and nothing else.
“Really?” Izzy asks, with a little bit of shock.
“He doesn’t want to be with me and then hurt me if he doesn’t return from The Cage. He still kisses me, but we don’t share a bed. It’s so frustrating as he is so–”
“Brother, remember?” she says with a scrunched-up face. "No, I kind of get why he hasn’t taken things farther with you. To him, you mean more than just sex," she says.
“But no more talk about Harley like that. I see him as a dad figure.”
We walk around a few more of the shops, and I buy some new baby clothes and some boots.
“Should we get some lunch?” Izzy asks, nodding her head toward the café on the other side of the shopping centre. There are plants lined down the middle and it says the local school children have been planting them. For everything this village has hidden, like The Cage and the way Harley told me the police act around here, there are good things. I guess the motto that the good comes with the bad applies to this place.
"Izzy, do you know how to get to The Cage?" I ask her randomly, and she gives me a shocked look.
"Yes, but I can’t take you there. Not after what I told you. Arthur is dangerous," she tells me.
“I know, just some part of me wants to be there for him. He said he wouldn’t take me there, but if you told me the way . . .”
“I agree with Harley here. The Cage is dangerous, Tilly,” she tells me, and I sigh. I knew her answer before she even said it.
I look back over at the café, seeing a wave of blond hair on a tall guy. He is standing with sunglasses on, his arms crossed as he watches me from the other side of the line of plants in the middle of the shopping centre. I know it’s him, as he looks my way, and fear fills every part of me. I zone out, not listening to Izzy talk as I stop walking just to stare at Daniel through the plants. At least, I think it's him. Even thinking his name scares me. A couple of people pass in front of the plants, and then he is gone, making me snap out of it and I step backward.
"Tilly?" Izzy shakes my arm. "You’re shaking, what did you see?" Izzy asks, looking around, and I shake my head.
"Daniel was here, I’m sure of it," I mutter, and Izzy wraps an arm around me.
"I doubt he was, you must have just been seeing things," she says, and I shake my head. Knowing she might be right, but I can’t shake the feeling that it was him here.
“Tristan, don’t think you can just walk away from me!” I hear a woman shout, and it gets our attention as a woman runs past us and grabs onto the arm of a man. The man turns, looking down at her. He has a nasty-looking scar running down one side of his face, and messy, black hair that needs a cut. He has a leather jacket on, pierced eyebrows, and his lip has a ring in it. The woman also has black hair, and her waist is fairly thin; she’s very beautiful.
“You don’t get it, Tria; this, me, isn’t anything to do with you,” Tristan says, and she lets go of his arm.
“That’s Allie’s brother and the nurse who was looking after him,” Izzy whispers to me.
“So when you’re getting drunk in a bar at ten in the morning, I’m meant to walk past?” Tria asks.
“Yes. What’s so wrong with that?” Tristan replies.
“Tristan, everything is wrong with that,” she says, and he laughs.
“Leave me alone, Tria. Face the fact that you can’t fix me and move on. I don’t want to be fixed,” he says, storming off and disappearing into the crowd. Tria stands watching him before turning and walking away.
“I’m guessing that Tris got a lot closer to his nurse than he told Allie.”
“Are you going to say something?”
“No. Allie told me Tristan has given up on life. He doesn’t care about anything anymore, but what I just saw–”
“Is a man who cares about someone, I agree,” I say, there was no missing the way he looked at her, even despite what he said.
“Let’s hope Tria doesn’t give up.”
“I don’t think she will, she didn’t seem to be giving up on Tristan at all,” I comment, and Izzy smiles, hooking her arm in mine.
“Should we tell Harley about how you might have seen Daniel?”
“No, not with the fight so close, and I bet it’s not even him. I just didn’t sleep much last night; in fact, I haven’t slept well for weeks. It’s just stress messing with my head,” I reassure her as I can’t be sure it was him.
102
Tilly
"You're kissing me, then leaving," I mutter as Harley kisses me gently and steps back. I don’t want to make him feel guilty, but as my hands tighten on his shirt, I know I don’t want to let him go. I don’t want him to stop kissing me.
"You know I have to do this. I will be back for you later. Look after our girl," he tells me, and I shake my head as I force myself to let go.
I hear Luke open the front door and walk out and, for some reason, that makes this all real to me. I’ve tried my best to get my head away from maybe seeing Daniel on the same day that Harley is going to walk into this fight.
"You can’t promise me that, it’s impossible for you to promise me anything right now," I say, and he sighs.
"Tilly."
"Just come back because . . ." I go to say the words I’ve only thought, but they get stuck in my throat just as Sebastian and Elliot come into the room.
"Have a good girls’ night," Sebastian says to me, referring to Maisy, Allie, Izzy, and Emilia, who are waiting for me in the lounge.
They have already said their goodbyes to Harley and the others. The guys decided they all need to be at The Cage tonight. Except for Blake, who had to deal with Tristan tonight and didn’t want to upset Allie with how Tristan is at the moment. Izzy told Blake to just try to help, and he has been, but it’s, apparently, far more complicated than we knew.
"I will," I reply, faking a smile as they all walk out.
Harley stops at the door and looks at me. "I feel the same if that’s anything. I have to say it before I leave," he tells me, and I smile.
"Me, too." I sigh, watching as his eyes light up, but then he nods, leaving and shutting the door behind him.
I go back into the lounge, where the girls are sitting across all the sofas eating various foods. Emilia has a gap next to her, and I go and sit down. Jake and my baby girl are sleeping upstairs in the cots we have, and Maisy has a baby monitor in her hand. It was so cute to see Jake come over and try to give baby girl one of his toys, and then he stayed next to her until she fell asleep.
"How long until your baby girl comes?" Emilia asks Maisy as Izzy puts in the DVD we have chosen for tonight. I don’t know the movie, but it’s something about bridesmaids.
"I’m due in for a section tomorrow," she says, and I can’t believe how excited she must be. It’s awesome that our babies are going to be so close in age. That they will grow up together and go to the same schools around here. Hopefully, they will be friends.
"Are you nervous?" Allie asks gently.
"Nope. I’ve done this once before, and yeah, I can’t think about being nervous right now," she says, and we all settle down to watch the movie. The movie is funny and opens with a bad sex scene.
It has us all laughing within moments when Allie says, “That is not how Elliot–”
“Allie, don’t,” Izzy says, putting her hands on her ears.
I sit eating popcorn and drinking Coke as we watch the rest of the movie. My mind running over and over what Harley is about to do, and I know I can’t stop him. I can’t even be there for him.
"Guys," Maisy says, and Izzy pauses the movie.
"Yeah, you okay?" Izzy asks, and we go silent.
"My waters just went, and I need a section. I can’t have this baby naturally after what happened with Jake–” Maisy says in a nervous tone, and we all quickly get up. Someone turns the lights on as I help Maisy up, and Allie is on her other side. Maisy’s leggings are soaked, and so is the sofa.
“Any contractions?” Allie asks Maisy, who shakes her head.
“Only one little one, nothing serious and nothing like how quick they came on last time,” she says, holding her side.
"In my car, and you call Seb," Allie tells Izzy, who nods. She rings his phone several times as we get Maisy into the car.
“Is he coming?” Maisy asks Allie as she goes to shut the door.
“He will be there,” I tell her gently, and she nods.
"He isn’t answering, I bet he can’t
hear it over the music of The Cage," Izzy says once Allie shuts the door.
There is only one thing we can do; one of us needs to get to The Cage.
"Okay, I will drive there. Does anyone have the directions?" I ask, and they all look at each other.
“I will drive Maisy to the hospital, and you get Seb there now. No matter what," Allie says, and we all nod at her as she goes and gets into the car.
We watch her drive off before Emilia says, "I know how to get there but can’t drive as I’ve had a drink."
"Then I will drive. Izzy will stay and look after the kids," I say, and Izzy nods her agreement. I know she doesn’t want to go near The Cage, and I don’t blame her.
I look down at my leggings and long, red top and have no idea what the dress code is for The Cage. I look at Emilia in her black hoodie and black jeans, knowing that it can’t be too dressy.
"I need to grab my jacket," I say, heading into the house. I find my leather jacket, pull it on, and grab my keys.
Izzy walks past me, still trying to call one of the guys, and I hope she gets through to one of them in time. She stops and grabs my arm to stop me from walking away.
“I will keep ringing, but Harley won’t be happy to see you there. Be careful,” Izzy tells me, letting go.
I don’t have to say anything to her as I turn and walk toward the car.
"How do you know how to get there?" I ask Emilia as she gets into Harley’s spare Range Rover. The car is perfect and new, making me think it isn’t a spare like Harley said it was when he let me borrow it.
"My dad, he works there and so does the rest of my family. It’s a long story, but I’ve always known about The Cage," she says quietly.
“What do they do there?” I ask.
“Jobs for Arthur mainly, and even I work for him from time to time.”
“What do you do for Arthur?” I ask her, hoping it’s nothing to do with the brothers because I would never be able to forgive her if it was.
“Dancing, I pole dance for his clients sometimes. My mother does it, too, and it’s something I don’t have much of a choice in,” she tells me, her hands tightening on her seats.