“Really, Hayley?” I sigh, grabbing her by the bra band that crosses over her back, pulling her away. “Sorry, Jordan.”
“No worries,” he squeaks, having to clear his throat before repeating himself.
“You’re here for me, not to get laid, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah.” She follows me into my room, looking around with avid interest. “I wish my room looked like this. Mine’s a tiny box room and I have to share a shower with six other people.”
“All at once? Slut.”
She slaps my arm and bounces on her knees on my bed. “You know what I mean.”
“Whatever.” I tidy away the books and pens that lie scattered across the ground from where Hayley knocked them off the bed. “What do I do, Hayley?”
She stops bouncing and her look becomes soft. “I have no idea. If I were in your shoes, I’d leave him without looking back. But I hate drama and this… what you and Isaac have right now, is a whole lot of drama and hurt.”
She’s not wrong. I have this awful, twisting sickness inside that’s making me wish I could go back in time and change it all so I would never feel like this. I can’t describe it and I’ve never felt it before.
“Why do we even get in relationships?” I mutter.
“That!” Hayley points at me, bouncing once more. “That right there is what I’m talking about. You aren’t happy.”
“I am happy. I love him. Why do you keep being so pessimistic about it?”
“I’m being realistic, Eloise Blackburn, Price… whatever the fuck your name is now.”
I roll my eyes and sit cross legged on the ground. “He makes me so happy; he really does. I feel comfortable and safe when I’m with him.”
“Good.”
“I just hate how I feel when we argue… which is a lot at the moment.”
“Tell him that.” This is the smartest thing she’s said since she arrived.
I turn my phone on and yell through to the living room. “JORDAN?”
He pokes his head around his bedroom door. “Yeah?”
“Can you keep Hayley company for me?”
Hayley brushes past me so fast all I see is a blur of gold and leans against Jordan’s door frame. “He so will. Won’t you, Jordan?” She waves at me over her shoulder. “Bye bye, Eloise.”
Jordan opens the door to his bedroom wider and mimes “You owe me.”
I nod, wincing a little as I quickly call Isaac. “Are you still here?”
“I’m where you left me.” He sounds so sad and that hurts. If he is truly innocent, it’s not fair that he’s feeling this way either. I can only imagine how I’d feel if I were caught in a situation like that with Isaac not believing me.
I head back down to the lobby, hesitating for a second when the elevator doors open. Inhaling a deep breath, I step into the hall and move towards the doors. I barely have them open an inch when Isaac has thrown them fully open and has me in his arms.
He squeezes me tight and pulls me up against him until my feet are dangling an inch from the ground. “I love you. I wouldn’t ever cheat on you. Ever.” He kisses my unresponsive lips. “Please, Elle, you have to believe me.” He kisses me again and pulls back, allowing me a moment to see his tortured and swollen eyes. “You mean too much to me. I know…” He puts me back on the ground and waits for a woman to walk past us before continuing. “I know I haven’t been the best I can be for you recently, I know…” His hands cup my face and it’s not until his thumbs wipe my tears away that I realise I’m crying again. “I know that I don’t deserve your trust or forgiveness, but I need it. I want it. I haven’t let you down and I won’t let you down.”
I bite onto my lower lip and wrap my arms around his waist. His entire body seems to sag into me, causing me to go back a step in order to keep my balance.
“Tell me you believe me,” he whispers hoarsely against my neck. The stubble from his chin scratches at the sensitive skin of my neck. It’s over sensitised from his warm breath, sending tingles through me so badly my entire body releases a shudder.
Just his touch has always been enough to get my blood pumping straight to my core, making it clench and ache with need.
“I…” I can’t bring myself to say it. Fear grips me as the possibility that he’s lying and I’m believing his bullshit swims through my mind. Anger replaces the fear and I almost shove him away.
But then my mind flips again, back to thinking how I’d feel in his shoes if I was innocent.
“I can see you’re worried. You have reservations and I don’t blame you.” He wipes the back of his fingers down my cheek, lowering his voice when people exit the elevators and then the building.
I nod. “Is there… is there anything else I should know?”
He hesitates, his hand stopping at my jaw. “Like what?”
“Anything, anything that would hurt me. I’ll give you this chance to tell me and promise no judgement, no anger. I just… I need to know the truth.”
His eyes move frantically over my face as his lips part. “No.” He kisses me again, almost desperately. “There’s nothing else.”
“You swear?”
He nods and kisses the tip of my nose.
“On my life?”
Clearing his throat he steps back and takes my hands in his, bringing them to his lips. “I want to take you out. Okay?”
Angry, I tug my hands free and move them to my hips. “Swear it!”
His eyes widen. “I did.”
“I didn’t hear you.”
“I swear it, Elle. There isn’t anything else that I can think of.”
I blow out a breath, annoyed at his delay. It doesn’t put me at ease. “Okay.”
“Let me take you out for a few hours. I’ll spend the night?”
I blink. “Why are you suddenly so interested? You haven’t made an effort before.”
He shakes his head. “I know, I’ve been… an idiot.” That’s the polite way of putting it. “But I’ll visit more. We’ll spend more time together, as much as work and school will allow.”
“Promise?”
He nods. “It’s really not that long a drive and now that the house is in better shape we can afford to take a few nights off.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, feeling hopeful for the future. “So… you’ll stay tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ll just let my dad know.”
I wince. “Hayley’s here. We should take her with us.”
Isaac
“Where are we going?” Eloise asks as I drive around the busy city, my window cracked open a little to let in the cool air, mostly to keep me awake.
“Market Hill,” I respond, taking a left onto King’s Parade.
Cambridge is such a beautiful city, so full of culture and history.
“That’s gorgeous.” Elle points to the magnificent building on our left.
“King’s College.” I tell her as I find a place to park. “Are you honestly telling me you’ve not come here yet?”
“I haven’t had the time. I’ve been to Market Hill but I haven’t really had the time to take in everything else.”
“It’s a five minute walk from your classes!”
“There’s something seriously wrong with you. You’re in the most beautiful city in England and you haven’t explored?” Hayley pipes in. She’s pretty much ignored me since we left the apartment complex but I don’t blame her.
Eloise shrugs, looking ashamed. “I’ll explore in the future. Besides… if I’d been already, I wouldn’t be experiencing this for the first time with you guys.”
Smiling, I climb out of the car and take her hand when she finds her place beside me. I kiss it once more, relieved that she’s here with me. She trusts me; she believed me even though the evidence says otherwise… I can’t let her down now. I have a good woman by my side and I’ll be damned if I let her go.
I’ve been foolish, but I’ll change. I have to. I won’t be the reason my marriage falls apart. I chose Eloise. I chose thi
s life and I’m happy with that choice. I know I won’t always be happy with that choice every day. I’m human after all and life isn’t made of rainbows and fluffy unicorn farts.
“You seem lost in thought,” Eloise points out as we walk along the street, avoiding the crowds as best as we can. Hayley surges on ahead, a skip in her step as she takes in the many stores and cafes.
“I’m just thinking about how lucky I am.” I pull her into me with my arm around her shoulder and kiss her temple. She grips my waist around my back and smiles up at me with so much love in her eyes it makes me want to drown myself in my guilt. I lied before. I lied to her face and swore on it. I should have told her about the gambling and lying but… I don’t know how to say it. I’m not like that now. I’ll ban myself when I get home. It’s time to change. It’s time to be the best man I can be.
Hayley shoots me a scowl over her shoulder. I don’t blame her for it.
“Hayley,” Eloise warns and I think she’s telling her off for the scowl but then I see what she sees.
Hayley, too busy scowling at me, doesn’t notice the small metal post that holds a chain, sectioning off an outdoor seating area for a local café. Her foot snags on the chain as we reach for her.
It’s too late. Her eyes widen as she seems to falls in slow motion. The man sat at the table moves his drink just in time for her to fall onto the round table. She grabs it with her arms like a koala baby holding onto its mother and with a loud, high pitched screech, the table tips to the side. She rolls onto the man, who drops his drink on the concrete as his chair tips backwards and they both tumble to the ground in a mess of table legs and limbs.
Eloise stares along with everybody else, her chest tight as she holds her breath. I’m exactly the same.
Hayley groans and pushes the table off herself and the poor man crushed beneath her.
It’s then I hear it. Eloise lets out a noise as Hayley sits back on her knees.
“Don’t you dare,” she bellows at Elle, whose face has turned bright red.
She lets it out and doubles over with the first bark. Tears stream from her eyes before the laughter even comes and she chokes on the air.
“Oooh!” Hayley screams, angry and humiliated.
Eloise doesn’t let up and soon other people are joining in, myself included. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard.
“I am so sorry! I’ll pay for your drink,” Hayley mumbles as the guy she landed on helps her up and brushes himself off.
“No problem,” he tells her, grinning broadly.
Hayley pushes away from us all, still mortified. We follow, still laughing our arses off.
“Bastards.”
The guy she fell on top of follows, his jacket slung over one arm as he catches us up on St Mary’s St. “Hey.” he brushes past me and catches Hayley by her wrist. “Wait up.”
I take Eloise’s hand again and pull her towards Market Hill, where stall after stall are lined up, filled with everything from fruit and veg to handbags and socks.
“Hayley…”
“Will catch us up,” I reassure her as the young man leads Hayley to the side so they’re not getting in the way of pedestrians. “I think she’s pulled.”
Eloise starts giggling as she follows me around the stalls, lifting trinkets and other items as we go before placing them back down. “There’s rarely anything good here anymore.”
“Yeah, it’s not as great as it once was.” I agree, leading her to the side as we wait for Hayley, who is shoving something into her jeans pocket, a broad and excited smile on her face as she skips over to us.
“So, where are we going?” She asks, practically skipping ahead to a nearby stall.
After a few more minutes we head back to the car empty handed and drive around until we reach Magdalene Bridge, which overlooks the River Cam. Even though the weather is a bit on the dismal side, it’s still a beautiful place.
Hayley, throwing me scowls every so often, wanders around to give Eloise and me some privacy. It’s unnecessary; I don’t want her to avoid us just because of what happened, even if she doesn’t trust me.
I get it. She’s looking after her closest friend. Who can blame her?
“What time do you start work?” Hayley asks as we lean on the railing of the bridge.
“Seven,” Eloise responds, resting her head on my shoulder. “Will you be okay while I’m at work?”
“I’ll drive back then,” Hayley says around a yawn, stretching her thin arms above her head.
“Stay. Jordan won’t mind.”
“I can’t; I’ve got too much to do tomorrow. I can come next weekend?”
“Brilliant.” Eloise moves from my arm and clings to Hayley’s. “Thanks for having my back. I’m sorry you had to come all of this way.”
“You’d do the same for me.”
She’s not wrong. Eloise would definitely drop everything to be there for Hayley.
“So, he totally gave me his number and insisted that I give him mine, just in case I decided not to call,” Hayley blurts, smiling mischievously.
Eloise throws her head back and laughs. “Only you could pull a guy by falling on him.”
“I know, right?”
“Not technically true. Our first meeting was of you in my lap,” I remind Eloise, thinking back to when she almost got hit by a car.
She blushes, her cheeks turning pink as her lips tilt into a sideways smile. “That doesn’t count.”
Eloise
I wake to the smell of bacon and eggs and my mouth instantly waters.
“Morning.” Isaac beams as he pads into my room with a tray in his hands, full of breakfast foods.
I pull the wall desk down and prop the pillows up behind my back. “What’s the occasion?”
He kisses my forehead. “I love you. Do I need an occasion?”
“Soppy much?” I giggle and dig into my food. “Sorry for crashing last night.” After he picked me up from work, I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow and I feel terrible about it. I really wanted to get my sex on.
He shrugs and slides onto the bed beside me. “You were knackered.”
I can’t disagree. “Still… we missed out on a fun night.”
“I was knackered too.” He picks up his fork and brings a piece of chopped sausage to his mouth. “Besides, I’ve got all day.”
“Don’t you have to get back to your mum?”
He shakes his head. “No, if anything happens my dad will call.”
“But it’s the weekend… she only has a carer visiting at medication times. Your dad…”
“Will handle it.” He cuts me off with a frown. “Do you want me to go or something?”
My face falls. “No, of course not. I just…”
“Good.” He kisses my lips, smiling again. “Finish your breakfast, have a shower and let me treat you to a day of fun.”
“Really?” I genuinely can’t contain how excited I feel.
“Really.” His lips press against mine once more.
Chapter Twenty Three
Isaac
I grab him by the throat, pinning him up against the wall as onlookers gasp in horror.
“Isaac…”
“You didn’t think to ask me first?” I shout, my anger sky rocketing.
Tony grabs at the hand around his neck and I notice his face turning red, then purple… arms wrap around me from behind and pull me away. I don’t stop. I spin back to face Tony who is choking, holding his own throat. “You could have ruined my fucking marriage!”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” somebody in the surrounding crowd calls out and I know they’re talking about the time Tony had an affair with somebody’s wife, ending their marriage too.
“Not now,” I hear in my ear as a hand wraps around my bicep.
I shrug them off as Tony spits by my boots. “I know what I saw.”
“You don’t know shit! Ask Petal, nothing happened.”
“I did ask Petal,” he yells, his eye
s holding a shadow of betrayal. “She said you kissed her.”
“Fuck!” I shake my head, my body sagging a little. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“Screw you, Isaac.” Tony waves me off, still holding his throat with his hands.
“Eloise believes me.”
“She’s what… twelve years old with daddy issues? She’ll believe anything you fucking tell her.” Tony remarks and I lose my shit.
I lunge for him as hands go to grab me back. They aren’t quick enough and my fist connects with his jaw quicker and harder than even I can comprehend. I watch his head snap to the side as the force of the blow radiates through my knuckles and up my arm. He falls to the ground and immediately spits out the blood pooling in his mouth.
“Enough!” Stan yells, pulling me back and shoving me through the parting crowd. “What the fuck is going on?”
I follow him into Darren’s office. Luckily Darren isn’t here. I can’t be dealing with him too.
“You haven’t heard already?”
“Of course I’ve fucking heard. I want to know why that bullshit has found its way onto my building site. Shit like that should stay in the fucking playground where it belongs.”
He’s not wrong. “I…”
“No, not interested. I gave you a chance. Pack up your shit and get off my job.”
“Stan…” My heart stops as I realise what’s happening.
“Not interested, Isaac. It makes me look bad when I can’t keep my team in check and that shit happened in front of everybody.”
I stare at him for a long moment. “I… I need this job.”
“Yeah? Me too. Now I have to go and handle the rest of them.”
“Stan, please…”
He looks at me with sad eyes before blowing out a breath. “I’m sorry, pal. I can’t help you out this time.”
No…
I grip my hair with my trembling hands and stare at the photo of Eloise that sits on Darren’s desk.
What the fuck am I going to do?
Eloise
My phone rings continuously throughout my lesson with Professor Franklin. I can’t answer it, though. He has a zero tolerance policy for phone calls.
Destruction: The Distraction Trilogy #2 Page 27