Chapter Twenty Seven
Isaac
“She keeps what?” I ask, my eyes on my mum as she chats animatedly to my dad about the year the town got its first roundabout.
“Taking spoons and throwing them into her neighbour’s bedroom.”
I almost chuckle, almost but not quite. “So she’s settling in okay?”
“Definitely. I think she likes it here.” The nurse places her hand on my arm. “You’ve done the right thing. It’s safer for her here.”
I nod. I hate it but I know she’s right and now I’ve seen her in her new environment, I do feel better about it.
“And Tracy, well she was a character, always feeding the neighbour’s cats. She was a spy you know?” She whispers conspiratorially. “She was a Russian spy. It’s why her breasts were so large.”
I let out a bark of laughter at that and my dad smiles lovingly at his wife. “Aye, I bet she was too.”
“Don’t encourage her,” my dad snaps playfully and looks at me curiously. “So what do you think?”
“I don’t think she’d have hated it.” I sit in the empty seat beside him as my mum stands and wanders over to another table. “I think she’d understand.”
“Me too.” My dad admits, patting me on the shoulder. “I guess this means you can finally move on with your life for a while, stay with Eloise more. Maybe you could get a job in Cambridge and live down there for a while?”
I wince and he notices.
“What? What is it?”
I bite on my lip and shake my head. “Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me. What’s happened?”
He’s going to find out sooner or later. I look away as I say the words, unwilling to let him see the shame and the pain in my eyes. “Eloise left me.”
There’s a pregnant silence between us before he finally says, “What do you mean she left you?”
“As in she left, never to come back.”
“Why?”
“I was… I was shit to her.” I admit, rubbing my tired eyes before checking on Mum, who is getting a spoon taken from her as she tries to pocket it.
“You’ll work it out.”
No… “We won’t.”
“Shit.” My dad rarely swears. He always saves it for when it’s necessary. Right now it’s necessary. “That bad?”
I nod. “Worse.”
“Then why the hell are you here? Why aren’t you fighting for her?”
I look at my mum and blink the burning from my eyes. “Because I want my life back.”
My dad places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes, but he doesn’t say anything else.
After an hour visiting Mum, we head home. My dad drops me off on the way and it’s when I’m out of the car and walking up my driveway that he finally speaks. “I think you’re making a mistake.”
“What?”
He drives away before I can question him.
Blowing out a breath, I check to see if I have my wallet and walk in the opposite direction to my house. I don’t feel like going inside yet, so instead I head towards town, more specifically towards Crystal’s café. I haven’t been here for a really long time.
I get here quick enough, relieved to see how empty it is. I don’t want to be alone but I also don’t want to be crowded.
I order a hot drink and sit back, my eyes lingering on a couple in the corner, both of them holding hands and giggling over a single milkshake. I bet they only bought one because they can’t afford two, I can’t help but bitterly think. Yet they still seem happy.
I take a seat, drink in hand as my phone rings. I pull it out and a large part of me hopes it’s Eloise, telling me she loves me, telling me she wants me back. I know she wouldn’t do that though. I hurt her badly and treated her worse. She deserves better than what I can give her.
“Hello?”
“I’m sure you know by now that all of your debts have been paid,” Darren tells me, his tone clipped.
Sighing, I sip my drink before replying. “Yep.”
“Good.”
“How… how is she?”
Darren takes a moment, as if wondering whether or not he should tell me. “She’s back in school. She’s perfectly okay. She was a little distraught the first few days, but as far as I’m aware she’s at a party this weekend with friends.”
Jealousy swells inside of me, burning my innards to a crisp. I see red and my hand clenches on my phone. “I could have done without knowing that.”
“Stay away from my daughter.” And then the line goes dead.
I stare at my phone long after he hangs up. It’s a cheap phone that only calls and texts. I miss my old phone. I miss the images I took. I want now, more than ever, to stare at the beautiful face of my Eloise.
It’s good that I can’t. The sooner I move on, the better. Our relationship was poisonous; I was no good for her. No good at all.
Eloise
I stare at my marked paper, disbelieving of the grade I’ve been given.
Kira throws her arm around my shoulder and squeezes me, her face bright and smiling. “You are a genius.”
“You did great!” Professor Franklin winks from behind his desk. “I knew you were worth the extra study hours.”
I blush a little and tuck my hair behind my ears. “I got a hundred marks.” Out of one hundred and seven.
“Keep it up, ginge.” Damon pinches the bare skin that shows between my waist high jeggings and my white and blue crop top. “Come on. You two need to be getting ready.”
“See you later, Professor Franklin.” I wave at him before following my friends out of the room.
Kira, her arm still around me, chatters animatedly about all things school and home. I listen, my mind on the past month. It’s been the hardest month of my life. My dad was right; I was too distracted by stresses and Isaac.
I miss him though. I miss him more than anything. I want him to come begging for me, to tell me how much he loves me. He hasn’t and the more time that goes, by the more I realise he’s never going to.
He doesn’t want me. I don’t think he’s wanted me for a while.
I have to let go but it’s so hard. He’s been such a major part of my life and I love him more than I could ever describe. I’m not sure I’ll ever stop.
It is getting easier. The better my grades get, the more friends I make, the more parties and outings I go to, the less I want him to call, the less I want him to come.
Time is the best healer. That’s all we need to finally put it all behind us.
“You seem lost in thought,” Damon whispers, taking my hand in his and swinging it between us.
I shake my head and smile. “No, I’m good actually. For the first time in a while… I’m good.”
For the first time since I left him just over a month ago, my decision doesn’t make me hate myself.
“I cannot wait to get smashed tonight,” I blurt swinging my hand with Damon’s.
He and Kira both grin wickedly at me. “Hell to the fucking yeah!” She screams, charging ahead. “Let’s get our partayyyy on!”
To Be Continued…
Distinction (Book Three of the Distraction Trilogy) Coming February 28th 2016.
I’m going to ask for your forgiveness over the large gap between releases yet again. You have no idea how much it kills me to ask you to be patient yet again and I wouldn’t do so if I didn’t have any other choice. I promise to work extra hard whenever, Elif, my beautiful little four month old allows.
I really hope you have enjoyed reading Destruction as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I promise that if I finish Distinction before February (fingers crossed) I’ll release it early. So keep checking my Facebook, just in case as I’ll be keeping it updated as much as I can. Not to mention I have a couple of awesome giveaways planned for when Distinction releases. So head on over to my page so you don’t miss out.
read on FOR A SAMPLE OF SINGLEISH BY THE AMAZINGLY TALENTED AND SUPER FUNNY ELIZABETH BUTTS.
I'm now 24 and I’ve been writing since I could hold a pen in my hand! I love to write, it’s my passion, and I never stop. In fact I love to write so much I have started over one hundred and fifty different books before finally completing my first ever novel 'A Little Bit of Crazy' which I published in May 2013 on Amazon for Kindle. I was grateful when I received feedback as it helps me be a better writer.
When I'm not writing, I love spending time with my family and when I get some spare time (not easy with young children!) it’s either reading or listening to music. You won’t find me without a book or my Kindle in my hand. I read whilst I’m cooking, cleaning, talking, walking… you could say reading is my other passion!
Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I appreciate any kind of feedback be it good or bad. This has been a huge learning curve for me and I'm happy to receive any advice/criticism...praise? That you wish to provide. Don’t be shy.
Thank you,
Love Alex
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SINGLEISH
By Elizabeth Butts
Prologue
He slowly pulled at the strings on her chemise, lowering it off her shoulders, gently kissing her skin as it was exposed to him. A shudder ran through her, though whether from the cold or his attention, she would never know. He caressed her skin, his fingers soft as a breeze against her hardening nipple. She heard a moan and was embarrassed when she realized it came from her own throat. “Miranda,” Ian purred, “you needn’t be shy with me. I love you.” “Oh, Ian, I can’t believe that my boss expects me to work every Saturday without a promotion or raise in sight”.
Wait… What? I blinked my eyes a few times. When did Miranda start speaking in my head in a male voice? A male voice that sounded suspiciously like…oh, shit. I looked up from my Kindle where Ian and Miranda were about to get all kilt freaky and into the eyes of my boyfriend of three years, Craig, who was looking at me expectantly. I wondered how long he’d been talking to me. I wondered if my subconscious had heard any of it. I closed my eyes a minute, mentally going over the last few minutes. Nope, nothing there. Just Scottish lairds and soft caresses. I wondered if he realized that I hadn’t heard a word that he’d said. I risked a glance at him and saw a slightly reddening face and narrowed eyes. Um, yup. He knew. Crap.
I wished I could just go back to my Kindle, re-enter the world that demanded nothing of me. I mean, it was my day off…I should be able to sit on a couch and just lose myself in that world that existed within its electronic pages. However, reality called. I groaned inwardly, pushed the button to put my Kindle to sleep and turned and face the music.
“I’m sorry, honey, you know how I can get when I read. Could you repeat what you said?”
“Seriously? Again? I have been talking to you for the last ten minutes. You’re trying to tell me that you haven’t heard a damn word I’ve said for ten minutes?” Craig looked like he was about to spontaneously combust. Eek.
Inwardly I shuddered to think that I’d managed to zone out that completely, but didn’t let him see.
“Hey, I’ve told you not to try to talk to me when I’m reading. You’ve been warned. If you see me on the couch with a Kindle, I’m really not there. It’s just a shell, an illusion.”
Uh-oh. I think that might have been the wrong thing to say. Was it possible that his hair was starting to singe? I squinted a little, yup… I’m pretty sure he was so mad that his hair was burning.
“Ash, that’s it. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t compete with your warriors, squires, princes and lairds anymore. I don’t wear a kilt. I don’t have any ‘shining armor’.” I started to glaze over a bit when I pictured him in a kilt or in ‘shining armor’. Wrong move. Focus!
“I am your real boyfriend, I’m here, but you can’t be bothered with me because you’d rather be in a book. I need a break from this. I’m done”
I blinked my eyes a few times, my jaw on the ground as I watched him turn, stalk towards the door and slowly, quietly walk out the door and out of us. I glared at my Kindle, but I couldn’t be too angry at it, because it was a really good story. But, what the hell did he mean by a ‘break’? This was a little too Ross and Rachel from the 1990’s.
I got up from the couch and ran out the door, stumbled down the steps and managed to make it to his car before he pulled out of the driveway. My chest was heaving from the exertion of running after him. I asked, “What…do you mean…that you’re done? It…was just…a book.”
He looked at me, his brown eyes soft and sad. “Ashley, this is the tip of the iceberg. I just feel like you don’t have much more going on than going to work and vegging on the weekends. We don’t do anything anymore. We don’t go anywhere. Do you even want to be with me anymore? Do you even notice that I’m at your house almost every night? You just seem to want to work during the week and read on the weekend. I love you, I love you so damn much, but I don’t know if it is enough for me to play second fiddle to electronics. I don’t know if ‘done’ is the right thing to say, but I definitely need a breather.”
With that lovely monologue, he put the car in reverse.
Chapter 1
So when you’d had so much of your life mapped out in your mind, and it just disappears in a moment, it was a little hard to readjust, you know? I mean, I guess I had just figured we were a forever sort of thing, so I was really surprised that he just walked away like that. Craig leaving, well, it hurt. I replayed the parting words over and over again, just trying to figure out what I missed, what went wrong.
Was I so horrible at reading body language that I didn’t know he felt alone in our relationship? Had I really chosen my Kindle over him? If I couldn’t figure out that my boyfriend is feeling neglected, I obviously have the social prowess of a slug. I probably shouldn’t be allowed to interact with people at all.
It was kind of weird, I should be angry, throwing things. I just got sort of broken up with but not quite. I mean, did this mean that I’ve become so boring a person that I wasn’t even exciting enough to fully break up with? I felt completely broken that he left, but I guess I was also feeling...I don’t know…contemplative? Hmmmm, contemplative. I tried that word out in my mind. I then said it out loud. Yeah, that was about right. I was feeling contemplative.
I thought about calling my mom, to let her know we broke up, maybe cry on her shoulder or something. But knowing mom, she’d let me know that she was glad he was gone. She would tell me that she had never liked him anyway, he wasn’t good enough for me yada, yada, yada. Even though she always asked if he could come to family gatherings before she even thought to ask me if I was interested. Seriously, there were times we’d be hanging out and he’d get a text from her asking him to come to a cook-out, and after he said he would, I’d get a text letting me know about the cook-out. Sheesh! He was a bit of a suck up – loved mom’s cooking. Then again, I didn’t know a soul in the world that didn’t love my mom’s cooking. It was redonkaballs. Did I really just say that? Redonkaballs? Huh, yup, guess I did. I was showing my crazy today. I digress… mom would tell me she never liked him because that’s what moms did. And then she’d hug me and tell me to come over as if we didn’t see each other just yesterday. Or she’d show up on my doorstep with a fresh baked good item. Wait a minute… a fresh baked good? Why did I think that it was a bad idea to call mom again? I quickly shot her a text to let her know, that way I didn’t have to hear the sympathy that would inevitably make me start crying…again.
I thought about the things he said… that all it seemed like I wanted to do was work and read. That I didn’t want to do anything. He made it seem like I had no goals in life or anything. Did I have goals? Well, hell yeah, of course I did. I mean, I worked full time
while I got my Bachelors and my Masters degrees. That shows drive. Those were goals. There was that 5K I ran a few years ago…that was a goal I set for myself, and I totally nailed it. I mentally high-fived myself until I realized that each of those things were past tense. Now I did a mental forehead slap. GAH!
When was the last time I’d picked something to achieve, planned for it, worked for it and earned it? Sheesh, I can’t remember, it’s been a while.
Craig and I had been together for three years, we met when he saw me running as I was getting ready for the first 5K I ran. I still can’t figure out why he stopped to chat with me, considering I had stopped for a water break and was chugging water as a dying man gasps his last breath. I mean, I was not cute when I run. You’ve see those ads where gorgeously svelte women are running like gazelles, their long, brunette ponytails swaying gracefully back and forth, not a bead of sweat on them and breathing evenly? Yeah – so not me. You’ve heard of the ugly cry? I mastered the art of the ugly run…red faced, snot flying (ew, sorry), hair all frizzed up and nasty. Oh, and I sweat. A. Lot. So I guessed that I would never understand what he saw in me that day, what made him stop me and say hi.
It was kind of hard to believe that we’ve been together for three years, considering we didn’t live together or anything. Any of my friends who had been together for even a year…hell, three months, were living together already. I wondered if that was a sign that we (and by ‘we’ I really mean ‘he’) wasn’t really ever going to commit to a permanent relationship. But what had I set my mind on since then? I honestly didn’t even create a mental goal of pushing that boy to the alter in the oh-so-subtle ways that women have honed for centuries. Would I marry him if he asked? Hell, YEAH! In a heartbeat. Did I ever let him know in any way… oops, maybe not.
Destruction: The Distraction Trilogy #2 Page 31