by Jade Winters
Maddie swayed from side to side. ‘You wouldn’t,’ she spluttered, bristling with indignation.
‘Do you really want to test me?’ Cara growled, with contempt that forbade any further argument. ‘Get the fuck out of my life and out of this town!’ She released her arm and walked towards the entrance.
‘Hey, Cara, do you want me to take her home?’ Matt called out to her as he stood helping Maddie put her jacket on.
‘I really don’t care if she ends up in the gutter, it’s where she belongs!’
Cara stopped and told Becky, her new assistant, to take over and lock up once the remaining few party-goers had left – she was done for the night.
She caught a cab home then slipped into Dee’s house without a sound. Falling into bed fully dressed, her heart pounded, replaying the night’s bittersweet events over and over in her mind until she dropped into a fitful, exhausted sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
‘How was the party?’ Dee asked over breakfast the next morning.
Cara swallowed hard. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘I’m just glad it’s all over and I can just get on with running it as a business.’ She attempted a smile.
‘Is everything okay?’ her mother probed gently.
‘Yup, fine…just tired.’
‘I thought you had planned to stay with Maddie.’ Her mother was still regarding her intently, causing Cara to squirm a bit.
‘Oh…umm…yeah, I was planning to, but…she drank a bit too much so we called it a night. I got Becky to close up. Everyone was nearly gone anyway.’
Dee looked unconvinced, but let the subject drop with a simple, ‘Well, that was good of her.’
‘Yes, it was.’ Cara felt guilty about deceiving her mother, wishing that she could confess to leaving again. But Erin had asked her not to tell a soul about their plan. As they didn’t know who the blackmailer was, they decided to not trust anyone – not even their own family members. Cara had been toying with the idea of going abroad, somewhere warm and quiet – maybe a little village in Spain, where they could live without looking over their shoulder every five minutes. But in the end they decided to settle in Brighton to start off with. Their plan was to leave within a matter of days rather than weeks or months. Cara had been reluctant with this timetable at first due to her shop but Erin had persisted and her argument had finally won Cara over. The longer they left it, the more time Erin would have to change her mind.
‘Well, I’d better be off. Don’t want to be late on my first day and all.’ Cara grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, blew Dee a kiss and headed towards the front door.
Once at the shop, the morning was a flurry of activity. Becky worked the busy coffee bar and Cara spent the morning on the phone arranging interviews for a manager to run the shop. Wherever she ended up living with Erin, they were still going to need money to survive. If the night’s turnout was anything to go by, she might have stumbled on a goldmine. Cara fired an email off to the recruitment agency to let them know she was pleased with the selection of candidates they had sent her. If they were as competent as their CVs suggested, she knew her business would be in good hands.
A knock at her office door drew her attention. Thinking that it was Becky, she called out, ‘Come in.’ She was annoyed to see Maddie step in the room.
‘Hey!’ Maddie looked at her sheepishly. ‘I guess I should be crawling in here on all fours begging for forgiveness.’
‘What do you want, Maddie, I’m busy,’ Cara said, looking pointedly at her computer.
Maddie rested the back of her hand against her forehead. ‘Will it make you feel a bit better if I tell you I spent the night vomiting and have been ill all morning and I still have a screaming headache?’ She cocked her head to the side, looking down at Cara pitifully.
‘Are you actually looking for sympathy? Jesus, Maddie, where the hell do you get off with all this shit?!’
‘Shh, please, not so loud.’ She walked over to Cara’s desk and slowly lowered herself into the seat opposite. ‘I didn’t tell him anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.’
‘I should hope not,’ Cara murmured.
‘So can we start again? No hard feelings?’
Cara looked at her with disgust. She could actually feel her lips turning up at the edges as if she were smelling something foul. ‘No we can’t start again. Just leave, Maddie, we want to move on with our lives.’
‘When you say our lives, do you mean as in you and Erin together?’
Cara averted her eyes, not wanting Maddie to see the storm of emotions rising up within her. Blackmail. She wanted to spit at her – that’s how much she despised her. ‘Yes, together. And I will tell you this. What I told you last night still stands. You breathe a word of this to anyone and I will make sure your business goes down.’
Maddie’s facial expression became hostile, like she was suddenly ready for war. ‘I know you think you are, but you aren’t any better than me.’
Cara suppressed her anger under the appearance of indifference. ‘What are you on about now?’
‘You and your holier-than-thou act. Yes I cheated, but so did you! You cheated with your boyfriend’s sister all those years ago and you’ve been mentally cheating with her ever since you left this goddamn town.’ Maddie jumped out of her chair. Her eyes darkened like angry thunderclouds. ‘I hope you fucking rot in this hell hole – you deserve each other.’ She turned and stormed out of the room without a backward glance.
Cara smiled to herself and bent over, resting her head on the desk. Please God, let that be the end of the drama. I don’t think I can take any more.
A few minutes later, the bleeping of her phone indicated a message. She scanned the screen from where her head lay.
‘Meet me at The Bell.’
Her head involuntarily jerked back when she read the recipient. How did Claudia get my number and what does she want with me?
Chapter Forty
‘Erin, where have you been? I thought you’d never get here!’ Claudia exclaimed when Erin reached her at the bar.
Erin gave Claudia a brief hug before releasing her. ‘I’m sorry. My meeting took longer than expected.’
‘Well, whatever,’ Claudia waved her excuse off. ‘You’re here now. I’m famished. I’ve got a craving for chips and mayo. You hungry?’
‘Oh no, I’m not hungry,’ Erin begged off, the mere thought of food threatening to make her bolt for the ladies’ room. She was feeling anxious, not to mention disloyal. Claudia would no doubt despise her once news got around that she’d left Cumbria without telling her face-to-face. She only hoped Claudia would understand and wouldn’t hold it against her by not letting her see her niece or nephew when they were born.
She would email her once they had settled in Brighton. They had already got their story straight. Who would have any suspicions about her leaving for a better paid job and a city full of people her own age?
‘Do you even eat any more? You’re looking awfully thin.’ Claudia sighed, not waiting for an answer. She caught the bartender’s attention. ‘Two brandies…’
‘I’ll just have a water. It’s a bit early in the day for me.’
Claudia nodded sympathetically. ‘Still feeling the effects from the weekend are you? Okay, water it is,’ she said adding a water to her order.
Taking her drink from the bartender Erin thanked him and eyed Claudia with a frown. Why has she ordered two brandies? A knot formed in her stomach. Has she lost the baby? That could be the only explanation why she would be drinking whilst pregnant. Then again, she didn’t seem that bothered by smoking cigarettes. As they turned to go in search of a table, they ran squarely into Cara.
Erin gasped. ‘Cara, what’re you doing here?’
‘I could ask you the same thing,’ she replied.
‘You invited Cara as well?’ Erin looked at Claudia with an enquiring look.
‘Yes,’ she replied. She placed the drinks on the bar counter and stood there playing with a tendril of long
blonde hair that curled in front of her ear.
‘Do you want to tell me why? I’m very busy,’ Cara asked.
Erin noted the shakiness in Cara’s voice. So she feels the bad vibe as well.
‘What’s the matter, Cara, worried about something are we?’ Claudia sneered nastily, focusing her gaze on her.
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Cara responded, looking back at her confused.
‘What am I talking about? Where shall we start?’ Claudia raised her chin imperiously at Cara with distaste. ‘How about we start with the baby you aborted. Matt’s baby!’
Erin watched the blood drain from Cara’s face.
Cara took a step towards her. ‘You’d better shut your fucking mouth.’
‘Or we could start with the story of you two. Yes, let’s start there. You know, the part where you ended up fucking your brother’s girlfriend behind his back. I never quite understood why Matt loved you so much – I always thought there was something a bit off with you, and you proved me right, you shameful little slut.’
Erin’s legs weakened beneath her. She was speechless. How did Claudia know these things? What does she mean about Cara having an abortion?
‘Don’t you dare speak that way to Cara, Claudia.’ Erin finally found her voice. ‘Where the hell do you get off spouting all this nonsense?’
Claudia glanced at Erin. ‘Ha! Let’s see what you’re saying when your brother finds out your dirty little secret.’ Her eyes narrowed with hatred as she turned to glare at Cara again. ‘It’s bad enough that you emotionally destroy the women you get involved with, but now you’re trying to destroy the only bit of happiness Matt has. You may have got rid of your baby but you’re not gonna make anything happen to mine.’
Erin looked at Cara, who stood motionless as if in a daze. Her gaze seemed to be focused on something on the other side of the room. Erin wanted to reach over and shake her, to make her say something. When she saw that wasn’t going to happen she spoke up instead.
‘Claudia, you’re talking crazy. Cara didn’t have an abortion. Why are you saying these things about her? She lost her child. Don’t you have any compassion at all within you?’
‘Not for skanky bitches like her. I don’t want her anywhere near Matt trying to turn his head. I won’t have it, you little bitch, do you understand me?’ she snarled, bending to bring her face within inches of Cara’s. ‘You’re going to cut all contact with Matt and go back to London.’
Erin’s mouth dropped open in shock, her head spinning. ‘It was you.’ Her eyes were wide with realisation and fear. ‘You left me those horrible notes.’
Claudia smiled a slow, predatory grin. ‘Yes I did,’ she challenged. ‘And so what?’ She raised her eyebrows, daring Erin to reply. When Erin remained silent, she continued, ‘And I meant what I said. She gets out of here or I’ll tell Matt my version of the things I’ve seen.’
‘What do you mean the things you’ve seen? What have you seen?’ Erin asked, dumbfounded.
‘I saw you two together naked in that loch and I saw you shagging by the lake. Maddie filled me in on the rest earlier. Can’t get more proof than that can I!’
‘Jesus, you followed us a hundred and fifty miles. And hired a boat? Do you watch Crime TV? There’s a name for people like you – Stalkers! There I was thinking it only happened to the rich and famous,’ Cara said, unable to hide her amusement despite the situation.
‘Call me what you want. Anyway, it wasn’t Erin I was following, it was you.’ Claudia jabbed a finger in Cara’s direction. ‘I know you are after Matt, you want them both – him and his sister. You sicko!’
‘Don’t you even care about how much this is going to hurt him if he finds out?’ Erin whispered, her eyes brimming with tears, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps.
Claudia focused her attention on Erin. ‘Of course I care. But it’s apparent neither of you do. I’m not the one who fucked around with his girlfriend.’ Claudia’s upper lip curled in contempt. ‘Matt deserves to know who you both are, and…what you are. I expect her to be gone tomorrow or else!’ She nodded to the drinks on the bar. ‘I bought those brandies for you. I thought you both might need them.’
Claudia swung her hair over her shoulder and walked off without another word. Erin watched her go – utterly speechless. When Claudia was out of sight Erin turned to Cara. ‘Why did she say you had an abortion?’
‘No doubt Maddie filled her head with lies. Her final piece of revenge.’
‘What are we going to do?’
‘Things are going to be ten times worse if Matt finds out about the baby as well. God knows what he’ll do if Claudia tells him.’ Cara’s face clouded with uneasiness. ‘We’re going to have to move our plan forward. We’re going to have to leave tonight.’
Chapter Forty-One
Cara left the pub and ran all the way home. With every laboured breath she took, the stress was released. Claudia’s ambush had taken her by surprise. Cara couldn’t believe she was behind the blackmail notes. After their brief chat at Claudia’s birthday party, Cara thought Claudia had believed her when she said there was nothing going on with Matt. Obviously she hadn’t believed a word of it. Cara should have taken Erin’s concerns more seriously. But then again, even if she had, what could they have done? It wasn’t as if they were walking around the town flaunting their relationship for everyone to see. They had been very discreet. She increased her speed. It was irrelevant thinking about what they could have done differently. They’d been found out and had to take action to minimise the damage. As sad as Cara felt about leaving Cumbria again after being away for so long, she knew if she wanted to have any kind of life with Erin it was something she was going to have to grin and bear.
Dee was nowhere to be seen when Cara finally entered the cottage. She stood at the bottom of the stairs to catch her breath before mounting them two at a time and heading straight to her room.
Within minutes she heard footsteps on the landing, then Dee was at her bedroom door. ‘Cara? What’s the matter?’ she asked.
Cara glanced across the room at Dee before grabbing her case from the wardrobe. She threw it on the bed and opened it up before walking over to the dresser and haphazardly grabbing her belongings, throwing them into the case. ‘I have to leave.’ Cara tried to keep her voice strong.
Dee stepped in to the room looking perplexed. ‘Leave? What’s happened?’
Cara glanced around for her favourite suede boots. Spotting them in the corner, she crossed the room and picked them up, then brushed away the thin layers of cobwebs that covered the heel. It was more of a distraction technique than a genuine need to clean them. ‘Nothing will happen if I leave. I should never have come back. It was a big mistake.’ The words came out rushed, in a mad flurry.
Dee walked over to her, grabbed the boots from Cara’s grip and dropped them on the floor. She took Cara’s hands and held them gently. ‘Now slow down, breathe, and tell me what’s going on.’
Cara did as she was told. She took a deep breath, held it, then slowly released it. After a few seconds she felt calmer. Looking at her mother’s enquiring gaze, she figured there was no point keeping it a secret from Dee any more – they knew who the blackmailer was, after all.
‘Mum, Claudia is going to tell Matt about Erin and me if we don’t tell him ourselves.’
Cara thought she heard her mother whisper something about a meddling little bitch, but then figured that it must’ve been a figment of her imagination, conjured up by the terrifying spectre of Claudia’s hatred.
‘Would that be such a bad thing, Cara?’
Cara did a double-take. ‘Come again?’
‘I said, would it be such a bad thing to have everything out in the open? Secrets have ruined so many lives. How long are you going to let this one ruin yours? It doesn’t matter where you go, you can’t hide. It will always be with you.’
‘Mum, do you want another scandal?’
‘Oh, who bloody cares? If being wit
h Randal has taught me one thing, it’s that people are always going to be looking down at you. You could be the pope, for Christ’s sake, and they’d still find fault. I was wrong, Cara. I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did when I found out about your dad.’ Dee held her gaze with eyes filled with love and compassion.
Cara bit down on her lip to stop herself crying.
When Dee spoke again it was with such softness that Cara couldn’t hold back the tears any more. She let them fall freely.
‘Cara, shine a light on the truth and I promise, it will get better. Life hands us a rough deal sometimes, and sometimes our rough deal is of our own making, but that doesn’t mean we can’t move forward, okay?’ Dee let out a soft sigh. ‘You need to move forward. I was against your relationship with Erin, not because you’re gay, but because I thought she was wrong for you.’ Dee laughed. ‘It wasn’t until she brought those disgusting doughnuts round that I saw how happy you looked together. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters in this life.’ She gently rubbed Cara’s shoulders. ‘Are you ashamed of your love?’
Cara shook her head. Never! She had only been ashamed of how they went about it once they realised they wanted to be together.
‘Then fight for it!’ Her mother’s voice changed instantly and took on the tone of a motivational speaker – energised and high-pitched. ‘People have died for our right to love who we want. You never run from the truth, you face it and you never back down from a bully! You stand up to them. Got it?’
‘Yes, Mum.’ Cara didn’t know if she was crying from laughter at the change in her mum’s attitude or because she was relieved that the past would finally be coming to a head.
‘Good, now call Erin and together face up to this nasty piece of work and put this bloody soap opera to bed once and for all. It’s like watching a reoccurring episode of Coronation Street.’ She pulled Cara into her arms and held her for a long while. Finally she drew back and kissed Cara on the forehead. ‘I know I don’t say it enough, but I’m so proud of you and I am so happy that you’re my daughter.’