Page 65 of Strut

“It’s fine.” She waved a hand and opened the door for me. “I hope your day gets better.”

I left with a burgeoning knot of gratitude and disbelief filling my throat and with tears threatening... again. This damn city. Mayhem, violence, and impossible acts of kindness, all rubbing shoulders with about six inches of personal space per person. You just never fucking knew.

I buttoned my jacket up to my chin and carried my fresh coffee and unknown snack back up to the High Line. There, I found a seat and pulled a mini donut covered in sprinkles from the bag. The young girl’s kindness almost brought a smile, and for some reason, I felt hungry again. Maybe it was the fresh lick of wind off the Hudson or the distraction of the never-ending parade of people on their way to who the fuck knew where. But whatever the reason, I forced down bite after bite, staring ahead at nothing in particular, conversations drifting in and out with the passage of people. And then someone laughed, and it sounded so much like my brother that it caught in my heart.

Oh god.

Lachlan, Tui, my parents. How the hell was I going to tell them? It would confirm everything my parents thought about me coming here.Oh, Jesus. I threw the remaining donut in the closest bin along with the coffee and checked my phone, thinking of Hunter’s list and the one name on it that made sense.

Almost eleven. Really fucking early in New Zealand, but somehow, I didn’t think he’d mind. I moved to a more secluded seat out of the wind and away from prying eyes, and scrolled through my contacts, my finger wavering over the call button for a few seconds before I finally pressed.

It rang for what seemed an eternity until finally he picked up.

“Hello?” a sleepy voice croaked. “If this is you, Kip, you’re fired. Now go away.”

“Rhys, it’s Alec. Can we talk?”

“Who the hell is that?” A deep voice rumbled in the background.

“Alec,” Rhys whispered, still sounding half-asleep. “Go back to sleep, baby. I’ll take it downstairs.” Then to me. “Hang on, Alec.”

“No problem.” I waited on the line, hearing doors shut and the puff of Rhys’s breath as he headed downstairs.

“Do I need coffee for this?” he asked.

“Yeah, maybe,” I answered.

His concern reached across the thousands of miles between us and squeezed my heart. “Fuck. What’s that best friend of mine gone and done now? Do you need help to hide the body?”

“No,” I said quickly. “This isn’t about Hunter. Well, not directly.”

“Oh.” Rhys hesitated. “Well, in that case, let me switch the coffee maker on and I’m all yours. You do realise what time it is, right?”

“Yes, sorry. I just needed someone to talk to and I couldn’t think of anyone better to understand.”

Another long pause. “Well, shit. That doesn’t sound good.” There was some rustling and the clanking of crockery and then the hum of the coffee maker being switched on. “Okay, I’m all yours.”

And so I told him everything. All about the Berlini campaign, the shoot, Darcy, the threats, and even about Hunter’s list and the fact I was calling from the High Line, alone and second-guessing everything. Rhys listened without comment except for a few sharp intakes of breath and grumbling growls of anger. I was shocked at how calm I sounded reciting it again, like it had happened to someone else. And when I was done, there was total silence.

“Right,” Rhys finally said. “Give me a second to digest all that and pour a coffee. But remind me at the end of this conversation to wring my best friend’s freaking neck, will you? I’d hate to forget in the heat of the moment. He should’ve known better.”

I almost smiled, which was a fucking miracle all things considered. There was more clanking and the sound of a fridge door closing and then quiet.

“First off,” Rhys began. “Fuck that bastard and fuck the horse he rode in on and fuck his fucking camera and his fucking reputation and just fucking fuck him.” The line went silent, and I just wanted to crawl through it and hug him.

It was exactly what I’d needed to hear.

“Second.” Rhys sounded like he was desperately trying to reel in his anger. “This wasnotyour fault. You are to take zero responsibility. You are blameless. It might take you a bit to come to terms with that, but we’re not going any further until I make that clear. Understand?”

“I’m trying,” I admitted.

“Good enough. Now to cut to Hunter. I think he was just trying to deal with it in his own way,” he muttered. “However, refer to the aforementioned comment about wringing his neck.”

“Don’t be mad at him. It was me. He was really fucking good to me, Rhys. He did everything right, it’s just... when I saw that list, I freaked out. I have no idea what I want to do, and I’m worried that if I decide to do nothing, then he won’t accept that, and... and maybe that will finish us.”

Rhys went quiet for a moment before he answered. “That’s a fair concern. It’s also one I don’t have an answer for.” He paused again. “Things between you two sound more than serious.”

How did I answer that?I decided on the truth. “They are... at least they are for me. I know it’s too soon—”

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