Page 6 of Owen

Fuck.

I begin to sweat.

Oh shit, what have I done?

2

OWEN

A faint scent of chlorine wafts in my direction as the gentle breeze causes the water to slap against the sides of the private pool I’m seated next to.

Squinting under the glaring sun, I look down at the phone in my hand. My gaze lands on the voice messages icon, notifying me of how many I’ve yet to listen to.

Seven days of ignorance, not knowing or facing the mess I left behind. Seven days of reflecting. Seven days of uncertainty, worrying about what I should do with my life now; the one I ran from. The one I left behind.

The only thing I know is that I will stay here for the next few weeks, or maybe even longer, while I figure out what to do next.Travel?Maybe.Start my own business?Nah.Go home to Castleview Cove?I shudder at the thought, my body’s reaction confirming that’s a firm no.

Like a lighthouse on a foggy night, the red notification on my phone warns me to stay clear of the voice messages; avoid the shitstorm that I created a week ago.

Although it feels like a lifetime since I called my cousin,Gregor, from the airport to see where he was currently based. Because of the rift between our families, he was the only one, along with his parents, who didn’t get invited to the wedding. He wouldn’t have been able to make it anyway due to work commitments.

So within five hours, I’d landed in Cyprus, two thousand miles away from anyone finding me.

Voicemail after voicemail filled my inbox until it was full.

Choosing not to listen to any, I deleted them as they hit my phone. However, it didn’t prevent it filling up again with what I can only imagine are irate messages from mine and Evangeline’s families, so I stopped deleting them. I let it fill to capacity, so no one can leave any more, and I hit that “block caller” button on my parents’ contact details. Not permanently. Just until I decide what my next action will be.

I’m not ready to speak to them. Not yet.

If ever.

Like a strategic move on a chessboard, I’m no longer the pawn but the ruler of my own destiny, and this time I’m playing to win. To find my queen and be the king of my own goddamn castle—on my terms. Whether my parents like it or not.

Let’s hope I can withstand the wrath of my mother, because when she finds me, she’ll kill me with her perfectly manicured claws. I’m certain if my father gave her the nod, she would sink them into my heart first.

Although my mother was never physical with me growing up, choosing verbal abuse as her preferred choice of attack, I may have pushed her too far this time. I can’t imagine she will ever forgive me for the shame I have cast over the family name.

Do I care?A little.

Do I care about my sanity more than the family business?Right now, absolutely.

Making me flinch, my phone vibrates in my hand. It’s a welcome sight to see Lincoln’s name on the screen.

Knowing he was going to call, I hit the accept button, uncross my legs, and lay back on the sun lounger, taking refuge from the blazing heat of the sun under the parasol.

“Hey, stranger.” Lincoln’s familiar dark features and toothy grin come into view.

Violet, his fiancée, appears next to him. “Nice bronzed abs.” She winks cheekily at me, making me chuckle. She likes nothing better than winding Lincoln up, and commenting on my body will do just that.

Lincoln tickles her side, making her squeal.

“You’ll pay for that later.” Lincoln smacks a kiss on her cheek.

“Hope so.” Violet side-eyes him as she flicks her dark brown hair over her shoulder.

Jacob appears next, stuffing what looks like Lincoln’s grandma’s delicious syrupy baklava into his mouth as he takes a seat, too. Last, Skye, my ex-girlfriend, now Jacob’s wife, stands in between Jacob and Violet. It’s such a heartwarming sight; to know that regardless, and with no judgment, my four friends love me unconditionally.

Violet says, “We’ve missed you, Owen.”

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