Page 135 of Ace My Heart

“You choose the wrong men! You spent seven years with Grant Johnson, even though he was sleeping around behind your back for most of that time. Then you get yourself involved with Steve Herbert –”

“Leave Steve out of this, Brad!” I snapped.

“Steve Herbert treated you like a commodity. To him you were nothing more than a vehicle for him to keep his foot in the tennis door, because his own son had been such a disappointment to him. He treated you like dirt unless you were doing exactly what he wanted. Mel, I don’t know how you couldn’t see all this for yourself!”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t like that at all – sure I complained to you about Steve a lot, but he was … he was like a father to me! He didn’t just care about my career. He cared aboutme.Besides, I guess, unlike you, I try to see the good in people.”

Brad glared at me. “Yeah, well that’s worked out really well for you, hasn’t it? I mean, look where that got you with Ben! Another massive mistake! You jumped into the deep end before you found out what he was really like – a psychopathic stalker!”

I looked down at the floor – Brad didn’t know the half of how bad Ben had turned out to be.

“But you weren’t satisfied until you humiliated yourself witheverymale in the Herbert family. You let Joel Herbert the serial slutworkhismagic on you, and now you’re well and truly under his spell. He’ll chew you up and spit you out just like he does every girl he sleeps with.”

Tears burned behind my eyelids, but I didn’t want to give Brad the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

My phone rang again. I let it ring out.

“Get out, Brad,” I whispered, moving towards the door and opening it for him. “Please, just get out.”

“Don’t worry, Mel, I will. I’m going to end this now!”

He stormed out before I could gather my thoughts enough to ask what exactly he meant by that.

When the door closed behind him, I flopped down on the lounge, finally releasing the wracking sobs I’d been holding in for hours.

Brad had said a lot of angry shit and not all of it was true. But what he said about Joel … that hurt. In my head I’d known things with Joel could only ever be casual – that was my MO as much as it was his.

But my heart … it was dreaming about more.

Brad’s feelings for me would no doubt disappear very quickly now; he clearly didn’t have much respect for me and my decisions.

‘I’m going to end this now’. Thinking about his parting words sent ice creeping up my spine.

Another sheet of lightning lit the sky as my phone beeped with a voicemail.

It was from Joel.

“Mel, listen, I don’t know why you’re not answering, but I hope you’re okay and that you’re not mad at me. I don’t know what made you run out like that. I really need to talk to you. I think we need to sit down together and discuss this, before it gets out of hand. I’m not going anywhere – I’ll be home all night, so if you can … look, please just give me a call and I’ll come round, or you could come round here, or… well, whatever. Just call me, please.”

I clutched at my aching chest. Joel wanted to end things with me because I was too involved. Brad wanted to end … what? His feelings for me? I couldn’t work it out.

Connor pawed at my leg and yowled. I looked at my watch – almost eight. Today had been so long and yet so short. I wished it was over and that it hadn’t even started at the same time.

“Okay Connie, I’ll get your dinner,” I mumbled, my throat thick from crying. I clambered off the lounge and slouched my way into the kitchen, reaching into the cupboard for the big plastic tub of cat biscuits.

Lightning split the sky outside, thunder following so fast and so loud that I flinched. Connor hissed and clawed me.

I gasped in pain, blood welling from my arm. The rain started to pound against my windowpane.

All the floating pieces suddenly clicked inside my skull.

I dropped the biscuits. The container split and they spilled, skittering to all corners of the kitchen. Connor jumped off the bench and started inhaling them off the floor.

I didn’t stop him. I didn’t stop to clean the mess.

I took a shuddering breath and ran to the door. I stopped just inside, then raced to the bedroom, struggling into a rain jacket before hurrying back out the door.

It was dark. It was pouring down with rain. It was freezing cold. But I had no choice. I manhandled my bike down the stairs, flicked the lights on, and rode out onto the street.

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