Page 94 of The Reality of Us
Owen growled, and they actually laughed at him. Right to his face.
“Excuse me,” he said tersely, pushing back from the table and grabbing his crutches, pretending he needed to go to the bathroom. Really, he just wanted to get the hell out of there.
He was halfway down the hall when he spotted Jessica sitting in the lounge room by herself, staring glumly out the window. “Hey, you okay?” he asked.
“I should be asking you that. Sounds like you’ve had a bad week.”
Owen eased himself slowly into one of the grey armchairs opposite the couch. “It hasn’t been great.”
“I’m sorry about your knee. And everything that happened with Alice. You two seemed so well suited. At least, I figured she was the reason you started smiling so much.”
Good God. Was there anyone in Wattle Junction who hadn’t known they were together?
Owen changed the subject. “Where’s Sam?”
“It’s Rob’s afternoon.”
Ah. “How’s that all going?”
Jessica fussed with the cushion next to her. “Okay, I guess. Sam’s having fun and seems to be adapting well. Which is all I care about. I’ve actually got a job interview tomorrow. At the pub. Waitressing. It’s not ideal, but Wyatt said he’d work around Sam’s schedule.”
“That’s great news. I’ll ask Teddy to put a good word in for you, if you’d like.”
Jessica’s lips twitched. “You can’t help yourself, can you? You’re always trying to help people.”
Fat lot of good it had done for him with Alice, though. A pang of sadness hit Owen square in his chest, and he shifted on his seat, tapping his phone. Alice hadn’t called. Not that he expected her to.
“Do you have any regrets?” Owen asked Jessica, the words escaping before his brain caught up with his mouth. “About not pushing for full custody?”
He’d done everything he could to help Alice, and it hadn’t been enough. He hadn’t been enough. His regrets kept him up at night.
Jessica shook her head. “Not really. I told myself that I was doing my best to protect Sam, but really, I was trying to protect myself. Rob’s not a bad guy. And he always loved Sam so much. His addiction was just too strong back then. It took everything from him. From us. And when he came back, I panicked. Thought he was trying to take another thing from me. I couldn’t see past my own fears. But I really appreciated that you were upfront and honest about what the law would allow while letting me make my own decision. I needed that extra time to come to terms with it. Find my peace.”
It was like someone had thrown a brick at him, instead of his office, and knocked all the air from his body. How had he missed this?
I should’ve given Alice time to make her own decision.
Just because he wanted to slay all her dragons for her didn’t mean he should. He’d have to learn to be content with handing her the sword if she wanted it.
He’d forgotten this was what Alice put up with every day, even during the ‘good’ times. Each time she stepped out in public, people made assumptions about her and her life. No wonder she’d wanted to try and control the damage after the race, give herself a bit of time to figure out what to do. He still didn’t agree with what she’d done, but that didn’t excuse how he’d … stormed in and steamrolled all over her. He was as bad as everyone else.
“I should get back to the meeting,” he said to Jessica. “Good luck with your interview.”
“I can’t thank you enough for everything. None of this would’ve been possible without your help.”
“Glad I could do it.” And he was. If only he hadn’t learnt his lesson way too late.
Slowly, Owen made his way back to the kitchen. Everyone stopped talking when he pushed the door open.
“It was her decision, not mine,” he said simply, his heart closer to his feet than his chest. He’d really fucked this up.
The room erupted with surprised cheers, which, frankly, was quite insulting. They’d obviously thought it would take him longer to figure his shit out.
Lulu banged on the table and Joan—Joan!—pulled a bottle of prosecco out of her handbag. “We knew you’d get there eventually!” she said. “Now, we plan!”
Who were these women? Again, the answer he was looking for was right in front of him. They were the ladies who’d played such an important role in raising him and shaping him into the person he was.
“What are you going to do first?” Lulu asked.
