Page 51 of Quake

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“Are you working here now?” he asked, filling the pause.

I nodded. “Yeah, at a publisher a few blocks from here.”

“Boyfriend?”

I thought about Caleb and nodded, the mere mention of him calming me some. “Yeah. He runs a boxing studio in the Northern suburbs.”

“A boxer, hey?” He smiled and shook his head. “Sports and books. I never thought I’d see the two mix. That was always your sister’s jam.”

My smile faded at the offhanded mention of Mel. It was inevitable that she would come up in conversation considering we were all friends in high school, but it still stung.

“I’m really sorry,” Harry blurted. “That night… I was a complete dick to you.”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” I replied, staring at the ground. “Mel still would’ve died.”

“Maybe…” he muttered. “But I could’ve spared you from finding her…like that.”

“It’s done,” I whispered, my throat tightening. “What ifs don’t help in hindsight.”

“I’m really sorry, Meg.”

I shrugged and glanced up at him. “It was good to see you, Harry.” Total lie.

I flattened my palm on the door and pushed, stepping out into the sunshine, this time the folio following without jamming in the gap.

“Hey,” Harry called, having followed me. “Do you want to get a coffee sometime?”

I turned, my gaze meeting his. Once upon a time, I would’ve been elated by the fact that he was asking me out, but now I couldn’t look at him without seeing what was left of Melanie. Of all the bad ideas, meeting up with him again had to be the worst.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “No, I don’t think so.”

His expression fell, and he stood there looking bewildered.

“See ya, Harry,” I said, backing away. “Good luck with everything.”

I didn’t wait for a reply. As I strode down the street, my heels clacking on the footpath, I felt one metaphoric door close and another open. The short encounter with my past crush had shown me how everyone else had continued moving forward with their lives while I’d stood still, watching them sail past.

I knew I was holding myself back, I’d always known what was wrong on some level, but now I saw how far I’d come since uprooting my existence and shifting it to Melbourne. I especially saw how much I’d come out of my shell since Caleb had taken my hand and shown me the way.

I was still avoiding telling him the whole story, but I wanted to be able to explain things in my own way and in my own time. I wanted to tell him without the memory destroying me in the process. I simply wasn’t ready to face everything that had happened.

I could feel the words forming in my mind, the story clearing, the image sharpening, and ultimately, it was a good thing. The fear I’d been carrying since that night was dispersing. Whatever Caleb had done, it was working.

Slowly and surely,I was healing.

* * *

“Where in thebloody hell have you been?” Jade exclaimed, flapping her arms about as I exited the elevator.

She snatched the folio out of my arms and immediately ran into the glass partition behind the reception desk. “Will someone please get the door?”

Rushing around, I pushed the door inward and held it so she could fit through with the cover mock-ups. Following her to the conference room, I assisted in unzipping the case and lifting out the poster board.

As the first cover was revealed, my eyes widened. They were for Alexis Storm’s new romance. I didn’t even know she had anything on rotation with Slattery.

“Fighting Desire,” I read aloud as I placed the first cover on the waiting stand.

“It’s an alternative title for a little book that’s been sitting in your bag the past month or so,” Jade said, pouting.