Page 67 of Rush
‘Don’t contact me again, Jesse. At least have enough respect to let me move on in peace.’
And then he was gone, and Savi was sinking to the floor at the foot of her bed. She let the tears fall, feeling like the last four years of her life had just crumbled to pieces in front of her. How could she have been so naïve? She’d known for months, if not years. Jesse didn’t know how to love anyone except himself; he barely knew how to communicate. There had been hundreds of instances where he’d forgotten to tell her he was home safe, or he’d not bothered letting her know which state he was in or which country he was flying to next. Sapphire had kept her moreinformed than he had half the time. She was angry at herself, at him, at the universe for bringing him to her at that stupid county fair.
‘Savi?’ Marco’s head of curls in the doorway was all she could see through her tears. ‘What happened?’ He rushed towards her, crouching down in front of her and holding onto her knees, trying to pull her hands away from her face.
‘He couldn’t even apologise,’ she sobbed.
‘I know, Cowgirl.’ He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. ‘Men like him can do no wrong.’
‘You were right,’ she choked out. ‘I was right. He was never mine to keep.’
‘Oh, Sav… Come on, get up off the floor.’
She caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror. ‘I look hideous.’
‘Don’t worry about that. The crying is giving you a nice rosy glow.’ He held her hands to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles. ‘Get yourself dressed into your comfiest PJs, I’m going to get you a tea and then we’re going to sit here and watch crappy reality TV and gossip about all the biggest paddock scandals we can think of.’
‘Thanks, Mars.’ She took the tea gratefully, scooting over to give him room and handing him the controls. ‘You can choose. Although I like the sound of that new one that got released this week. Esme said it’s nothing but drama and plot twists.’
‘Sounds like the perfect medicine,’ he agreed. ‘Can I get under the sheets? It’s kind of cold in here. I’ve been sat by a heat source for three hours.’
‘Sure.’ She held the sheets open and waited for him to climb in, still wiping her eyes as tears threatened to take hold again.
‘He’s an asshole,’ Marco stated, pressing play on the TV. ‘I know I’ve said it before, but you weren’t ready to hear it then. I will say it every hour of every day until you’re over him if I have to. You know your own worth, Cowgirl. Don’t you forget it.’
‘I really appreciate you, Marco.’ She looked over at him, a slight smile creeping onto her face. ‘I’m sorry if it feels like I’m playing with your emotions, I’m really not trying to.’
‘I know you’re not, and hey, I know I’m not Esme or even Miko or Kodie, and I’ve never had a guy break my heart, but I’ve broken my own heart too many times. So I’ll be here for you every step of the way until loving yourself is enough.’
And with that, she was off again. But this time, as the tears rolled down her cheeks and her neck and she soaked her pyjama shirt, she laughed. At what, she wasn’t quite sure. Maybe it was at her own stupidity, or her misfortune, or maybe it was the fact Marco De Luca was sat in her bed with a cup of tea, watching a dating show and nursing her back to her old self.
‘Sorry, I can’t stop crying,’ she sniffled.
‘You don’t need to apologise.’ Marco checked his watch. ‘It has, after all, only been four weeks since it ended. Takes longer than that to get over a break-up.’
‘Whatever, I’m a big girl and big girlsdocry despite what Fergie says.’
They sat in silence while they watched the first episode,other than the odd commentary on someone’s behaviour or rating the couples. So far, Marco had been very opinionated and cut-throat each time he opened his mouth, and although Savi was giggling through it, she couldn’t help the odd outburst of crying. She was going to have a sore head in the morning.
‘Would you like a cuddle? No strings, no expectations.’ He looked nervous but he held her gaze nonetheless while she sat there and contemplated it. What harm could it do? She shuffled into his arms, immediately feeling soothed by the warmth of his embrace combined with the warmth of the mug in her hands. She’d missed being held. And this may not mean anything in this exact moment, but it made her feel something. It made her feel like she mattered to someone.
So she lay there long after the credits of episode six rolled, and her half-drunk tea had gone cold and been put on the bedside table. She stayed in Marco’s arms, crying and laughing in turn until eventually she fell asleep on his chest, safe in the knowledge that just because Jesse couldn’t support her the way she needed him to, it didn’t mean her friends, family and teammates couldn’t step in and fill the gap.
28
‘Are we allowed to drink the champagne?’ Calvin whispered out of earshot of the flight crew, lifting it out of the ice bucket and reading the label.
They had driven back to the airport in Montana, where the Revolution Racing private jet was waiting for them. Jasper had ensured it was fully decked out with everything they could want: champagne, sushi, a multitude of snacks,decentplane meals which were part of a custom menu, soft drinks and waters. The Harts were in heaven, and they weren’t shy about letting Savi and Marco know about it.
‘Yes, Dad,’ Savi laughed and found him a glass. ‘Let Marco pop the cork, he’s good at it.’
‘It’s all the underage parties I snuck out to as a teenager,’ Marco grinned. ‘They trained me for the life I lead today. Including how to deal with hangovers quickly and quietly.’
Weston scowled, wheeling up and down the aisle, exploring every nook and cranny of the plane’s interior. ‘Can someone hurry up and help me get into an actual seat so we can get this show on the road? Or in the sky, whatever.’
‘You happy for me to do it?’ Marco asked, standing to give Weston a hand.
They’d grown close over the last couple of weeks, with Marco often assisting Weston with various daily tasks, taking some of the pressure off Bonnie and Calvin. Itwas lovely to see Weston letting someone into his bubble, and Marco had even persuaded him to invite a girl over for dinner when he returned from France. All the things Weston had shied away from doing since his accident, he was doing with a gentle shove from a total stranger.
