Page 50 of Just Like You
“Drop me a pin. Right now. No games. I need to know you’re safe.”
“I’m a grown-up. I’m at home, on my own. Why the hell wouldn’t I be safe?”
“Because you’re angry and hurting. And I’m not there to make things better.”
“You can’t make things better. This? Whatever it was is over.”
“Drop the pin, Julian.”
Silence. I held my breath. Because this was it. Make or break. He either slammed the phone down and I would stand here in this godforsaken corridor and lose my shit. Or he…
My phone pinged. Thank fucking God for that.
“Thank you,” I breathed out.
“Don’t ever lie to me. Ever, Kieron.”
“I need to go back to my meeting now, but I will ring you back. When are you leaving for work?”
Efficiency and speed were key here. And my beating heart. The way I was clutching the phone.
“I need to leave at six-ish.” He sounded calmer. Like he was finally understanding that I wasn’t about to go anywhere. Well. I was, but I was not letting this happen again.
“Stay at home. For me. And I will ring you as soon as I have convinced this bunch of asshats that I know what’s best for them.”
Silence.
“Julian?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. Because sometimes the truth is right there in your face.”
“You have a girlfriend, and I’m your fucking bit on the side.”
I wasn’t going to argue. I wasn’t giving him anything because I understood, far too well. Anything I said right now would be dismissed as another lie. So I had to do the only thing I could. I would have to give him everything I had.
Every fucking bit.
“I need you to listen, and then when you have? Then we will talk.”
“Listen to what?” he barked out.
Calm.Calm, darling.
“Sit tight. I’m sending someone round. And when you’ve listened? Then I will ring you back.”
“You’re making no sense.”
I knew that. But I also knew something else. A lot of things else.
“It will be fine,” I said.
Then I hung up. Because it would be. I was absolutely sure of that. Mostly because I didn’t want to believe the alternative.
I did what I had to do, made a few swift phone calls, sent a rambling text to Maura and then? Then I barged back into my meeting and kicked arse.
I didn’t dare to breathe or acknowledge it to myself, but I felt light as a balloon. Like I was finally turning a corner, doing something right.
