Page 29 of Rivers of Ink
“If I know anything about Isobel, my guess is that it was the other way around. I know for a fact that Callan cares very deeply for you; he never felt for Isobel how he feels about you.” Alicia went to speak, but Wren stopped her. “Yes, I know that sounds like drunken-night-before-a-wedding talk, Aidy swears he was genuine. We spoke about it for hours last night when we should have been consummating our marriage.” Wren gave a wry smile.
“I don’t know what to think.” Alicia was at a loss. Every time something felt wrong between her and Callan, it had something to do with Isobel. She wasn’t sure if she could go back to him and wait for it to happen again. She loved what she did at The Unbound Soul. Would she be able to continue working there if she wasn’t with Callan? She needed some time on her own to think. “I have my stuff over at Callan’s place. Would one of you go and pick it up?” Her voice came out very small and thin as she looked between Nell and Wren.
“You should at least talk to him first,” said Wren. She cast a glance towards Nell.
Nell returned Wren’s look. “Wren and I could go together?”
“Please? Would you?” Alicia looked between her two friends. They didn’t really know each other although it looked like they would stick by her when she needed them the most.
The two women nodded. “Of course,” they said in unison.
Wren gave her a final hug, then headed off with Nell. Alicia sank down beneath the covers again and pulled the duvet around her, safe and cocooned. Whatever happened next, she knew she had good friends to support her.
* * *
Callan lay prone on the bed and stared at the ceiling. His whole body hurt, especially the knuckles of his right hand. He hadn’t slept, the events of the previous evening swirling around his brain: how he’d hit both Jason and Aidy, the cake, Isobel, and where Alicia was. He pulled a pillow over his head and screwed up his eyes, wanting the pain to go away. The intercom buzzed incessantly, and for a moment, Callan wanted to ignore it. The thought that it might be Alicia propelled him out of bed to answer it.
“Callan, it’s me. Can I come up?”
“Sure.” He pressed the buzzer and went to the front door, leaving it open.
He stood in the centre of his living room, clad in a pair of boxers, waiting. When Aidy walked in, Callan couldn’t help but be drawn to the blackening around his eyes and the small scab that had formed on the bridge of his nose.
“Shit, Aidy, I’m…”
Aidy held up his hand. “Wren’s grateful we’d had the photos done. We need to talk, but I can’t do that with you half-naked in front of me.”
Callan nodded wordlessly. He went back into his bedroom and pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. At least Aidy still wanted to talk to him. He had no idea if Alicia did.
When he got back into the living room, Aidy was standing in the kitchen area, spooning coffee into two mugs.
“I thought you might need this,” he said. “I was going to bring bacon sandwiches, then I thought what an utter bastard you were yesterday, and I didn’t think you deserved it.”
Callan sank down onto the sofa and put his head in his hands. He couldn’t argue. “I really am sorry for what happened. I didn’t mean for you to get involved or to ruin the cake.”
Aidy rubbed his beard. “Yeah, I know you didn’t, mate. I had no idea Jason was planning to bring Isobel, and if I’d known, I would have politely asked him not to.” He reached for his own drink. “What the hell happened between you anyway? I’ve only heard Jason’s side of the story.”
“Isobel wanted to make another go of things. I told her I’d moved on, then she launched herself at me.”
“I had heard that bit.”
“Who from? Jason? He wasn’t there when it happened.”
“Alicia. Wren spoke to her this morning.”
At the mention of her name, Callan’s head snapped up. His chest constricted. He had thought of little else all night. Had she seen what Isobel had done? Was that why she fled the wedding? He jumped up, grabbed his phone from where it was charging, and switched it on. There were several messages—at least three from Isobel—none of them from Alicia. He dialled her number and listened as it went straight to voicemail. The words he needed to say wouldn’t come, and he hung up without leaving a message.
The intercom buzzed, interrupting his train of thought.
“Callan? It’s Wren. I’m here with Ali…”
Immediately he hit the button to let them in. If Alicia had come to see him, that must mean she cared. Or at least wanted to find out what had happened the previous evening. He tried to formulate the right thing to say to her, to explain everything. He opened the door and saw Wren standing with a blonde woman who looked a little familiar.
Wren gave him a swift hug as she entered. “This is Nell, Alicia’s best friend.”
“Hi, yes, I think I’ve seen you meet Ali for lunch a handful of times.” He looked out into the hallway. “Is she with you?”
Nell shook her head. “She asked us to come and pick up her things.”
