Page 93 of Only You
The memory made her pause, and she grunted, flinging the stone as far as she could. That one didn’t feel as great as the others.
‘Your father may be onto something,’ Demir said.
She tried to force a smile, but it was lacklustre. She tossed another rock so lightly it barely made it into the water.
‘You okay?’
Selene opened her mouth to lie, to say something clever but something stopped her. The thought of lying about it, like she always had, exhausted her. For once, she was tired of hiding.
‘…I don’t know what happened to my father,’ she confessed. ‘My sisters and I had heard about the war and all the other shit that’s always happening, but he was a good dad. He was strict but he never hurt us. Not until he got fired from his job and started drinking more… it was like a switch. One day, he loved us and the next we were the reason his life was shit. You and Jack are lucky. You can punch your way through life while I’m stuck. If not with him, then another man.’
Demir said nothing, making her nervous. He didn’t want to be out here and now she was telling her life story. She knew better than that.
It was only when he took her hand that her mind stopped churning.
‘Punching only gets you halfway there,’ Demir told her. ‘Walking away, well, that will take you anywhere you wanna go.’
Selene looked up at him, his skin blue in the pale light of the moon. It made her think of the river in front of them as the light danced across his striking features, and she wished she had asked more about him. Over and over, she realised she didn’t know much. Even worse, she found the desire to know more growing stronger every day. And the thought of him one day not being in her life… ‘What do I do if someone wants to walk away from me?’
‘Jack won’t do that. He’s just figuring it all out. Give it some time.’
She faced the water, watching the moon’s shimmering reflection. She didn’t want him to see her disappointment at his answer, one she wasn’t even sure about herself. She pulled her hand out of his.
‘Is that what you needed with Nora?’ Selene asked. ‘She seems happier when we go to the club. Or at least hates me less.’
‘Why does she hate you in the first place?’
‘She probably thinks I’m pretentious, just like I think she’s a whore. Not that either of us were wrong,’ she said with a shrug.
‘Sel, come on.’
She put her hands up as if surrendering. ‘I promise, I am not talking bad about her. I’m just saying we’ve had our views of each other from the beginning. We’re not supposed to get along. We understand each other better now and that’s enough. But you haven’t answered my question.’
‘Which is?’
‘Are you and Nora better now?’
Demir was quiet as he thought about her question. From where Selene stood, the answer was obvious. Nora had been smiling more, and Jack was always mentioning Demir going on dates. She swallowed the bitterness that seemed to appear every time she saw the two together.
They’re good together.
Demir was her friend. She needed to be happy that he’d found someone that suited him. And yet…
‘Yeah,’ he finally said. ‘We are. We’re still taking it slow but I’m not ruling it out like before.’
Selene bit her lip, holding back a frown. Slowly, she nodded. ‘Thanks for talking to me that night. I needed it.’
‘It’s the least I could do. You’ve looked out for me since the beginning,’ she said.
‘Wouldn’t be too sure about that,’ he replied. ‘Once upon a time, we hated each other, remember?’
Selene huffed, laughing. ‘How could I forget?’ she said. A sudden wistful smile crossed her face. ‘That’s kind of the ironic thing about our relationship. The first time you helped me, you were actually being an asshole.’
Demir tilted his head in confusion before motioning for her to continue.
‘I can’t thank you enough for taking the money Jack wanted to give me after that first fight. Do you remember?’
Demir nodded.
