Page 16 of The Consequence of You
“Did you lose someone?”
“Gosh no, nothing like that. I…” My voice trails off. “Why are you here?”
“You were late back, so I called the nursing home. They said you signed out a while ago. I used the tracker on your vehicle. I’m sorry if I overstepped, but it’s protocol.”
Fuck. I had clearly lost track of time.
“Did you call my father?”
“I… yes. It’s in the protocol, Miss Messina. I’ll call him now and let him know you’re okay.”
Carlo pulls his mobile phone out of his pocket and steps away from my car to make the call. He keeps his eyes on me, not looking away for a second. He lowers his voice so I can’t make out what he’s saying, but it’s clear when hemoves the phone away from his ear that my father is not pleased.
Regret courses through my veins further.This.This right here is why nothing good can come from losing myself in the moment. Nothing had really happened, yet it was enough to have me forgetting my responsibilities. Enough to forget about the people who care about me. I know from experience what the result of that is. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and see multiple missed calls from Carlo, Rossi and my father. Message after message, despite it only being an hour after I left the nursing home. The thought of my father worrying about me makes me feel sick to my stomach.
As I stare at my phone, the sleeve of my cardigan slips down on my wrist, exposing the words I had tattooed there to remind me of everything we lost. My father has been through enough in his life. This is why I can’t be reckless.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ASHER
“Darling, I spoke to Aurelia earlier.” My mother’s shrill voice bounces off the walls in the drawing room as she addresses my father. I don’t need to be in the room to picture her head bent over one of her cross-stitch projects and my father likely with his head buried in the Financial Times. “She isn’t going to make it home for Christmas. She only has a couple of days off and the director has told them all there is to be no international travel in case there are any issues getting back for the boxing day performance.”
Walking past the door, I see them, as I imagined, on separate sofas. I hover at the door, disappointed to hear my sister won't be home any time soon.
My father responds without looking up from his paper. “Tell George to book us some flights. We’ll go there instead. We always said we’d like to spend time in Paris inthe winter. We can book the Savoy for Christmas lunch, watch one of Aurelia’s performances, and stay for the fireworks at the Arc de Triomphe.”
“Perfect. Shall we invite Sebastian and Jemima to join us for the New Year? Maybe it’ll encourage him to finally pop the question. After all, it is the City of Love.” My mother smiles to herself. She’s been on at Sebastian to commit to his latest girlfriend for months. I don’t particularly want to travel over Christmas, but if it means I’ll see Aurelia, it’ll be worth it.
As my mother continues to address my father, I realise I needn’t have worried.
“Let’s not involve Asher. I really don’t have the energy for any of his nonsense.”
She’s unaware I’m standing in the hall and can hear every word, but even if she knew I was here, I doubt she’d have censored her words anyway. It’s nothing she hasn’t said before to my face. Instead of making my presence known, I collect a sandwich from the kitchen and head upstairs to shower and eat alone.
Fuck them. I’ll miss Aurelia over Christmas, but I won’t beg them to include me. Same goes for Callie. I know she was enjoying herself as much as I was. But the way she looked at me afterwards, like I wasn’t good enough for her? I get enough of that at home.
After ridding myself of paint, sweat and other bodily fluids, I dress in a soft pair of jogging pants and settle myself on my super-king size bed, spreading a throw out before resting my plate on top. I connect to FaceTime, and when my sister’s face appears, I instantly feel better. She’s one of the few people who never makes me feel less.
“Rey! Hear you’re too busy working to come home over Christmas and see your own brother?” My sister andI are physically alike; many of her features are delicate versions of mine.
“Afraid so Ashy. The rehearsals are going well, and they haven’t fired me yet so I can’t complain too much.” As if they would ever replace Aurelia. She’s been first choice for every position she’s ever auditioned for.
My sister smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. I take her in properly. Her hair is tied back in a neat, simple plait. She’s wearing a pale pink sweater, and her makeup is, as usual, natural and perfectly applied, and yet… I can’t help but feel something is off.
She’s coveted a seat in an orchestra like this for years. It should be a childhood dream come true. Before I can ask her what’s wrong, she tells me about the gruelling rehearsal schedule that starts next week, the extra sessions they expect her to do as well as changes to her diet and fitness regime. This would be enough to make many people feel overwhelmed, but this is business as usual in her industry, so I know it’s not that bothering her.
Eventually, she runs out of steam.
“Are you happy Rey-Rey?” She nods as she takes a long draw on her Stanley cup straw. “Aurelia?” I push.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy? This is everything I’ve dreamed of and more. You know this. I’m sad I won't be home over Christmas, though.” Her deflection is obvious but I drop it. Maybe she has her period or something. I certainly don’t need any details about that.
“The Duke and Duchess are planning on flying out, so at least you’ll have some company.”
“You’re coming over?” She pales.
