Page 66 of East (The Moral Compass 3)

“Thank fuck for that.” Kara breathes out. “I thought he was going to get himself killed, and then what the hell would Rachel and I do?”

“Rachel?” I ask.

“Yeah, Rachel. My baby. My fur baby.” Kara laughs.

“So, has North agreed to this? You’ve been calling it ‘Doggy’ because you can’t agree on a name.”

“No, but she answers to it now, so it’s tough.”

We all laugh, and then we realise someone has left their body cam on. It looks like its North’s.

I can see Jamie and Alex laughing at something, and then North asks what’s so funny.

“Oh, I walked in on your sister getting herself off with a carrot. I said ‘for fuck’s sake, I was going to eat that… It’ll taste like carrot now’.” Jamie is laughing, and I see Zed stand.

“Don’t you ever fucking talk about my wife like that. Do you fucking hear me?” Zed has Jamie by the hair and has his face pulled back. His other hand is round his throat. South is also yelling at Jamie, telling him he’s going to shoot his dick off and post it to his wife.

“It was a fucking joke, man. Jesus, I’m married, and I love my wife. It was a joke I heard in the pub last week. I thought it was funny, and since when have you and East been married?”

Zed releases him, and South walks back down the plane. Zed retreats, also shaking his head.

I hear North whisper, “Don’t ask that question again. It’s a sore subject. You’re lucky he didn’t fucking kill you for that.”

“So, what’s the score? How did he get anywhere near her without her bodyguards kneecapping him?”

“Zed’s a good bloke. He’s probably the only guy any of us would have approved of, but from what we can see, she’s had second thoughts. We’ll see. Stranger things have happened.” North stands and walks back to his seat. Then, he realises that his camera is still on.

“East? East? Are you still there?” I can hear the panic in his voice.

I put my finger to my lips.“Don’t speak,”I mouth to Sutton and Kara.

North’s camera clicks off, and we all breathe out.

I can feel my face is flushed. I’ve gone around the houses with both Sutton and Kara when they have tried to talk to me about Zed.

I don’t think I’m going to get away with it for much longer.

And I was right. Mum appears with her fancy tea set which we all know contains her special T Tea. She is convinced it’s a truth serum, and she might just have a point.

“So, now that it’s all sorted, we don’t have much time before the boys will be back. East, I know it’s difficult, sweetheart, but we want to know what’s going on. We want to help,” Mum says caringly.

“That’s the question I want to answer, but I don’t have a clue.” I look at Sutton and Kara, who are both nodding.

“Yeah, those boys certainly give us headaches.” Kara huffs.

“Well, I know you and North had your issues at the beginning, but West has always been head over heels for Sutton,” I say.

“Oh, don’t you be so sure, East. After I had the triplets, West was so overprotective, I was at the point where I couldn’t stand it. I went to the bathroom in the hospital once, and he followed me in. I told him that he had to back off and leave me alone or I would never have sex with him again… Sorry, Liz,” Sutton says as if she just realised Liz was sitting right there.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’ve heard how all of you go at it. And, Kara, sweetheart, there is another god other than North.” She laughs.

We all laugh till our sides hurt. The tea Mum has served is really sweet but so addictive. After three cups, I’m really relaxed and feel like I do need some girly advice.

“So, what do you all suggest I do? We are not even on speaking terms. All our communication has been business. He’s never even showed any interest or even asked how I’m doing.”

“That’s men, East. And you know he doesn’t like talking on technology. Have you never noticed all his texts, emails, and calls are direct and to the point?” Kara asks.

“Yeah, but if he was remotely interested, he would make the effort,” I point out.

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