Page 48 of The Fool

“Nothing!” she cries. “Look, sweetie, text me where you are, and I will come and get you as fast as I can. Just hold on!”

“Leah, please don’t tell Ben, he’ll go ballistic,” I plead with her.

“Er…ok, I won’t,” she replies. “Text me where you are, and don’t worry.”

Chapter 16

Bea

Fortunately, I don’t have to wait too long before Leah’s motorbike comes revving down the road. Though, when I listen more closely, it’s not just the sound of one bike, it’s the sound of two engines coming this way. I sigh, closing my eyes tightly, realizing that Ben has obviously come with her, which means he knows what’s happened.

The two great big bikes skid to a halt on the gravel track just in front of where I’m standing. Leah switches off her engine and dismounts her bike before pulling off her black helmet. She says nothing but grabs hold of me in an all-encompassing hug while I break down and sob onto her shoulder. The second bike, however, snaps me out of my crying when I hear it revving away in the direction of Helena’s house. Holy shit, this won’t be pretty. Helena’s house is the only one down here and with Nathaniel’s car having a personalized number plate, it’s pretty clear as to where he can find him.

“Leah!” I pull back to look at her with bleary eyes and a puffy face. “What the hell?”

“I didn’t tell him!” she cries back, looking a little sheepish. “You were on speakerphone; unfortunately, he heard everything.”

“Then why didn’t you warn me?” I ask, slapping my hand to my forehead.

“Cos…cos I kind of think the asshole has it coming to him,” she says without any hint of an apology for her statement. “Bea, we are all tired of this douchebag being a total mindfuck to you.”

She watches me pacing with nervous anticipation, then eventually holds out the spare helmet for me.

“Come on, I’ll drive you back. There’s nothing you can do about it now, Bea.”

Sighing in defeat, I take the helmet and put it on, letting it hide my face from the world and the world from me. To be honest, I don’t have any energy left in me to fight it. So, as I climb onto the back of her bike, I watch my brother in full leathers, getting smaller and smaller as he closes in on Helena’s house, then shut my eyes to it all.

Nate

I’m literally shaking with rage as I pace up and down the length of Hels’ living room, all the while I run my hand through my hair. I can’t believe that fucking sleaze bag not only destroyed my sister, and attacked Lily, but he also slept with Bea…myBea. I don’t care that she’s not actually mine, it still makes me feel sick to know that his hands have been on her. And now I’ve gone and lost it with her. Knowing that I shouldn’t have, I’m damn well angry with myself too. Callie tried to call after her, but she just ran away as fast as she could, and all because of my big, stupid, and impulsive mouth. And to top it all off, Jess is sulking up in her room because her uncle ‘ruins everything’. To be fair, I can admit that this time, I have.

“Good job there, Nate,” Callie says, returning to the room with a sigh. She’s now looking at me like I’m the biggest idiot in the world.

“I know, alright!” I yell back at her. “I’m just…frustrated. She won’t even give me the time of day, but she slept with that piece of shit?”

“You heard one little piece of information and instead of talking to her about it, to hear all the facts, you had a toddler tantrum,” she says, shaking her head over my stupidity. “And now you’ve pretty much blown it. I wouldn’t put up with that kind of shit from anyone, let alone my asshole boss who has systematically destroyed my confidence over the past year and a half.”

“Fuck, I am an asshole, aren’t I?” I sigh. “I’ve screwed it up again with my stupid short fuse, fuck!”

“Well…yeah, I have no other words I’m afraid,” she replies bluntly.

As I breathe out another heavy sigh, we begin to hear thudding coming from the front door. Callie and I both look at each other with matching confused expressions.

“It might be Bea,” Callie says, jumping to her feet to answer the door. “She sounds pissed too; prepare yourself and take it like a man. You owe her that much.”

I listen as she walks to the front of the house to open the door, expecting to hear her greet the poor girl who I just lost it with…again! I stand, getting ready to accept her wrath, for Callie is right, I owe her this. However, when I don’t hear that greeting, and instead listen to the sound of boots stomping across the floorboards, I brace myself for something I wasn’t expecting – a man dressed all in leathers and with a rage-filled expression on his face. This is Ben, Bea’s older brother, probably come to murder me all over my sister’s beautiful house.

He paces right up to my face and grabs hold of the lapels of my suit jacket. I don’t try to fight him, instead, I remain rigid, just waiting to accept whatever he’s about to deliver; I deserve it.

“Listen, asshole,” he begins with a sneer on his face, “you don’t come near my sister, you don’t look at her, you don’t even think about her, do you understand me?”

“I can’t promise that I’m afraid,” I reply, the audacity of my words shocking even me as they flow out into the space between us.

“You arrogant son of a bitch, you are not nearly good enough for her, and Lord knows, she’s been through enough shit already. Stay the fuck away!”

“No!” I snap back.

At first, he smiles, but then he lands a large fist in my gut, enough to make me hunch forward and cough out.

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