Page 10 of Forever Ink

Mouse sighed, shoving the last of the muffin into his mouth. “Was he this bossy with you?”

“Finish eating before you speak. And your brother was better behaved than you.” Shaking my head, I left the shop, leaving Mouse and Callum to bicker. maybe Rhys was onto something when he joked that they were into each other. I wasn’t going to meddle in that, though. No way.

Those two could sort their own shit out.

Chapter 6

RHYS

Visiting the new tea shop had been Doc’s idea. We normally met at the café when we weren’t working, but he’d announced that Mrs Olsen and her daughter Elisa had opened a tearoom, and it was our civic duty to try their cakes.

It had nothing to do with the fact Doc had the world’s largest sweet tooth, or a huge soft spot for his patients and wanted to see them do well in their ventures. But calling Doc out on being nice would only end with a lot of growling and head shaking, and him acting like I’d suggested he ate babies as a pastime. No, we were only here to test the quality of its wares. Either way, it sounded like a fun distraction and I liked hanging out with Doc.

The teashop was what I imagined a proper ‘tea shop’ should be, with soft pastel prints on the walls and pretty doilies on the tables. A display of vintage teapots and cups lined one wall. It had an air of quiet refinement without being boorish or snobby. A small, tiled fireplace filled the room with warmth.

Doc looked relaxed and casual, dressed in a pair of worn denim jeans with his shirt sleeves rolled to show the colourful ink that adorned his forearms. I did a double take as I sat opposite him, more used to seeing him in his normal suit pants and rolled down sleeves.

“What is with the look, Rhys?”

“I didn’t even know you owned jeans, let alone wore them,” I answered, taking a small cake from the silver cake stand.

“I even own sweatpants and t-shirts,” Doc answered with a laugh.

I pressed a hand to my chest and swooned. “I am shocked.”

Doc gave a devilish grin and lowered his voice. “You should see my leather booty shorts.”

I hurriedly swallowed my cake before I spat it out in shock.

You’d think after the months of working for Doc I’d be used to him, but he seemed to delight in shocking me. It was the price I paid for our friendship, and I couldn’t say I minded. I loved that the craftily grumpy veneer Doc had made was just that. Underneath was a caring, kind man who I had a lot in common with, and between him, Donald, and Mouse, I finally had a group of friends who I could share everything with, and never feel judged or out of place. Even Donald, who came across as vanilla as a bottle of milk, was open–minded and never judgmental, and I was starting to have some theories about our prickly copper, but I kept them to myself.

“I saw Dec this morning,” I said, not sure why I did, as I knew Doc had seen me going into Dec’s office.

“Saw that. Wasn’t going to press you though. What you and Declan speak about is nobody’s business. Not mine, or Simon’s or anyone’s.”

I nodded. Both Simon and Doc had emphasised that my time with my therapist was mine, but if I chose to share what we spoke about they would respect that and listen without judgement.

“My stepmother was let go. Donald let me know yesterday. When he left I kind of regressed and D—Simon had to look after me last night.” I answered softly, looking around making sure no one was listening in.

Doc knocked his knee against mine under the table and smiled. “You can say Daddy, Rhys. You know I am the last person to judge.”

“I really want to hug you right now, but I know you’ll just get all Oscar the Grouch on me, so I’ll restrain myself. But you just wait til we get out of here.” I sat back and looked around the shop, getting a wave from Mrs Owen as she went to serve some new customers. “So, Susan has been let go. It’s not what I had hoped to hear, but I suppose the Crown Prosecution Service has their reasons.” I looked back over at Doc as he spoke, shrugging. I lifted a small sandwich but placed it back down again. “I don’t want to spend my time worrying about her. Simon and I were supposed to be at the farm, and this news upset me.” I shook my head as I spoke. “No, it didn’t just upset me. It made me angry, then scared at how angry I felt.”

“That, my friend, is completely natural and understandable. That woman tormented you through your childhood, alongside your father. Where she should have been a gentle, loving influence in your life, she brought nothing but condemnation and threats of eternal hellfire. Frankly, I’d be shocked if you didn’t have feelings of anger and resentment against both her and your father.”

Hearing Doc say that helped. Declan had said something similar, and part of me had taken what he said onboard, but there was also that small part of me that still thought, well he’s my therapist, he’s supposed to say stuff like that. So Doc telling me the same thing was reassuring.

“I’m sick of them tainting everything.”

“Well, don’t let them.” Doc said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and I supposed in a sense, it was. “Yes, we need to make sure that shrew doesn’t get near you, and I’m not naive enough to think she wouldn’t try to at least contact you. People like her don’t know when to quit, I’m afraid.”

I sat forward, resting my arms on the table. “Yeah, that is what I was thinking. She is going to turn up like a bad penny, and I just have to be ready.” I pushed around a cake crumb on my plate as I thought about the last time I’d seen Susan. It had ended with me having a panic attack, but I had stood my ground. So I just needed to be strong and not let her bully me.

Fuck, that was easier said than done.

“People’s words and actions can have power over us, whether we want them to or not. It doesn’t make you weak.” I looked up as Doc started to talk. “To this day I still find myself second-guessing some things because of things my parents said. It’s natural. But you need to trust yourself, Rhys. You have a strong grip now on who you are and who you want to be in life, and that shrew has no hold over that.”

“Speaking of parents, have you broken it to yours that you won’t be there for Christmas?” I’d heard about how insufferable his previous Christmases had been, and I really wanted him to spend time with us at Simon’s dad’s farm.

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