Page 35 of The Hideout

All the more reason to pack your things up and go.

Paige groaned as she moved towards the couch. She didn’t want to pack up and leave. She didn’t want to run anymore. She was tired, and she was fed up missing out on opportunities to be happy. Because here, she was happy. Stupidly happy, in all honesty. Okay, life wasn’t perfect, but Paige knew it could be. The Hideout was going to exceed her expectations, but she needed some time alone to consider what the right thing to do was. James would find her wherever she went. Whether she stayed here and pushed on or moved further away…he would catch up with her one of these days.

Perhaps being here and having friends around her would be for the best. If James knew Paige wasn’t alone in a big unfamiliar city, he was less likely to intimidate her. And if Paige could show him that the friends she had were considered close friends, he wouldn’t show up trying to hammer the door down with his fist. The very same fist he’d broken Paige’s nose with in the past.

She shuddered at the thought.

That night had been blocked from her mind the moment it happened. She couldn’t think about the man she’d married hurting her. She also couldn’t deal with the fact that she’d stayed with him after it. The reason for the broken nose…Paige had been at a bar with him when friends had encouraged her to sing karaoke. She hadn’t thought it would be an issue, but the moment they’d arrived home, James changed. The rage in his eyes wasn’t like anything she’d seen from him before. Yes, he’d always had a temper, but this was an entirely different person.

James had claimed that Paige flirted with multiple men while singing that night. Paige had laughed, and that was the moment when she felt her nose pop. The searing pain was short-lived, mostly because of the shock of what he’d done to her. Then came the sheer sadness of the position she found herself in. Her mum was already sick by that point, so she couldn’t burden her with it. Harriet wasn’t the best person to go to either. So, Paige had said no more about it, hoping it wouldn’t happen again.

Only it did.

Many more times.

She tugged on the cuff of the hoodie she was wearing, swallowing down the emotion lodged in her throat. She didn’t deserve the life she had with James. Paige had never hurt anyone or done anything untoward. She’d never questioned who James was or the choices he made. She just went about her life and hoped it could be as easy as possible. She’d never felt as though she was in a position to be true to herself, but she could live with that if the man she’d married was half decent.

But he hadn’t been. Not by a long stretch of the imagination.

A light knock on the door had Paige getting to her feet. It could only be Juliet. She may not feel as though she was ready to see her this morning, but she’d never ignore her. Juliet had done nothing wrong here. She’d simply found herself attracted to a woman she couldn’t have. Vice versa for Paige, too.

Paige opened the door, aware that her face was stained with tears. “Hi.”

Juliet smiled weakly, hesitating as she took a step closer. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I think I’m getting a migraine.”

“Oh, then…I can come back another time.” Juliet turned to leave, but Paige caught her hand. “Paige, it’s okay. You should rest.”

“Did you need something?” That was a stupid question to ask, but seeing Juliet this morning had made Paige feel a little safer here. She wasn’t quite ready to let her go. “I’ve just made some coffee.”

“I wondered if we could talk.”

Paige opened the door and ushered Juliet inside. “Sure. Come in.”

“If this isn’t a good time for you, we really don’t have to do this now.”

“Come in, Juliet. I’m fine, and I’ll be better once my medication has kicked in.”

Juliet reluctantly stepped over the threshold, exhaling a deep breath as she did so. She turned to face Paige, her eyes sweeping up Paige’s body. That would never not feel good. “So, I know you’re leaving…and I wanted to help in some way.”

“Help?”

“I have a friend who lives in Gateshead. He owns one of those ‘Instagrammable’ places that all the celebrities drink at. I called him and asked if he was looking for a new mixologist.”

Paige’s heart melted. Juliet had done something selfless—something that meant the world to Paige—without even knowing why she was doing it. Still, she didn’t want it to be this way.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I want you to be safe. You’re not comfortable confiding in me, and that’s okay. It’s my own fault for simply being who I am. I know I appear to be quite closed off, but I-I’m trying to work on that. It clearly puts women off.” Juliet approached Paige, placing a set of keys in her palm and closing her fingers around them. “You’re in trouble. I know the signs from years of working within the criminal justice system, but if you think moving on is for the best, then I won’t try to stop you.”

Paige frowned when she stared down at the keys in her hand.

“I have some property. I’d considered moving out of Liverpool if the bar hadn’t taken off, but well, I’m needed here. My place in Gateshead is empty and I want you to stay there until you don’t need to be there anymore. It’s close to the train station and is only about fifteen minutes away from Guy’s bar.”

“Juliet, I—”

“You really don’t have to say anything. I think we can both agree that Liverpool is not where you want to be, and I can’t wish for something more when you can’t even bring yourself to look me in the eye, Paige. I’m sorry about Thursday, I never should have come to the bar, but I’m glad I did. That I got to see you in that other setting. The one that makes your eyes light up when you sit behind the piano. So, thank you. It really is something beautiful.”

Paige’s bottom lip trembled when she lifted her head and found Juliet’s eyes.

---