Page 34 of Losing Control
Chapter Twenty-Four
Playing catch up
“So, how long have you been back?” I ask Cal as I stare at him as if he is some sort of mirage before me.
“I got back two days ago.”
“And how was it? Did you travel everywhere that you wanted to?” I am intrigued by his bravery to go it alone and discover new places.
“It was awesome, Luce. The sights, the cultures of different countries. I can’t describe it other than to say that it was the most amazing experience of my life. Did you get any of my postcards?” he asks, and I give him a nod to let him know that I have.
He takes a sip of his beer and continues to speak. “I actually called round to your place yesterday, but it turns out that you don’t live there anymore.”
“Uh… No… No, I don’t.”
“Hmmm. Tom seemed a little shaken at my appearance, but when he realised that I didn’t know that you had moved out, he seemed to relax a little.”
“I bet.”
Tom was always wary of Cal, hated the bond that we had, knew that Cal would always have my back. I guess Tom felt threatened by Cal, but that’s still no excuse for him cheating on me. I never gave him any reason to think that I was going to go off with Cal, and Cal didn’t disrespect Tom either. Well, not openly anyway.
“What happened?” Cal asks as he sips his beer.
“Do we have to talk about me? Can’t I just listen to stories from your travels?”
“Uh uh, babe, you’re not getting out of telling me that easily. My stories can wait for now.” See what I mean? Cal is a hard man to hide from.
“Well, to cut a long story short. Tom cheated on me with Carley, I found them in bed together. I moved out, stayed with Kim and then I met a guy called Michael who works at the same place as me. I moved in with him not long ago, but let’s just say that we are on rocky ground right now.” Rocky ground… That is the fucking understatement of the year.
I can see Cal watching me, assessing my body language, and I am scared to death that he is going to see right through me, see the truth that I am desperate to hide.
“Tom slept with Carley?”
“Yep.”
“You don’t still speak to her, do you?”
“Hell no. She burned her bridges with me the minute that she got into my bed with Tom.”
“Your bed?”
“Oh yeah,” I say with a scoff. “Talk about being disrespected in the worst way possible.”
“Shit, Luce, I’m sorry all of that happened. And I’m sorry that I wasn’t here for you.” Cal looks distraught that he missed one of the most painful parts of my life, but I don’t want him to feel bad. It wasn’t his fault, and I know now that it wasn’t mine.
“Don’t be silly, you have no need to be sorry.” I give him a soft smile and his hand covers mine sending a warmth surging through me. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Ahhhhh! Cal!” I hear Kim shriek as she comes over and wraps her arms around him from behind, making both of us laugh.
“Hey, Kimmie,” Cal says.
“Bloody hell, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” she says, taking in his appearance. “Great tan, muscular arms, still got that cheeky smile and glint in your eye, good haircut, damn, I need to get me some sun.”
I laugh harder at her assessment, but my laughter gets cut short as a pain shoots along my cheek. Cal notices my abrupt silence and the slight wince on my face.
“You okay?” he asks, brow furrowed.
