Page 54 of High Stakes

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Bella

I open the front door to my home, the one I grew up in. The last time I was here, I met JP looking all big and scary. If I’d have known then, what I know now, I would have walked straight back out, refusing to even listen to any of it. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

“Dad,” I call out, and he pops his head around the kitchen door looking surprised.

“Bella.” he says with a huge smile. He rushes over, wrapping me into a tight hug and it’s enoughto send me over the edge. He pulls back, holding me at arm’s length. “What’s wrong?”

“It was all a lie, Dad. Aiden used me,” I whisper.

His hands fall from my shoulders, “He went through with it?”

I gasp. I didn’t think it would be possible to feel any more pain, but I was wrong. “No,” I murmur, shaking my head. “Please, Dad, tell me you weren’t in on this.”

“I thought he’d make you happy,” he rushes to tell me. “He said he wouldn’t let you get hurt.”

I crouch down, holding my hands to my aching chest whilst Isob uncontrollably.“How much?” I whisper.

“Bella, please believe me. I thought it would be a good idea because he’d get you away from me.”

I stand, “I thought, I thought,” I scream. “Well, you thought fucking wrong.” He takes a few steps back, tears filling his own eyes. “I have spent years caring for you when it should have been the other way around. You let me down,” I yell. It’s words I’ve been holding back for too long, and now I’ve started, they’re just pouring out. “So next time you think you’re doing me a favour, don’t.”

“I haven’t drunk since you left,” he whispers, like I should be proud.

“I don’t care,” I hiss. “I am done with you.” I pull my purse out of my bag. “In fact,” I say, “Have adrink on me.” And I throw a twenty at his feet. “Mum would have hated what you’ve become,” I whisper.

He reels back, my words cutting him like a knife. I don’t feel bad, he’s hurt me too much. The one person that is supposed to be there for me, and I can’t think of one time when he was. I leave him standing in the kitchen, clutching his chest, his silent tears spilling down his cheeks.

I walk around aimlessly for a long time. I’m aware that my mobile is ringing over and over, but I leave it in my bag, ignoring it. I can’t face talking to anyone that knows about any of this situation. I’m too humiliated and I feel so ashamed because I went through with it. How would I explain that?

I stop at Cal’s door. I don’t know how I’ve ended up here, it wasn’t a conscious decision. But I ring the doorbell anyway. He opens the door and his smile falters. I must look a state with swollen eyes and puffy cheeks, but he recovers quickly, forcing the smile again. “Hey, come in,” he urges, taking my bag from me.

I sit on the couch while he makes a coffee. When he returns, he sits opposite me and smiles kindly. “Okay, start at the beginning,” he says, relaxing back. And I do. Ittumbles out from start to finish, and all the while, he stares wide eyed. When I finally finish, he takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “Wow.” He moves to the couch beside me and wraps me in his arms. “I don’t know what to say apart from he’s a scum bag.”

“I’m so sorry for just turning up like this. I couldn’t face anyone, but I also needed a friendly face.”

He gently rubs my back. “Anytime, Bella. You know that.”

“Personal trainer and therapist,” I joke, wiping my eyes.

He gives a sympathetic smile. “Look, relax, get some rest. I’ll make us some food. Get your head straight.”

I smile gratefully. “Thanks.”

He places a blanket over me before heading in the kitchen. I close my eyes. They feel so heavy, and it’s not long before I feel myself drifting off.

“Stay the hell away from her or I’ll kill you myself.” I wake with a start right as Cal is placing my mobile back on the table. He winces, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, but your phone just kept ringing,” he explains.

I sit up, wrapping the blanket around me. “It’s the reason I didn’t go to Ari’s, he would have turned up there.”

“Look, I’ve been thinking. How about you stay here?” I’m already shaking my head. “I have a spare room, Bella. It’s not a problem.”

“I can’t impose on you, Cal. It’s bad enough I turned up here after everything I did to you.”

He smirks, “I believe it was me doing it to you,” he teases, and I blush. “Jokes aside, I’ve always wanted a roommate. What have you got to lose.” The last time I agreed to this, I lost a lot, but I remain silent. “At least come and check the room out,” he adds.

We head down the hall and he pushes the door open, revealing a bright, freshly decorated room. “No one’s ever stayed in here,” he says. “It’s a blank canvas and you can put your own stamp on it.”

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