Page 21 of The Damaged Hearts Bargain

The ones that were most likely to hate her.

“Nah, I’ll get it done,” she said, closing her eyes so she didn’t have to see all the ornaments on the mantelpiece.

“It’s alright to ask for help, Cal. It’s alright to feel things, it’s alright to be sad, everything you feel is valid.”

“You’re really not putting that psychology degree to good enough use being a bar manager, are you?”

Syd laughed. “You can joke if you like, but when you’re in a difficult situation it can help to talk about it, you know?”

“With you, you mean?”

“If you like.”

It wasn’t often that things got messy. For the most part, Calbelieved in the old camping rule: leave a place better than you found it. Or, in her case, a person. She thought she was kind, she was always honest about things, she tried not to hurt anyone. But maybe Syd hadn’t quite got the right message.

“Listen,” she said softly. “You’re a great woman, Syd.”

“But you don’t want to marry me,” Syd said. “I know that, Cal. And I’m really not calling you to beg you to come back to me. I’m calling as a friend, someone who cares about you. It wouldn’t kill you to trust someone once in a while. You can’t go through life moving on every six weeks. Some things have to be permanent.”

Cal sniffed. “Not so far, they haven’t.”

“One day they’ll have to be.” Syd sighed. “Apart from anything else, Cal, you’ve got a big heart. One day you’ll find a woman that you want to be permanent, someone that it’ll be worth trusting, and then things’ll change.”

“So now you’re trying to marry me off?” joked Cal.

“I’m trying to tell you that life changes. It’s supposed to change. And it’s alright to trust people along the way, to build relationships, to ask for help. Humans are social creatures, Cal. We need each other.”

“And you’re planning on changing my life over the telephone, are you?”

“Not what I’m saying—”

“You know, I’ve come back here and everyone’s staring at me. Everyone hates me. Do you know how that feels? How hard it is just to walk along the street. But I’m here, I’m doing what needs to be done. So don’t tell me I only do the easy stuff, I don’t.”

“Cal—”

“As for trusting people, these are all people I trusted. And look at me now. I didn’t leave here because I wanted to. I was driven out. Betrayed by the one person who I thought I could trust above all others. So don’t tell me I need to trust people.”

“Cal!”

“What?”

“Okay, alright, I’m sorry. I was just trying to help. Trying to be nice. To give you someone to talk to.”

Cal took a deep breath. “Right, yes. Sorry. It’s just… It’s hard being here.”

“Find someone, Cal. Whoever it is. Find someone you can talk to, someone who can help you. If you handle all this alone, you’ll explode.”

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

“Would it be alright if I called sometimes?”

“Yes,” Cal said. “I’d like that.”

“You won’t bite my head off?”

“I’ll keep head-biting to a minimum.”

“I’ll consider that a promise,” Syd said. “Look after yourself, Cal.”

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