Page 60 of Just the Beginning

Helen raised an eyebrow at the outburst but didn’t address it, saying instead, ‘Well the good news is that the immediate problem is a nasty urinary tract infection. Davy’s hooked up on anIVand getting strong antibiotics and some painkillers and he’s a lot more comfortable. They’re going to keep him in overnight as a precaution. They’ve also arranged for him to have a scan in the morning so they can get a better idea about his cancer.’ It was her turn to rub a hand over her face. ‘Turns out he’s not been to have one yet. Poor Rick is beside himself because Davy gave him the impression that it was all far too late to do anything, when it turns out he hasn’t even had a full diagnosis since his initial blood test came back.’

Anya rocked back in her seat. ‘What are you talking about? I assumed he was beyond help. When we were arguing earlier he said he’d rather let the cancer get him than have me nagging him to death.’And he’d let Rick believe the same thing.

Helen’s eyes widened. ‘I thought Rick must’ve been confused, but if Davy’s let you think the worst as well? I simply don’t understand what he’s been playing at.’ She muttered the last more to herself than Anya. ‘We can sort all that out once we have the full picture. In the meantime, it looks like you’ll be on your own at the hotel for a few days. Do you think you’ll be able to manage?’

Anya held her hands up. ‘The hotel’s nothing to do with me any more. Davy made it clear to me this morning what he really thinks of me, so you’ll have to find someone else to cover until he’s back on his feet. I was thinking I might take Freya over to stay with mum for a few days.’

‘Anya!’ Chloe exclaimed. ‘You can’t leave Davy in the lurch. I’m sure whatever he said, he didn’t mean it. And what about Rick?’

‘What about him? He lied to me, Chloe! Worse than that heput me in a situation where I’d have to spend every day with a man he thought was dying. I trusted him, I trusted Davy, and it was so nice to have someone teach me all the things I missed out on growing up. You have no idea what it’s like, because your dad’s always been here. And you had all the rest of the family looking out for you too. I had no one, only Mum, and she was working all the time.’

Chloe leaned in to hug her. ‘I know it was hard for you, but look on the bright side: things with Davy might not be as bad as you feared.’

Anya leaned away until Chloe released her. ‘Coming to Halfmoon Quay was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be my chance to start again, to escape the fantasy world I’d built around myself and Drew and get to grips to with real life. But if this is real life then it can get stuffed, I’m not interested!’

Aunt Helen leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on Anya’s knee. ‘Come on, darling, I know you’ve been through an awful time, and you’ve had a bit of a nasty shock today, but things aren’t that bad.’

‘Aren’t that bad? I wasted ten years of my life on a compulsive liar only to find I’ve got myself mixed up with another one! Well it serves me right for getting involved with anyone. Rick and I are done and that’s all there is to it. I have Freya and she’s all I need.’

‘Back the truck up there for a second!’ Chloe exclaimed. ‘I’ll admit that Rick’s messed up big time, but there’s simply no comparison between him and Drew.’

‘He promised I could trust him and now I find out he’s been lying to me.’

Chloe rolled her eyes. ‘And I promised my arse I’d stop eating chocolate, but here I am still filling out a pair of size sixteen jeans!’

‘You said before that you wanted to stop living in a fantasy,’ her aunt interjected in a gentle voice. ‘But it sounds to me as if that’s exactly what you’re still looking for. You have every right to be upset with Rick for keeping the truth about Davy from you, we’re all a bit angry with him about that, but can’t you at least try and see things from his point of view?’

‘You mean the point of view where he needed someone to keep an eye on Davy and get into my good books at the same time?’ Anya scoffed.

‘Oh, I think that’s a bit harsh,’ Chloe protested.

Anya glared at her. Whose friend was she supposed to be anyway? ‘He blackmailed Davy into giving me that job, and before you make excuses for him, Davy told me so himself. Said he wouldn’t have given me a job if Rick hadn’t forced him to and that I was more hindrance than help.’ She rubbed her chest as though she could soothe away the ache of remembering his ugly words.

‘That doesn’t sound like Rick. Doesn’t sound like Davy either for that matter.’

Anya sighed. ‘Well maybe it’s just me that men are awful to. I must give off some kind of pheromone that brings out the worst in them.’

Helen shook her head. ‘What would you have had Rick do?’

Why was this so difficult for them to understand?‘I would’ve had him tell me the truth so I could make up my own mind about whether I wanted to work with Davy. I never would’ve let him get so close to me if I’d known he was so ill.’

‘That’s you wanting the fantasy life again, though. You can’t insulate yourself from pain. It’s simply not possible. And running away to your mum’s isn’t going to make things any better either.’

‘I’m not running away! I’m just choosing to take my life in adifferent direction. You were all very kind to take me in, but coming here was a mistake, I see that now. All I’ve done is disrupt everything. You’ll have your hands full dealing with Davy over the coming months anyway.’ Yes, going to see her mum and Bill was exactly what she needed to do. Feeling something close to relief, she turned to Chloe with a smile. ‘And you’ll get your lovely little home back.’

Chloe just stared at her. ‘What about our plans? What about the business?’

Anya quirked her lips; it was sweet of Chloe to try and pretend that her leaving wouldn’t be the easiest thing for all of them. ‘Oh, come on, we both know you were just being kind when you included me. You’ll make a great success of things on your own.’

‘But I wantusto make a great success of things, Annie.’

Anya patted her cousin’s knee. ‘You’ll be fine without me.’

‘And what about you?’ Helen asked, quietly. ‘Will you be fine? Is that what you want for the rest of your life, because it sounds like a very lonely existence to me. What about Freya?’

Anya tilted her head as she gave her aunt a quizzical look. ‘What about Freya? She’s my priority in all this. Thank goodness I kept Rick at arm’s length when it came to her, because she won’t have to suffer losing another man in her life.’

Helen bowed her head for a moment. ‘It’s like history repeating itself.’

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