Page 87 of Duke It Out
“Rory.”
Anna puts two and two together in a second. She pouts briefly, raising her brows in a manner I’ve seen before – one that meansfair enough, the game’s up.
“Well, it was nice while it lasted,” she says, turning on her heel and heading back into her room. “I’ll get my stuff together.”
Jamie puts his head in his hands for a moment then looks back at me with a groan. “I’m not even going to suggest I try and have a word and smooth things over. Not now. But I can take you to the airport.”
“After last night?” I think about the amount of alcohol that was consumed.
“Unlike everyone else, I kept my consumption to a moderate level. Maybe my brother should have done the same, then he wouldn’t be hungover and over-reacting to whatever the hell has gone on.”
I sigh. “He’s not over-reacting.”
Jamie quirks a brow in question.
“I wish he was. The truth is I can understand why he’s doing it.”
Half an hour later,Anna’s showered and almost packed and I’m sitting at the bottom of the stairs with my cases, feeling as awkward and out of place as I did the day I arrived at Loch Morven nearly three months ago. Janey walks out of the kitchen, pushing up her sleeves and carrying a wicker basket of glasses.
“Morning!” The smile disappears and she stops dead. “Are you off somewhere?”
I press my lips together and nod. I can’t speak, if I say it out loud to Janey and she’s nice to me, I’ll feel even worse than I do already. If she judges me – I swallow hard – I don’t think I could cope with that. She’s been nothing but kind and welcoming, everyone here has.
I take an unsteady breath in through my nose and try to keep my voice steady. “I’m going back to London.”
“No!” She cocks her head and looks at me for a moment. “Edie? What’s happened?”
I bite hard on my lower lip. “I told the truth, only I didn’t tell it fast enough.”
Her gaze softens. For a moment I think she’s going to tell me it’ll all blow over or tell me that it must be a mistake. But instead she nods, only once, as if she understands.
“You’ve got my number,” she says gently. It almost undoes me.
“I do,” I say. And she walks down the corridor, leaving me sitting there alone.
The road snakesthrough the moor, a low mist curling around the edges of the forest in the distance like it doesn’t want to let go. I know how it feels.
Jamie’s humming something tuneless at the wheel, sunglasses on despite the fact that the sun hasn’t yet made an appearance. It feels more like November than June, the sky as bruised and grey as I feel.
Anna’s in the passenger seat in front of me – of course she is – scrolling through her phone like she’s waiting for the next big opportunity to land in her inbox. She looks fresh faced and glossy, not like someone who detonated a career and a friendship in the same weekend. Not that it seems to have occurred to her that she has. She barely spent any time with me last night, too busy flitting around trying to get in with the right people while I stuck to the ones who made me feel at home.
“Well,” she says, finally breaking the awkward silence. “I guess all good things come to an end.”
Jamie pushes his sunglasses back onto his head and glances up into the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting mine for a moment.
I don’t answer. I’m gripping my knees, my jaw rigid. If Iopen my mouth I’m not sure what will come out – rage, grief, or worst of all – forgiveness.
“Honestly, Ede,” she says without a trace of irony. “I’ve done you a favour. No offence, Jamie, but you must be dying to get back to civilisation. This whole Highland fantasy was all very well but you were getting too comfortable.”
Jamie shoots her a sideways look but says nothing.
“I’m just saying.” I watch her shoulders rise and fall as she shrugs. “You need to be back in the real world.”
I curl my fingers into the leather seat and let out a slow breath before I speak
“I don’t want to be in the real world, Anna. Not your version of it, anyway.”
She turns to look at me, blue eyes wide with surprise. “Ede, come on. What are you talking about?”
