Page 60 of Three's a Crowd
Her head throbbed and her body ached from the exertion of crying so much the night before. Looking in the mirror, she was shocked to see how swollen and bloodshot her eyes were.
Taking a shower, she tried not to move too quickly as it only made her head pound even harder.
Feeling a little better after washing away the sweat of the night before, she got dressed and tried applying some eye make-up to hide the puffiness around her eyes, but it just made her look worse, so she took it off again.
The noise of the door clicking open made her jump and she ran into the living area to see Adam stumble in, slamming the door behind him. He looked awful. His hair and clothes were a mess and his face was pale, his eyes bloodshot. He looked round to find her standing there and just stared at her blankly.
‘Where have you been? I’ve been so worried!’ She half shouted, half pleaded. He continued to look levelly at her, seemingly totally unmoved by her agitation.
Finally, he shrugged. ‘I went to a bar then ended up sleeping on the beach.’
He walked over to the sofa and leaned against the back of it, folding his arms in front of him. ‘I couldn’t stand to be around you. You fuckinghumiliatedme,’ he said, glaring at her with anger in his eyes. He’d never looked at her like that before and she felt a shock of fear. Was this going to be the end of them? Surely it couldn’t be?
‘What about me?’ she whispered. ‘Don’t you think I was humiliated too? You just left me there on my own, looking like a fool in front of a boat full of strangers.’
‘What did you expect?’ he said, glaring at her in disgust. Daisy was shocked at the coldness of his tone. This wasn’t the Adam she’d known all her life.
‘I don’t know what you thought was happening, but I can assure you that nothing was,’ she countered.
‘Yeah, sure, Daisy. It looked like you were just innocently dancing with areally good friend.’ His sarcastic tone cut right through her.
‘Don’t be an idiot!’ she exclaimed, furious at his accusation, but at the same time feeling a flush of shame at his words. He was right, of course; there had always been something between her and Zach, even though neither of them had acknowledged it recently.
At least Adam didn’t need to worry on that score any more, she thought sadly. She doubted she’d ever see anything of Zach again after the way he’d reacted last night.
‘But Iaman idiot,’ he said, then sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He moved round and sat down heavily on the sofa, burying his face in his hands. ‘You’re in love with Zach and you always have been. Not me.’
Daisy sat down next to him and put a hand out to gently touch his arm. ‘That’s not true,’ she said, though the words felt wrong in her mouth.
‘Don’t touch me,’ he said gruffly, moving away from her.
His rejection stung – nothimtoo – but she stayed where she was and didn’t try to touch him again.
After a minute’s tense silence, he got up and stalked towards the bedroom.
‘I’m taking a shower, then I’m going to book us onto the next flight home.’ He flung these words back over his shoulder. ‘Pack your things,’ he commanded, walking into the bathroom and slamming the door.
Daisy winced at the sound. Her head throbbed.
But at least he hadn’t just walked out and left her there on her own. He was planning on travelling home with her.
She guessed he was probably making a good call. They should get out of there now and go home, back to normality, and lick their wounds. Perhaps back in London, things wouldn’t seem so desperately messed up.
The thought of going back to their flat comforted her somewhat, but she also felt a pang of regret.
Before the events of last night, she’d been in her element. She’d never had so much fun.
But it hadn’t been real. It felt now like it had all been a dream. Some bits of it turning into a nightmare, of course – especially the most recent events.
With a sigh, she levered herself up from the sofa and went into the bedroom to pack.
Touching all the beautiful new clothes lovingly as she laid them carefully in her case, she tried not to think about how she’d come to own them. She’d so enjoyed buying them, but now they would only remind her of Zach.
She couldn’t keep them. She’d give them away as soon as she got home. Someone else could enjoy them; they no longer held any appeal for her.
A tear dropped from her eye and landed on the soft material of the cashmere jumper she’d coveted so much. She wiped it away gently and closed the case.
She’d leave the evening gown with reception and ask them to send it back to the shop for her. In her gut, she knew there was no chance of seeing Zach again – he was too proud. So, she’d never have the opportunity to explain to him what had really happened with Sonny.
