Page 64 of Only Ever Yours
Finn’s mouth was set in a hard line, and it looked like he was wrestling with himself about what to say next. “I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but I did some internet searching to find out what he might end up with, and it doesn’t look good even at the lowest end of the offence scale.”
Putting the mug down on the bedside table, I rushed to the bathroom, bringing the hot chocolate right back up. I hadn’t eaten much of anything else that evening, and the dry retching made my throat hurt and intensified the pain in my head. Behind me, I heard Finn come into the bathroom, kneeling down beside me, stroking my back.
“I’m sorry, Hollis. I thought you ought to know what might happen.” His tone was an attempt at soothing me. I felt anything but, my stomach in knots and my mind all over the place.
I shuffled to sit on the floor, still close enough to the toilet in case I needed it again. “What are we going to do?” I wailed.
“Find him a decent lawyer?”
“Finn, that’s not helping.”
“It might be the thing he needs.”
Suddenly, my brain kicked into gear. “It would beifhe were to be charged. At the moment, I don’t think he has been. And if we were to get the charges dropped, he’d be in the clear.”
“How are you going to get that to happen? Convince Gil he’s in the wrong?”
Pushing myself up, a renewed strength flooded through me. “It’s exactly whatI’m going to do.”
“Hollis, wait, you can’t do that.”
I glared at him. “Watch me.” Stalking back into the bedroom, I found my phone and dialled a number, not caring if it was the middle of the night. “Gil? Good. We need to talk.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jase
I gulped in fresh air, never more grateful to be outside than I was in that moment.
The late afternoon sun darted in and out of the clouds, a chill in the air as I exited the police station. It had been one of the more surreal experiences of my life and one Ineverwanted to repeat, no matter how bad things got. Sitting alone in a cell for hours on end with only my thoughts for company had me questioning everything in my life. Almost everything anyway. The only thing I had no questions over was how much I loved Hollis. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have been in there in the first place, having defended her from her utter prick of an ex. I only hoped she saw it the same way and didn’t think I was the one in the wrong. Exhaustion flooded through my body. All I wanted was to get home, shower, and sleep, hopefully with Hollis nestled by my side. I’d sent her a message once I knew I was in the clear but hadn’t heard anything back from her. The radio silence unnerved me.
What if she thought I was guilty?
What if she didn’t want anything to do with me now?
What if someone had convinced her I was a bad person?
The myriad of unanswered questions swirled around in my head as I walked home. Half expecting to find a welcome party, seeing only Finn sitting on the sofa surprised me.
“Hey.”
Finn looked up from his laptop. “Welcome home.” He stood up and enveloped me in a man hug, slapping my back. “You stink, mate.”
After he’d released me, I glanced around. “Is Hollis at work?”
“Think you might need to sit down.”
I frowned but did as he suggested. “What’s going on?” The worst-case scenarios started popping up: her head injury had worsened, and she had been taken to hospital; she wanted to break up with me and had left Finn to break the news…
He took a deep breath, which had me fearing which scenario he was about to break to me. “In exchange for your freedom, she agreed to go and see Gil,” Finn spoke in a monotone.
Fuck.
The absolute worsthadhappened. “She did what? Did that bump on the head make her crazy?”
Finn shook his head. “She left this early morning with Ella. I don’t know when she’s coming back.”
A million thoughts raced through my sleep-starved brain, all of them culminating in the fact that the woman I loved had gone to see the person who had stalked her and done some seriously weird-as-fuck things.Instead of waiting here forme. Why did she go with Ella? Why hadn’t Finn gone with her instead? I rubbed my eyes with clenched fists, unsure as to whether anger or sadnesswas the overwhelming emotion encompassing me. Reaching for my phone, I found her contact and pressed the button to connect the call.
