Page 68 of Dance With Me
“Best buckle you in, don’t want you escaping before I’m done with you.” He kissed Seb on the lips, and it took all he had not to throw up. Seb spat to the side only to receive a slap around his face. He felt a trickle of what he imagined was blood run down his face.
He closed the door and Seb slumped against it, the seatbelt barely keeping him upright. He closed his eyes, no clue how he was going to get out of this. He didn’t even know where his phone was; he couldn’t even check his pockets.
Ed got back in and started driving again. From what Seb could see, they were heading out of the city along some minor roads, possibly towards Wales. He couldn’t see any other traffic, so there’d be no chance to signal to any other drivers.
“I know. I’ll tell him. Stop talking to me, stop shouting at me.” Ed became more hysterical, his words garbled. Seb was struggling to understand what he was saying.
“Daniel loved you, although I don’t know why. I kept telling him you were no good for him, but he wouldn’t listen.” Ed was rubbing at his thigh, his other hand on the steering wheel. “I said I’d tell him. I said it, didn’t I?” His voice was becoming higher as he spoke. Seb had no idea who he was talking to but could see Ed’s eyes darting from side to side.
He turned to Seb. “I loved him. Why couldn’t he see that? You took him away from me. You stole the only person I loved, and for that, you’ll pay.” Ed’s face was becoming more flushed, and his eyes were wild, flicking between the road and Seb. He knew Ed didn’t know the roads around here, and he was starting to panic.
He wished he’d at least concentrate on the road. Between the weather and Ed’s erratic driving, Seb could feel another anxiety attack building. He knew there were bends ahead, and in this weather… he didn’t even want to finish the thought.
“I love him.Ilove him.” Ed was crying now, scrubbing his hand across his face. “You took him away, and you’re gonna die for that, gonna die. Daniel said I had to make you mine, for him, to please him, but I couldn’t. The others told me to kill you. Said you were no good. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Seb looked over at Ed. His movements were becoming jumpy, and he could see the sweat on his face. “Daniel did love you, Ed. He talked about you all the time.” He didn’t know if this was helping, but what else could he do? He tried to speak as calmly as he could. He was fucking scared now, for both of them.
“No, he only loved you. They told me, told me I have to kill you. You should be grateful, Seb. We can be free, both of us. Free to go to Daniel. He’ll love me, won’t he?” Ed turned to look at him, tears streaming down his face now. “Please tell me he’ll love me. We can be together, can’t we? Daniel and me, like it should have been. Not you, never you.”
These last words were whispered. The pain he could hear in Ed’s voice was heartbreaking. If only Seb had known he felt like this. Would it have made a difference? Would he have still done this?
Seb could feel the car accelerating, and he started to breathe heavily, the panic rising. These roads, this speed, the weather. He started to brace himself, watching as the fields sped by.
Ed was no longer watching the road. He was turned towards Seb, and he cried and shouted how Daniel would love him. How they’d both be free. His eyes searched for something in the semi-darkness, flitting from side to side.
Seb could see what was going to happen before it did. There was a sharp bend, and Ed lifted his hands from the steering wheel, their speed increased. Seb brought his hands up to his face as the car hurtled forward. His last thought was of Joe as the hedge at the side of the road slowed their progress, but he thought no more as the tree in front of them brought the car to a dead stop.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Joe
Joe woke the next morning with the hangover from hell. He groaned as he rolled over. The sunlight coming through the window sent stabbing pains into his brain. He forced himself from his bed and into the bathroom where he heaved over the toilet, the drink from last night tasting much worse on the way back up.
He flushed and managed to stand but remembered little from the day before other than Clare, a bottle of whiskey, and some really sad songs. He hadn’t felt this ill in years. As he turned on the shower, he looked at his face in the mirror. Jesus, he was a mess.
He searched through the bathroom cabinet whilst the shower warmed, and he found what he was looking for, painkillers. He took two dry and dragged himself into the shower. He stood under the stream of hot water as it seared his skin and sighed. Fucked if he was going to drink that much again.
As he thought back to the day before and the reason for his drinking, he couldn’t help the feeling of anger that coursed through his veins. The woman he had loved for almost five years had been cheating on him. He’d had his suspicions, of course, but to finally hear the truth of it made his heart hurt.
Had he not been a good boyfriend, fiancé even? In the beginning, things had been wonderful. They’d had great sex, went out often, holidayed several times a year. But the more he thought about it, he realised that when Clare had moved in, things had slacked off. They went out less, holidayed less, and the sex became mediocre at best.
Joe knew he was as much to blame as Clare was. They’d both neglected their relationship and thought that getting married would fix it. Well, he did anyway. Clare had thought it was OK to find someone else to fuck around with.
He was annoyed that he’d given Clare the best part of his thirties and there she was, still living her life, and he was back to square one. He knew that ultimately she’d done him a favour, though, and he refused to feel guilty now for anything he had or hadn’t done with Seb.
Talking of Seb, he needed to get hold of him today. Tell him that it was really over and that they could be together like they’d planned. Clare wasn’t going to stop them; she had practically given them her blessing.
This perked him up a little, and he shut the water off, drying himself as he stepped out of his bathroom. He dressed, aware that it was after noon. He would usually go for lunch with his parents but decided he had something more important to do—finding Seb.
He went downstairs and put the coffee on. Not able to face anything to eat just yet, he contented himself with a strong, black cup of coffee. He opened the doors to the garden, the heat from the summer sun warming the room. The patio was still wet from the torrential rain they’d had yesterday, but it looked as if today would be better.
He thought the weather had mirrored his mood yesterday and that today was the first day of the rest of his life. Hopefully with Seb in it.
He sat in the garden, soaked up the sun, and rested for a while, his eyes closed. He still felt a bit ropey from all the booze last night and knew he should probably get something to eat before he ventured out in his car.
After about half an hour, he stepped back into the house and noticed for the first time that his kitchen and dining room were spotlessly clean. Not a sign of yesterday’s get-together. He had some calls to make today to his family, not just for the tidying but for looking after him last night when he’d clearly been unable to do it himself.
He prepared himself a hearty breakfast and wolfed it down, not realising how hungry he’d become. Joe couldn’t remember if he’d eaten on Saturday. He just remembered the burn of the alcohol as it went down.
