Page 112 of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
“I mean it, Guy, fuck off!”
Guy loosened his grip. He looked suddenly shamefaced, his face ashen.
“Sorry, Nory, I thought...” He was still leaning over her, horror in his eyes.
“What did you think?” she hissed at him. “For fuck’s sake!”
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I’m so sorry.” He reached his hand around to support her back and help her straighten up.
“What the fuck is this?”
They both jumped. Isaac stood in the doorway, his face contorted with a mixture of disbelief, hurt, and pure rage. Nory felt her blood pressure drop and she felt lightheaded. She swayed. Guy was still holding her up. With a sickening dread, she could see exactly how this looked in Isaac’s eyes.
“Isaac,” she gasped. She pushed Guy away, who looked as mortified as she felt. “It’s not what it looks like,” she began.
He cut her off. “Which part?” he asked. His voice was even and cold as a blade. “The part where you deceived me and stabbed me in the back, or the part where you were going to screwhimon my father’s desk?”
Nory was completely tongue-tied.
“Listen, mate.” Guy held out his hands placatingly.
“You do not speak! You are not my mate.”
Guy, for once, did as he was told.
“Isaac, if you’ll just listen...”
“Get out.”
“Isaac!” Nory pleaded.
Isaac looked away and said slowly, with a painful final enunciation on each word: “Get. Out. Of. My. House. Now.”
Thirty-four
The stairs seemed to stretch on and on before her as Nory made her way blindly down, her eyes filled with tears. This was a nightmare. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The cold air slapped her wet cheeks as she burst out of the house at a run and kept on running. She was crying like she hadn’t cried since she was a child, big deep sobs that made her breath ragged and her nose run. She hadn’t even stopped to retrieve her boots, and the snow was soaking through her socks and burning her feet.
The utter stupidity of her plan taunted her as she ran. Why had she ever thought it was a good idea? She had so wanted to help, to make it right for Isaac, and all she’d done was make a mess of everything. She kept seeing the hurt on his face, and she stumbled at the sheer agony of his expression.
“Nory, slow down!” Guy called, catching up to her. “I’m sorry,” he panted. “I’ll make it right.”
Nory rounded on him.
“You ruin everything!” she screamed. “You destroy everything you touch! You are fucking poison. Don’t talk to me, don’t contact me. I am done with you!” She shouted this last bit so loudly that he recoiled and fell backward. She stood just longenough to watch his distraught expression, his face seeming to crack from the pain of it, and then she was running again.
She ran all the way back to the castle. The front door was open as the butler carried bags through to Jeremy’s car. Nory didn’t stop to wait and see her friends off. She ran straight up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her and hurling herself onto the bed. In another moment, her sobs were interrupted by an urgent banging on the door.
“Nory! What’s going on? Let me in!” shouted Ameerah.
Nory wrenched open the door and fell into her arms.
“Hey, come on now,” soothed Ameerah. “Tell me what’s happened. I saw you running across the lawn from my window. And where are your shoes?” She maneuvered Nory back into the bedroom, kicking the door closed with her foot, and sat them both down on the bed. “Okay, now tell me everything.” She peeled off Nory’s wet socks and covered her blue-tinged feet with a blanket.
“I’ve ruined everything.” Nory sobbed out the words. “What have I done? I’ve ruined everything.”
When she was a little calmer and the shaking from the violent cold had abated, Nory told her friend the whole sorry tale. From the first time she’d seen Heba’s botanical paintings, to her brilliant, slightly wine-fueled 3 a.m. idea to surprise Isaac by asking Guy to help her get the sketchbooks authenticated. Then she lay back on the pillows and waited for Ameerah’s verdict.
“Okay,” Ameerah said, gingerly picking up several soggy, balled-up tissues between her fingernails and flicking them into the bin. “I’m not going to lie to you; it’s a mess. I mean, Guy of all people!”
