Page 109 of Red Flag
For the whole drive, his jaw was tight and ticking. His body was stiff, but his gaze was soft on me.
Parking, he held my hand over the gear stick. “Shit, I’m so sorry, you were meant to spend time with your brother.”
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to concentrate on reversing the ridiculous car he had hired. “I texted him and I want to check she’s okay too.”
He nodded and we walked a foot apart through the hospital corridor to whereArabellasaid Clara’s room was.
I’d forced him to stop at the little shop inside and get her some flowers and her favourite mint hot chocolate.
He held both awkwardly and put them on the little table at her bedside. She looked up with a strained smile, a bandage over her forehead and a large bruise over her cheek.
Arabellawas talking to me about how Clara’s parents were still driving up from Essex when Nix interrupted. “Can we have the room?”
Jealousy, jealousy.
Arabellaand I went to the door when Nix said, “Not you.”
I frowned, staring at him. “What?”
Bella left us and I went to follow her out anyway when he stopped me with, “Livie, you are not to leave my sight.”
“Nix, what are you on about?”
“I am not leaving your side,” he said. “I will follow you.”
So, to save a very telling argument in front of the recovering Clara, who’d had twelve stitches, I sat at the end of her bed.
“Who was it? Did you see them? Did you get the registration plate?”
Clara shrugged. “A black sedan. I didn’t see anything else. I’ve already spoken to the police—”
“How long were they following you for? Did they come back to see if you were okay?”
“They… I didn’t notice that they were following me. I’d just got off the motorway five minutes before and was on the country roads—”
“Did they come back?”
“What are you on about?” Clara snapped, her patience gone. “You think they did this to me on purpose?”
He shook his head. “No. I just… I’m worried.”
She rolled her eyes, lying back to stare at the ceiling. “Go,Armas. You’re not worried about me. Never have been, never will be.”
“I’m sorry, you—”
“Get out,” she said but there was no force in her words.
I placed my hand on hers. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay. They said they’re keeping you in for the night, but—”
“Get out, Nixon!”
Nix breathed in deeply but turned to me. “I will be right outside the door.”
“Livie,” Clara said the second he was. Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to do thisanymore. I don’t want to pretend to be with him.”
“What? Why?”
“Did you not just see that?” she asked and gestured to the door. “So many questions but not one of them was if I was okay.” She shook her head slower than normal, themedsdoing a number on her. “And, clearly, something is going on between you two.”
