Page 52 of Happily Never After
‘Yes,’ Liv’s voice says. ‘Kind of hard not to be, given that Angus is in my kitchen.’
‘Whatever you do, don’t let him anywhere near Meg, OK? She’s just starting to get used to life without him, and I’m not having him waltz back into her life only to waltz out again and set her back.’
‘Understood.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Angus says, sounding mutinous. ‘She’s my dog just as much as she is yours.’
‘No, she isn’t. You walked out on both of us, and with that you forfeited any rights you think you have. I mean it, Angus. You’re to stay away from her.’
‘So that’s it, is it? Just like that, you’ve moved on.’
‘Can you hear yourself?’ I ask in disbelief. ‘Youleft, Angus. What did you expect me to do?’
‘I just thought the ten years we had together might have meant a bit more to you than they did. Evidently, I was wrong.’
‘You’re fucking unbelievable, you know that?’ My temper has finally deserted me. ‘You made it abundantly clear that we were over when you buggered off. And now you come back and dare to challenge me because I’ve moved on with my life? Fuck off, Angus. Leave me alone, leave Liv alone and, above all, leave Meg alone. You’re not welcome, do you understand?’
‘And where am I supposed to go, exactly? That flat was my home too.’
‘I honestly don’t give a shit. Like I said, you can collect your stuff from storage whenever you like, once you pay the back rent on it, and then you can fuck off back to Glasgow for all I care.’
‘Wow. You really hate me, don’t you?’ His voice has lost its petulant tone and he just sounds sad all of a sudden.
‘Do you blame me?’
He sighs. ‘I guess not. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Laura.’
‘It’s a bit late for that, Angus.’
‘Well, good luck with everything, yeah? Give my love to Meg when you see her.’
In spite of myself, I can’t help wishing him luck as well before we end the call, but I’m fuming as I put the handset back on the table. Did he honestly think he’d come back after all this time and find me waiting for him? What an arrogant prick. After a couple of minutes, I grab the handset again and call Liv back.
‘Has he gone?’ I ask her when the call connects.
‘Yup. He looked like he’d had the stuffing knocked out of him.’
‘Serves him right. I can’t believe he did that, and I’m so sorry you got caught up in it.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about me. Drama like this is like water off a duck’s back.’
‘Don’t let him anywhere near Meg, OK? I meant what I said. She’ll be so excited if she sees him, and then it will break her heart all over again when he goes.’
‘Laura, I love her, but once again I think you’re giving her more complex emotions than she actually has.’
‘Remember how she moped when he first went?’
‘OK, fine. I’ll call Donna and make sure she doesn’t let anyone other than me collect or see Meg. I don’t think she would, but if it puts your mind at rest.’
‘It does. Thanks, Liv. And good luck for tonight. Keep me posted.’
‘I will. What about you? What have you decided about the enigmatic Finn?’
I sigh. ‘I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to want to talk about it, and I haven’t found a way to broach the subject either.’
She laughs softly. ‘It seems you’re quite the siren lately with all these men fighting over you.’
‘They’re hardly fighting, Liv. I still can’t believe Angus thought he was just going to pick up where he left off.’
