Page 118 of Unspoken Words
“Yes, it does.”
“No, it doesn’t. You and I are not together so she can say whatever she wants.”
I opened the door, stepped out, and went to close it behind me.
“I meant what I said before, about getting you back.”
Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them back. “You’re wasting your time.”
“No. I’ve wasted time. Too much time. I won’t be wasting any more.”
“You’re too late. We had our chance and we blew it.”
“I won’t accept that.”
“You don’t have a choice.” I closed the door and stared at him through the window. He shook his head, reaffirming what he’d just said, and that’s when it hit me.
I chose this man to love, and I let him settle in my bones.
And then he left.
And then I left.
But we never really left at all. I was still here with him deep within my marrow.
For ever and for after.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ellie
Fighting a bull with ahunger for red while your heart bled profusely was a battle you couldn’t win, a battle I couldn’t win when that bull was Connor. But my God had I tried in the weeks that followed, when he persistently arrived on my doorstep every morning, ordered Meatlovers pizza and coffees with sugar, held every door I walked through open, and wrote and sang to me lyrics so desperate and passionate that they were now tattooed to my soul. They’d been the best and worst weeks of my life; a tug of war on my heart while stoking a fire that could never burn, which was why when Byron called to say he was going to spend the coming weekend with me in Melbourne, I couldn’t welcome his arrival any sooner. I needed his presence to help me win the battle and keep the bull at bay.
Flicking the indicator of Mum’s car with my finger, I pulled into the airport car park, my brother an unexpected last-minute passenger.
“You look normal today,” he stated, a shit-eating grin on his face.
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“You. You’re wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and those stupid coloured shoes you used to wear as a kid. And your hair is turning red again.”
“It’s notturningred, Chris. It’s my regrowth. I haven’t had a chance to go to the hairdressers yet. Why? Is it bad?” I smoothed my hair down while glancing in the rearview mirror now worried I looked like a slob.
“No. You look likeyou,not some corporate Barbie doll.”
“Remind me why you’re here again?” I opened the car door and stepped out.
Chris followed suit and made his way to the boot to collect his sports bag. “Because it beats catching the bus with the team. I need peace and quiet before travelling for a game.”
I huffed. It made sense.
“So what’s Moron gonna think of the old Ellie?”
“Oh my God! Will you please stop calling him Moron. Ugh! I’m so glad you’ll be in Adelaide this weekend.”
“That makes the two of us. Honestly, I’d fear for my own safety if I were staying home with you guys. I mean, I couldn’t promise I’d chew my own head off so I wouldn’t have to see, talk or listen to the guy.”
I tried not to smile at my idiot brother, but he was an idiot, and sometimes idiots were funny.
