Page 20 of North (The Moral Compass 2)

I’ve waited until everyone has left for work, and North even whispered through the door that he would check on me later. Fuck, I love that man, but he can check all he likes, because we are done.

One fucking word. One fucking solitary word was all he said. “Wow.” That’s it. Nothing else. No defending me or Sutton, no punching him in the face. Nothing.

South and that bitch, Holly, are right. I’m so out of my depth. I’m not some quiet church mouse who will behave when told to or dress how I’m required. I like my jeans. I like my hair up in a messy bun. I like not having to wear a full face of makeup twenty-four hours a day. I’m giving myself all these reasons to leave, but none of them are real. North has never asked me to change or wear anything different or even change my hair. Fuck, I’m so confused.

A few days away will help me get some perspective on things. I’d texted Sherie earlier, and she has booked me on the Eurostar for 12:15 p.m. today, so I should be nicely tucked away in Paris before anyone notices I’m gone.

I sit on the train, waiting patiently for it to start its journey as my phone buzzes in my pocket.

North: Hey, Princess! Just checking in on you to make sure you’re okay. I missed you this morning. Let me know if you need me to bring you some medication home. And let me know you are okay. Love you. Xxx.

This is fucking torture. I love the guy with all my heart. I should get my stuff off this train and go back, but I can’t. I need some time, and I’m still too angry with him for not defending me and telling his pompous stuck-up twat of a brother that he loved me and to fuck off.

Kara: Still feeling pretty shit. I don’t need anything. I’ve taken all I can have. I’m going to try and sleep. I love you, too. Xxx.

None of that text was a lie. It’s just not in the same context as he thinks.

Sutton: Hey. West said you’re not doing too good. Do you need anything? I can come home and take care of you if you need me to.

Shit! No! Sutton can’t go home. She’d raise the alarm.

Kara: I’ve just got a stupid migraine. I’m okay. You don’t need to come home. I’ll be asleep, anyway. Love you. Xxx.

I settle back into the seat and look out of the window. My eyes fall shut as I fall asleep.

“Kara, Princess, wake up, my beautiful warrior,” North whispers gently in my ear.

His arms are wrapped tightly around me, and I can feel warmth and love radiating through our bodies. We stay like this for a long time, just holding each other. Flashes of North naked and making coffee fill my head. Visions of when his head flies back, and the bellowing laugh that comes from his chest. All the memories from the weekend away, break my heart. Then, a vision of the letter from Holly is at the forefront of my dream.

I wake as my phone buzzes again in my pocket.

Sherie: I’m outside the terminal. Try to hurry. Parking is really expensive.

Oh, I’m here. I look around the carriage and notice everyone has got off. Panic-stricken, I throw my phone back in my bag and exit the train.

Two hours later, I’m sitting with a cup of coffee and some sort of cheese and ham toasted sandwich. Tears pour down my face, and every breath has a sob attached. I’m guessing they know. I’ve gotten eighty-nine missed calls from North, sixty-five from Sutton, and another forty-three from West. Even East has tried several times, and I’ve had calls from numbers I don’t recognise. I just can’t talk to them right now.

The phone buzzes again, so I hand it to Sherie.

“Tell them I’m safe. Tell them to stop ringing and that I’ll call Sutton tomorrow.” My speech is broken, but she gets my point.

And that’s what she does. I can hear North going ballistic on the other end, shouting at Sherie then apologising and shouting again.

“Listen, North, if you keep shouting at me, I will put the phone down. Now, get this in your head. She doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now. She is here, she is safe, and I will look after her. Fuck you lot. You didn’t look after her, did you?” she screams down the phone, hardly understandable with her French accent.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” he yells again.

Va te faire foutre!”she screams again down the phone, her face bright red. Then, she slams the phone down on the table.

“There, that told him.” She cracks a smile, and I can’t help but half-smile back through the tears.

“Tell me what has happened,Mon Cherie,” she says.

I tell her the whole story from the last time I saw her. About the police, then the detectives, fucking psycho Holly, and then South. As I tell her all the details, I can see that South has a very valid point. I bring too much trouble to the table.

“You are going to have to speak to him, you know. You need to tell him why you left and why you’re here,” she says softly, stroking my hair.

“I can’t, Sherie, I simply can’t, and you can’t tell Sutton, either. She can’t know what South thinks. It will break her heart just as it has done mine. I don’t want that for her. And she has the babies to think about.”

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