Page 23 of North (The Moral Compass 2)

Mum returns with Sutton, and as soon as they are back, West takes his fiancée off into the lounge with an ice pack attached to his hand. It’s not long before I hear Sutton crying again. I take the opportunity to tell Mum the whole truth. I can see the fire in her eyes.

“Don’t phone South, Mum, he’s just been blasted by West, and I should have done that on Monday. Just leave him. I need to put my efforts into getting Kara back.”

Sutton and West come back into the kitchen, and Sutton wraps her arms around me. She gets that I was trying to protect her and, in the process, lost my everything.

Mum sits with us at the island and opens a book and starts to write down some notes.

“What’re you writing in that book?” I ask, trying to see what is written down.

She smiles. “I’m just taking notes.”

Chapter 18

Kara

Ididn’tphoneNorth.Not after I got the text that he understood my decision. It’s been nearly two weeks since I last saw him in the kitchen when I lied to him about my migraine. I keep in contact with Sutton every day, but we both stay away from the North subject. It’s hard for her. She still lives with him. Part of me wants to go home, but I don’t feel like I have one. I just feel like a lodger in that big house. I wasn’t part of the family, and I never would have been. I was just the sad best friend with nowhere to go who then fell in love with her landlord.

I’ve interviewed for a few positions and looked at a few apartments, but nothing seems to fit. I either don’t like the company or the apartment doesn’t feel right. Financially, I’m secure. I saved a bucket load whilst I was living with North, and West put a chunk of cash in my account referenced “severance pay.” I’ve put that to one side though and, when the time is right, I will give it back. I know it was Sutton who was making sure I would be able to live without an income. At least for a little while.

I’ve had a few nights out with Sherie, but even she is bordering on boring. We go out, eat, have a couple of drinks, and come back home. No flirting with French guys which I am glad for,but it feels like I’m holding her back. As if she knows my thoughts, my phone rings, and it’s Sutton.

“Hey, baby mama,” I greet.

“Hey to you, too. You sound chipper today. Anything good happening that I need to be aware of?” she asks.

“Nah, I was just contemplating life. Working out my next steps. I can’t stay here forever. Sherie is great, but I know I’m cramping her style massively. She’s not been out on the pull the whole time I’ve been here.” I start to laugh. “Poor girl will be getting cobwebs.” I laugh even harder, and so does Sutton. We have built the bridge that was smashed a few weeks ago, and she told me she knows everything that South said. She’s tried to convince me to go back, but I just can’t.

“You can always come back here,” she tries again.

“Sutton, you know I can’t. But it’s more than can’t. I don’t want to.” It’s the same conversation time and time again. She’s relentless, I’ll give her that.

“You know you’re going to have to come back when the babies are born,” she says. I can hear the nervousness in her voice.

“Yeah, I know, but I’m sure I’ll be able to navigate around North. I don’t think I’m ready for a showdown with him just yet.”

I’m not sure, that’s the thing. I just know that if I see him, I’ll crumble.

I’ve been stalking his social media and googling any sign of him in the news. There’s been a few bits here and there, but it’s the photos that kill me. His social media is full of pictures of him and me. No other women. Just me. They were uploaded after I left and nothing since. His Instagram is the same, but he posts daily pictures of us both with captions like “Happy Times.” Every day, I wait for the next post.

“Okay, we’ll work it out,” she mumbles. “Anyway, I called to talk baby names. Picking one is hard, but we’ve got three to bloody find. The good thing is the doctors told us they are all the same sex. We just don’t know what sex.” She laughs. “So, we need three girls and three boys.”

“Okay, what about… Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel for girls and Ross, Chandler, and Joey for boys?” I joke.

“Wow, that was fast.”

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for you to ask. Aunty Kara needs input, you know,” I joke back. It almost feels like old times. There’s just a great big North cloud hanging over the two of us.

Another two weeks go by. It’s now been a month and still not a word from North.

Chapter 19

North

Istartedbackdoingsome work for West. Back to my little hideout in the basement of the building.

I’m starting to think things are really over now between Kara and me. I haven’t tried to call her. It kills me, but she said she needed time. How much time, though? It’s been four fucking weeks since she faked a migraine instead of talking to me and disappeared to another pissing country. When I think about how selfish she has been, I get really angry, but as soon as the anger boils over, my heart starts to break again.

I miss her so fucking much. She was my everything. No, no. Sheismy everything. I need to give her a little more time. The trauma she has been through won’t take a few weeks to sort out. No matter how tough and made of steel she tries to say she is, there is a reason I call her Princess.

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