Page 34 of Elijah
Amy
aged 28
Elijah and I had been doing the dance of avoidance over the last few days, and if we’d been on Strictly, I’m pretty sure we’d have got all tens. I only had to hear the deep growl of his voice to find myself something to do on the other side of the house. The thought of seeing him after what had been said was too painful to think about. It had also got me to thinking that maybe I had given up on our marriage far too easily. Maybe I should have talked to him before running home, packing a bag, and going to stay with Rachel for two weeks before I organised myself somewhere to live in London.
Yeah, now I thought about it I’d been hasty and stupid, but I was in an emotional state and visions of Lauren riding Elijah were simply too much for me to cope with. Everyone told me to talk to him. Adam, Rachel’s now husband but boyfriend at the time, said that Elijah was so adamant that he was innocent that he had to be telling the truth, especially as I’d caught them.
“He was absolutely paralytic with drink when you put him to bed,” Adam said. “It is possible he didn’t realise it was her.”
I’d shook my head and swiped at the tears. “Well he should have, I’m his wife.”
“You really think he was capable of even…you know.” He frowned at me and I wanted to smack him across the face.
“You would believe him, he’s a man. You men stick together,” I snapped.
“Hey,” Rachel soothed. “That’s not what Adam’s saying. He’s just wondering if Elijah was actually capable of having sex with anyone.”
“Doesn’t matter, he was naked, she was naked and she was riding him like he was a stallion that she was breaking in and I won’t ever stop seeing that in my head.”
It was only a few days after that I went off to London. Elijah had bombarded me with calls and texts, as well as turning up at Rachel’s flat at all hours of the day, but I’d been stubborn and wouldn’t listen, deleting every text before I’d even read it. He didn’t stop when I got to London, with the calls and texts, but he couldn’t come around, because I’d sworn everyone to secrecy on where I’d gone. Finally, after three months, the day arrived when I didn’t get a call or a text and when I crawled into bed, I cried so hard I burst a blood vessel in my eye. I don’t know what I expected – that’d he find me using a Private Investigator, or force my family to tell him where I was so he could take me back home. All I knew was that day was as heart breaking as the day I’d found them together.
I knew though, that hindsight was a wonderful thing and there was nothing I could do to change things. Elijah had told me in our last conversation he’d moved on, and I knew from the steely glaze in his eyes that he meant it. I was his past and there was no going back for us, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to anyway. Too much time had gone by and I’d never truly trust him again, whether I believed his version of events or not. Actually, I had no clue what his version of events was as I’d never given him the respect of listening to it. All I’d ever heard were the words ‘I didn’t do it’, which based on the fact I caught Lauren on top of him, giving it everything she had, seemed to be a ridiculous statement.
“You sure you don’t need me for anything?” Claudia asked, breaking me from my reverie.
I looked up and saw she had her bag and a folder in her arms.
“I’m going to get those light fittings,” she reminded me.
“Oh God, yeah. Sorry, I was thinking about the baby’s room,” I lied. “No, I don’t need you and thanks for going.”
The light fittings I’d ordered for the lounge and dining room had failed to arrive, the company I’d used telling me some crap about the van breaking down and not being able to get the lights to me for another week. After giving them the benefit of my advice on having a contingency in place, or at least having more than one van, I threw a tantrum and cancelled the order which meant Claudia now had to go directly to a distributor to get them. I realised it meant I was going to be paying a little more, but it was my tantrum so I had decided I’d take the hit on it and not pass the extra cost onto Tino and Sophie.
“No problem, it’ll be nice to get out for a while. I feel like these are the only four walls I’ve seen for the last month. Although if you hadn’t had a little strop-.”
“I still wouldn’t have the lights,” I interjected. “They’d still be a week away and I want the lounge and dining room finished for when Sophie comes over on Wednesday.”
Claudia rolled her eyes, but grinned. “Okay, I’ll see you in the morning. Unless you want me to bring them back here tonight.”
“God no,” I said, waving her away. “You won’t get back until late. Just bring them with you tomorrow.”
“Okay, will do.”
We said our goodbyes and Claudia left me alone, looking at a huge six feet by three feet painting that I wanted to hang above the fireplace in the dining room. I’d already nailed the fixings to the wall, but the task of hauling the painting up there was going to be difficult on my own. I supposed I could wait for Claudia in the morning, but the more I could get done, the sooner I could start on the bedrooms that had all been decorated the week before.
Looking through the window I saw Anthony, Elijah’s right-hand man, and wondered whether he would help me. He’d only just come on site for the day and didn’t look to be as mud splattered as Bob or Marty.
I went over to the window and opened it up. “Hey, Anthony,” I called, gaining his attention. “Any chance you could help me to put up a picture? I’m struggling on my own.”
He grinned at me and nodded. “Yeah sure. Give me a few minutes to check in with Eli and I’ll be right in. The dining room?”
“Please.”
“No problem.”
Five minutes later, I was positioning some photograph frames along the top of the beautiful Italian, Rossetto sideboard, when I heard the door open behind me. Swinging around and expecting to see Anthony, I was shocked to find Elijah standing in his stocking feet and wiping his hands on a towel.
“Oh, I thought Anthony was going to help me,” I blustered.
