“£7,246.90,” he growls. “Spent in four months on shoes, makeup, clothes, lunches, and fuck knows what else. I just can’t believe it, mate. I really thought she was the one. "His shoulders slump, devastation written all over him. He fell fast and hard, and she emptied his pockets on the way out.
“Do you want to go to the police?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” He rubs his face. “I spoke to her mum this morning. It’s not the first time. She thought Millie was different with me. She’s offered to pay it back, but I know she can’t afford it. And if it becomes another police case, Millie will end up in jail. I’m not sure I can do that to either of them.”
“If you don’t, she’ll rob someone else,” I warn. “It’s theft, Dog. She stole from you.”
“I know.” He exhales shakily. “But the girl obviously has issues. I can afford to clear the balance. Part of me wants to pay it, walk away, and never think of her again. I still care for her, Lance.”
His confusion mirrors my own. The juxtaposition of loving someone while they lie. That no matter what they’ve done, you don’t want to be the reason their life becomes more complex. The instinct to distance but protect at once.
“Whatever you decide, I’m here for you.” I punch his arm, and he gives me a small, broken smile.
Spring has arrived. Flowers push through the thawing ground, and Aviemore smells fresh and alive. But I don’t feel any of it. Today marks four months without my Katie, and I’m drifting. Everything in my life runs on autopilot.
I’m still officially on leave from the army, dragging my heels on the final decision. Hannah doesn’t want me to go back. She wants me here, being her dad. She’s struggling with the new living situation. Hamish is redecorating the place, introducing rules, trying to play father. Arguments at their house are constant, often ending with a call for me to collect her.
Ainsley is being less vindictive, but only when it benefits her. Hannah staying with me is becoming a more common occurrence. The divorce should be final by the end of the year. Thank God.
Two weeks ago, I collected Hannah from school. She slid into the car with tears streaming down her face and wrapped her arms around me before I could start the engine.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Are those girls picking on you again?”
She nodded her head miserably. “It was Maisie Campbell,” she mumbled.
“Hamish’s niece?”
“Yes. She said that her Uncle Hamish and Mum were engaged.”
I swallowed the rage clawing its way up my throat. I’d heard the rumor and was waiting for it to be confirmed. Never did I expect it to come from the lips of a teenager.
“I told her it was a lie,” she continued, “that Mum would never marry him. She’s still married to you.”
“We’re getting a divorce,” I reminded her softly. She did’t acknowledge it, just bulldozed past what she didn’t want to hear.
“She said she was right. That they went to her granny’s last weekend to celebrate it. So, I texted Mum.”
Hannah had been with me last weekend. My stomach dropped.
“She told me it’s true,” she wailed, “and she didn’t tell me because I’d be horrible about it. She said I need to get used to it. And that it’s not up for discussion.”
Her sobs tore me apart. My knuckles whitened on the wheel, trying to squeeze the fury down. How dare Ainsley let her daughter hear it from Hamish’s family first? How dare she celebrate without telling her own child?
I’ll deal with Ainsley later; this was not the time. My girl needed comfort. Needed me present. Her heart was breaking, and it’s the adults in her life’s fault. She needed one solid presence at least, and that was me.
Thank heavens she never met Katie. I’ll stay single forever. Love only seems to bring pain.
***
Dog and I stand at the departure gate.
“Last call for boarding to Ibiza,” the speaker blares.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” I mutter, grabbing my bag.
“Come on, mate,” he laughs. “Two weeks of sun, sea, and women is exactly what we need to forget the shit of the last six months.”
“That part I agree with.”