He glowered at me as the phone shook in his meaty paw. “Well, we probably won’t have time to see you.”
The girls protested, but he glared at them again. I just hoped he chose to go and get shitfaced down the pub and ended up with another black eye instead of turning on Tammy and Janie.
They said he had never hit them, but I'd been around guys like Terry my whole life. He beat me when I still livedwith them, and guys like him didn't stop using their fists just because their main target left.
“What a shame,” Terry chuckled. “Because I would so love to know if you've been a bad boy. You know how I feel about you acting out.”
“Don't bother. We both know you aren't the brains of the operation.”
He kept his puffy lips fastened shut.
Sally and Terry thought they were vicious, and they had ruined people to get what they wanted, but they didn’t know the people I did. They had no idea about Christian’s connections, or how Grace could annihilate them if I asked. I was a fucking saint to put up with it for so long.
“I hope they have a good time at the party, is that clear?” I wasn't going to fuck around, especially after he had just been shouting at them. They deserved a place where they didn’t have to worry about what was waiting for them when they got home. I just wished I could give that to them.
“Yeah, I hear you.”
“Wonderful,” I said. Terry opened his mouth to continue, but I was done. “Lovely speaking to you, Terry, as always.” I raised my voice. “And you two! I’ll see you soon, okay?”
Their chorus of “Yes!” left me with a smile, even though I was leaving them alone with him.
I’d put money aside so the girls could travel, go to uni, or whatever they wanted when they were old enough to get the fuck out of that house.
Now that I’d mentioned it to them, the possibility was there. I’d poked fun at Christian for asking me to run away with him, but maybe that was the best thing I could do. Because would Harry ever see me again?
As if on cue, Molly’s phone dinged, and I swallowed, my anticipation bubbling as I reached for it.
It didn’t matter how fucked up it was. I’d already crossed the line. Now I wanted to see how far I could run before the rope that kept me bound to him strangled me.
Harry
“You know you didn’t have to come all this way,” Ralph said as he pulled his arm through his white doctor's coat before shucking it over his shoulders. He adjusted his stethoscope, tugging both ends around his neck before twisting his long hair up into a bun. It was a habit he’d picked up when we were medical interns together at The Imperial.
“No, but I wanted to see you,” I said, scanning the hospital locker room that had been part of my life for nearly five years before I left.
It didn’t matter that I missed the place; it had moved on without me. Everyone else was dressed in various colours of scrubs, apart from the people either arriving or leaving a shift; and even then, none of them were wearing suits. I received odd looks, but it wasn't the end of the world.
All our friends who regularly joined us at the pub were already with patients or they worked in different departments.
“And there’s no way I’m going to be sending documents like these via courier,” I sighed, frustrated that I was having to clean up after someone else. It was borderline illegal for Molly to have brought hospital files home, even if it was just admin work. Shehadn’t mentioned the files once before she left, and I only found out when Ralph called yesterday.
And I couldn't even ask her about it. Because no matter how many times I called or messaged her, I got nothing back.
I grit my jaw as I lifted my briefcase to my chest. I couldn’t believe she’d left them at home. I’d seen her working after hours before, but it was usually online. It was the fact that she’d left for five weeks and just assumed I would fix the problem. I couldn’t know her motivation because the only time she replied to me was when I wanted to sext.
And that had ended since I'd kissed Dom.
I clicked the latches of my briefcase, shaking my head as I pulled out the files. “Things are getting hectic at The Foundation. To be honest, I don’t know when I’m going to see you again,” I said as I handed them to him.
“What about the engagement party when Molly comes back?” Ralph said, his brow creasing.
I froze, my heart dropping. A twitch of my hand ruffled the papers. I barely composed myself as I realised with sinking horror that I had completely forgotten about it.
Ralph was one of the few people who actually knew about the engagement. Though he wasn’t organising the party as such – that was my sister’s job – he was still making preparations like ensuring our friends would be there.
And I forgot.
It wasn’t like I had too much to remember. I knew the exact date of every Foundation fundraiser for the next six months;I had memorised my entire schedule for the next forty days, and I even knew the dates of national holidays we had to pay attention to. But despite all that, I had forgotten that Molly and I had set a day to announce our engagement.