Chapter Forty
JULIE
I’d imagined that he wasn’t coming. It had been so many hours since he told me he was collecting some things from home, and then coming straight over. I’d gone and waited in my bedroom, but after a few hours, I’d started to feel stupid, and changed back into jeans and a blouse, and went back down to the living room. As it approached eleven at night, and I debated going to bed for real, I saw headlights sweep across the darkened living room. I only had a lamp on in the corner, and the curtains were open, because like a pathetic little girl, I’d actually been keeping an eye out for him.
I was already up, and walking to the door, when the doorbell went. What I saw wasn’t what I expected.
It was Adam, but he wasn’t alone. There were two big scary guys with him. They looked the same. Twins? One was helping him walk, and the other tossed a bag on the floor in the hallway.
“Adam? Oh my god, what happened! Did that bastard beat on you again?” He snorted, and the guy helping him cursed.
“Man, what have you been telling her about me, bruv?”
I stood up straight, my hands on my hips, glaring at the guy, while quite honestly I wanted to back away.
“You’re the one who kicked him in the ribs? You animal!”
“Hey… he’s not all bad.” A voice said from the hallway, and then I realised that they weren’t alone.
“Cassidy? Oh my god!” I screamed, running to the hallway, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
“I can’t believe it’s you!”
She giggled, holding me away to look at me. “Did you get taller?”
I laughed, slapping at her arm. “Stop!” She’d always teased me like that.
Adam was talking to the meathead guy behind us.
“Yeah… I see how it is. One minute she cares about what you bastards did to me, and the next… girl talk…”
I giggled, turning to meet his eyes. He winked, and then eased himself down onto the sofa with a groan. I backed away from Cassidy. “Don’t disappear on me.”
I went back to Adam, giving the big twin guy a wide berth. “I’ll get you something for the pain, Adam. Relax.” I turned to the big guy. “You’re done beating him up, I take it?”
He burst out laughing, holding up his hands. “It’s all good, love, honest. Don’t want to get my ass kicked by you, or Cass.”
Cass… I turned to look at her, and she was leaning against the other big guy, his arms around her. Huh.
I leaned over to kiss Adam on the forehead, and then I walked back to Cassidy, reaching for her hand.
“Help me make coffee? I think we all need some?” She nodded, stepping away from the big man.
“Sit down, Sammy. You guys try and make it up to Adam, somehow.” He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Fucking hell, baby. Mind clueing me in on how we do that?”
She giggled, and shoved him in the direction of my living room. As soon as we were in the kitchen, and hopefully out of earshot, I turned to stare at her.
“Okay… I need to know everything. You said you were with some guy called Ben, but you just called that guy Sammy.”
She groaned, biting her lip. “Uh… yeah, okay. Things aren’t quite how I explained them. Let’s get the coffee on, and I’ll explain.”
I filled the kettle and switched it on, glancing through the doorway across to the living room, which was separated from the kitchen by the narrow hall.
“Is he safe in there with them?”
Cassidy smiled. “Yeah, he is now. It was a misunderstanding. I’ll explain, I promise.”