“You’ve been through this, haven’t you? Not just what Harvey did.”
She nodded once. “When I was in uni. Nobody wanted to believe me. They got away with it.”
I squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry. They shouldn’t get away with something like that.” She said ‘they’, so I said ‘they’. I didn’t want to think about what ‘they’ meant right now.
She suddenly smiled grimly, looking just as dangerous as that large man she’d arrived with.
“Oh… they recently met the Bennett justice system too, and didn’t survive the… uh… ‘trial’.”
I blinked a few times, trying to understand what she was saying, and she shook her head.
“Don’t worry about that. Just know that we’re all here to help, okay? Anything you need. Anything at all. All you have to do is ask. And I’m stepping all over that, as I say it. Making a hypocrite of myself. I’m staying, and you didn’t ask for that, or permit it. Do you want me to leave? I stayed, because I want to help, but you make the decisions, Julie. Tell me to go, if that’s what you want. You won’t offend me.”
I shook my head. “Please don’t go. I don’t want to be alone right now.”
She squeezed my hand again. “You don’t want Adam here instead?”
I shook my head again. “Not yet. I need him, but I’m not ready to see him. Does that make sense?”
Lenore nodded, patting my hand again. “All in your time, Julie. Nobody else is making decisions for you, okay?”
**********
ADAM
When we walked into that clinic, I barely noticed the plush, expensive look of the place. I vaguely noticed a jumble of people, and Marco led me straight toward them.
As my eyes started to focus on faces, I recognised both Bennett brothers, both as serious as I’d ever seen them, with Cass crushed against one of their chests, her shoulders shaking as she cried.
“Teller.” The brother without Cass in his arms grasped my shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “I’m so fucking sorry.” He added.
The other brother looked at me, still cradling Cass’s face against his chest. His eyes were so sad.
“Anything she needs, bruv. Anything either of you need, you just say. We look after our own.” It was his way of saying what his brother had, and I appreciated it.
I took a breath, noticing several other large men with them, all morose. One of them held a tray of machine coffees as he approached them, and started passing them around. He glanced at me as he finished.
“You Adam?” I nodded, and he reached out to shake my hand.
“I’m Danno. You need coffee?” I nodded dumbly, and he headed straight back over to the machine, Marco going with him.
I felt like a spare part. I stood there, on the outskirts of everything. The outskirts of the Bennett family huddle. The outskirts of this posh clinic, that I couldn’t possibly afford, but would kill to pay for. Fuck me… I did kill. I killed Jeff Clarke. My knees buckled then, and someone firmly led me to a plush seat, before I crashed to the floor.
A heavy hand pressed against my back, leaning me over, as if he thought I’d pass out.
Eventually he let me sit back up, and that Danno guy handed me a black coffee.
It was a Bennett beside me, but I had no idea which one. I just stared at him vaguely, and he seemed to understand.
“It’s me, Samuel. Look, bruv, I can’t imagine what this is like for you, but you did the right thing. You killed a monster. And I really fucking wish we’d known that about him earlier, because it never would have come to this. But listen, you couldn’t have known, yeah? You didn’t miss something vital, that others would have noticed. He flew under the radar. We did extensive background checks, and found nothing. If there was a fucking clue to his nature, we’d have found it. So you can’t beat yourself up for not knowing, because it wasn’t there to know.”
I stared at him, grateful for the sentiment, but lost as hell. “How do I get her through this?”
He swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes landing on Cass for a moment, still wrapped in Seb’s arms.
“I have no fucking clue, bruv. But you guys aren’t alone in this. You’re family. And whatever you both need, we’ll fucking make happen. That’s why she’s here, rather than some fucking NHS hospital. She’ll get proper care here, without the staff being so run off their feet, that they can’t give her the proper time and support she needs. And discretion, as in no cops.”
I looked around, seeing the place for the first time. “I can’t afford a place like this, Samuel. How do I…”
“I already told you, it’s sorted. All you need to worry about is helping your lady. At some point she’s going to ask for you, and when she does, you go in there, and you give her whatever she needs. You hold her hand, you listen, you hold her, and you fucking cry with her. Whatever.”
I sipped the coffee. I could tell that it should taste great, but I could barely taste anything other than bitterness.
“You say that like it’s easy. She might not want me anywhere near her.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “If that’s what she wants, you’ll give it to her. I don’t think we’re going to be able to keep Cass or Lenore away from her, unless she says otherwise. She won’t be alone. But she’ll want you at some point, bruv. She’ll need you. Make sure you’re close when she does.”
He was a bossy bastard, but he was also right. He nodded at me, and sat back, staying beside me, as if it would comfort me. And you know what? I think it did.