She takes a step toward her front door, which I now notice is open, and holds it wider, waiting for me to follow despite the fact that I haven’t actually answered.
When I stormed out of the flat, I had no idea where I was heading. Into Louisa’s definitely wasn’t a part of my plan, but I soon find myself following her. Having a coffee with a friend sounds much more appealing than randomly wandering around the streets.
It’s not the first time I’ve been inside her flat. It’s almost identical to mine—the only difference is that there’s kid stuff everywhere. And I mean literally everywhere. I’ve no idea how one little boy needs so much shit.
“Sorry about the mess. He’s like a little whirlwind.”
“It’s nothing. You should have seen the state of my place before K—” My words falter at the almost mention of her name. “I’m not exactly a neat freak. It used to drive Titch crazy.”
“He still living with his girlfriend?”
“Wife,” I correct. It still feels kinda weird thinking about him being a married man, especially as he went from single to married in the blink of an eye.
“Oh yeah, how could I forget,” she says with a laugh. “Black, right?” she asks, holding up a mug as I take a seat.
“Please.”
“So, what’s got you running from your own flat?”
“It’s nothing.”
I feel her stare the second the lie falls from my lips.
“Riight. Because it’s such a normal thing for you to do. You always seem so… sure of yourself. No offence, but you look like a hot mess right now.”
“Wow, thanks for that.” I run my fingers through my hair, trying to tame it. I haven’t looked in the mirror since our shower earlier, so I have no clue what state it’s in.
“It’s the girl, right? Kas?”
“Yes, no. I don’t know.”
She passes my mug over before lowering herself to the sofa in front of me.
She looks at me knowingly for a few seconds before saying words that rock my world.
“You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?”
“What? No, of course I haven’t. She’s Zach’s kid sister.”
“And that’s meant to stop how you feel about her?”
I open my mouth to try to argue some more, but she beats me to it.
“We can’t help how we feel, Spike. I of all people should know that. Look at how I ended up when I fell for the wrong one.”
“And that’s the exact reason I haven’t. I’m not going there. Not with Kas. Not with anyone.”
“Why?” she asks, her head tilting to the side much like a confused puppy. “I know I complain about this, but if I hadn’t met him then I wouldn’t have my Freddie, and I can’t imagine life without him now. He’s my world.”
I shrug. “I have my reasons.”
She sighs, and I hate that she’s pitying me right now. I don’t fucking need it.
“Just give it a chance, Spike. Who knows what could become of it.”
Two broken hearts and a bleak future? No thanks.
I shake my head. “It’s not meant to be.”
“The fact that you’re sulking about whatever’s happened tells another story.”
“Even without my own bullshit, she’s Zach’s little si—”
“Sister, I know. You mentioned… once or twice. If you spoke to him, I’m sure he’d understand.”
“Oh yeah.” I gesture to my face. “Does it look like he understands? And he did this without knowing anything happened.”
“So something has happened.” She raises a brow.
“Fucking hell.”
21
Kas
After telling Zach once again that I was fine, he finally took the hint and left after he finished his coffee. I’d be seeing him in a bit at the studio, but I got the feeling he didn’t want me out of his sight. It was sweet, although totally overbearing and unnecessary. He confirmed that the threat has gone, that it was all over and that I could get on with my life. And that’s what I intend to do.
I’m excited to embark on the next chapter of my life where I can hopefully have a job I love and finally know what it’s like to live with my head above water with people who care if I float or drown.
That’s not entirely fair. Jodie would have cared.
Feeling guilty that I’ve been too distracted with my own disaster of a life to reply to the message she sent me checking in, I sit on the edge of my bed and tap out a reply, asking if we can meet up in the next few days. I might not spell out the recent events in my message, but I have every intention of telling her all about it. Hell knows, I need someone else’s opinion.
I hit send just as the front door slams, followed seconds later by Spike marching past my room and to his own.
My teeth grind as I think about how he just stormed out earlier. He goes on and on about how he needs to do the right thing, not betray Zach or whatever—it’s a little late for all that if you ask me, but hey—but the way he blew out of the place didn’t exactly look like a guy who doesn’t care.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I shout, marching to his room and throwing the door wide open.
“Nothing, I needed a breather.” I watch as he pulls his shirt off and replaces it with another.
“Really?”
“Really. I need to get to the studio. Are you fucking coming or what?” He spins and pins me with a hard stare. His jaw is tight and his lips pressed into a thin line. Whoa, he really is pissed.
“Uh, yeah. I’m coming, let me just change and—”
“Be fucking quick.”
“Jesus, what crawled up your arse?”
He takes a step toward me, his dark eyes boring down into me. If it’s meant to scare or intimidate me, then it falls far from the mark. I know him too well now to ever be scared of him.
His lips part like he’s about to respond, but
