You’re Everything I Need: A Forbidden Romance

by Ford, Mia

  “Well, it is what it is. I’ll tell the police about what I know.”

  “I can come in with you if you want, I don’t need to be at work.”

  “I want to do this by myself. Thank you for the offer, though.”

  She reminds of the spunky woman I met in the park all that time ago. Her spark lured me in then and kept me hooked. She’s lost a bit of her shine through all of this, but there’s still some spunk there. It isn’t just the thing with Trent that’s getting her down. It’s the whole mess with me and her family as well.

  “Okay, no worries. You can call me when you’re done, though.”

  “Thank you. If not, I can always get the bus. I have some change on me so it’s fine.”

  I gulp down, not liking the idea of her getting on public transport all by herself after going through an emotional time, but what can I do? It isn’t up to me, is it? She will do whatever she wants.

  “Okay, well I hope it all goes well. Good luck with it all.”

  That’s such a cringey statement. I wish I’d said something so much more profound, but it’s out there now.

  “Yeah, I’m sure it will. Thank you.”

  I pull up outside the station and turn to face her. She’s stoic, her expression is one of blank nothingness.

  “Right, well I will see you a bit later on. Back at the house if not when you’re done.”

  She nods slowly. “Yep, I guess so, I will see you shortly then.”

  I reach out and pull her towards myself for a hug. It’s weird, we haven’t touched for ages, we’ve been keeping a healthy distance between us, but it’s oddly comforting at the same time. It’s familiar and nice. She stiffens for a moment, resisting me, but soon she falls against me and she rests her head against my chest. It isn’t much, but at least I can offer her a tiny bit of comfort. I slide my eyes closed and lean into her.

  It would only be one step and we’d be kissing. Not that I intend to do that. It isn’t the time or place.

  “Are you sure you want to do this alone? Sorry, I know I’m getting on your nerves, I’ll only ask once more.”

  She peers up at me under her eyelashes and smiles. “I got this in the bag. Don’t worry.”

  With that, Lexi slides out the car and she walks with determination towards the police station. I wait until she’s fully inside before I bring the car to life and I drive away. Already, my chest aches. I miss her. It takes everything that I have to pull away. It’s only because this is what she wants. If she wanted me to stay, she would tell me. I’m sure she would tell me. We have an understanding… even if she’s pulling away at the moment.

  I drive to work in a bit of a daze, trying to work out what will be going on with Lexi right now. Will she be in the waiting room, nervously waiting for someone to see her? Will she be in an interview room spilling her heart out? Will the police take her seriously and chase after this guy? Is he even here?

  So many questions, absolutely no answers. How will I work under these conditions?

  I pull up outside the office and head inside with a heavy heart. All I want to do is head straight into my office to get my head down so I don’t have to talk to anyone, but unfortunately, Sally has other ideas. I suppose I can’t blame her. She’s currently doing Lexi’s jobs on top of her own. Since she doesn’t quite know how to do it, it’s challenging, but I still love her for helping me out during this difficult time.

  “Cooper, I have some messages for you. I was just about to put them on your desk.”

  “Oh right, thank you.” I take the papers from her. “I’ll get them now.”

  “Have you heard anything from Lexi? Is she coming back any time soon?”

  “Erm…” I have to dart my eyes away to hide the flaming in my cheeks. “I have spoken to her but I don’t think she’ll be back for a little while yet. Why, are you really struggling? I can sort something out.”

  “Oh, no! It isn’t that. I just miss her. She was good fun to have around the place.”

  “I know, yeah, but I suppose we have to wait for the hospital to sign her off. She’s been very sick.”

  “Do we know what happened yet? It’s a bit worrying, isn’t it? I want to call her.”

  “No, she’s requested no contact while she recovers.” Why the hell am I lying? It isn’t just because she’s staying at mine either because she could quite easily speak on her cell phone. “But she’s okay.”

  “Great, well that’s… as long as she’s okay, that’s the most important thing.”

  “She will be.”

  I expect Sally to move away from me then so I can get to my desk, but she doesn’t. She stays exactly where she is looking at me expectantly. I don’t know what to do with that look, it’s weird.

  “Is everything alright, Sally?”

  “I’m just curious that’s all, about what’s going on with you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you and Lexi. There’s something there, isn’t there?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh, I think you do. In fact, I’m very sure that you do. It’s very obvious to everyone here that you are head over heels for that girl. You can’t exactly deny it, can you?”

  “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, come off it. I’ve worked for you for long enough to know what’s going on here.”

  “Sally, I really need to get to my desk. I don’t know what you mean. Lexi is family. I’m sure you already know that. Nora was her cousin, so whatever you’re suggesting is all wrong.”

  “Is that why you’re holding back?”

  “Holding back from what?”

  “From telling her that you love her?”

  “Love?” I try to brush it off but the reality is she doesn’t know enough. “No, don’t be daft.”

  “You only have one life, Cooper. Nora understood that. Maybe you should try living a little bit.”

  I part my lips ready to answer her, but the words don’t spill free. I don’t really have anything to say to her. All of her assumptions are absolutely correct, and that leaves me at a loss.

  “Right, well thank you for that, Sally. But I really do need to get to work now.”

  “Of course you do. But I’m here if you need to talk to anyone.”

  I roll my eyes and smirk. I love Sally to bits and I’m sure she would keep everything a secret. I won’t be confiding in her. “Thank you, Sally, let me know if I get any more messages or anything.”

  “You have that meeting in a while. Do you need me in there to take minutes?”

  “No, not at all. You’re better off on the front desk. Thank you, Sally.”

  I stalk away keeping my steps purposeful so no one stops me on the way. Thankfully, I just about manage to get inside and close the door behind me without coming across anyone else. It’s a relief when I hear the click of the door and I’m all by myself. I breathe out a sigh of relief and shake my head. I don’t know where that came from with Sally; that was weird. It’s left me all shaken. I’m pretty sure Lexi didn’t tell Sally anything, so that’s just come from her own intuition and it’s far too dead-on for my liking.

  Love… that was heavy. That was extreme. I don’t know how to take it. I like Lexi, there’s no denying that, but I cannot allow it go all the way to love. It’ll never progress so I can’t let it happen. Sally’s just jumping the gun, coming to a conclusion from nothing.

  “Right.” I shake my head, trying to get rid of all thoughts. “Time for work.”

  I sit at my desk, trying to get my head in the game, but of course it isn’t there. It’s all over the place, worrying about Lexi and what she’s doing. Worrying about Lexi is really starting to become a full-time job.

  * * *

  Still nothing. I stare at my phone screen, irritated. How is there still nothing?

  I know that she said she would get the bus home, I do understand that, but I didn’t think it would pan out that way. I’ve been perched on the edge o
f my seat waiting for a call the whole afternoon.

  “Everything okay, boss?” Adam leans in the door frame. “You seem very tense today.”

  “Hmm, yeah - I’m fine. I’m good.”

  “Are you sure? You didn’t seem very much in during the meeting today.”

  “Sorry, my head is all over the place.”

  “Is it this thing with Lexi?”

  “What? The sickness? No, that is just what it is. It’s a bit stressful obviously, but I understand why she’s not here.”

  “Are you still pretending that you don’t like her?”

  Oh God, another one. “I’m not pretending anything.”

  “I’m just going to let you know that you have changed since she first started working here. In a good way. You’ve actually started letting other people make decisions which isn’t like you at all.”

  Huh. I suppose that’s right. I have been that way. Letting go and allowing other people to do things I wouldn’t normally. It’s weird, I didn’t think I would ever be able to let go at all, but I have. The company hasn’t completely fallen apart which is really something. It shows me that I can take a step back.

  “I’m not quite sure it is like that, but whatever you think.”

  “Why wouldn’t it be like that? You two would be good together.”

  “I need this to stop now, I don’t want to hear any more rumors.”

  “Like I’ve said to you before, people want you to be happy.”

  “Can you just leave it, Adam?”

  “No, I can’t. I really can’t. If she makes you happy and she also causes you to stop being so picky about this place then it makes me very happy.”

  I can’t stand all of this, it’s too much. It isn’t up to everyone here, it’s up to me and Lexi. We aren’t in that place right now and we probably won’t ever be. Probably…

  “I don’t know, Adam, you’re doing my head in right now. I need to get out of here before you drive me crazy.”

  He tosses his head back and laughs at me, clearly not seeing the inner turmoil. I suppose that’s for the best. I don’t want anyone to know.

  28

  Lexi

  “Okay, well thank you, Lexi. I think I have all I need from you today. You’ve signed your statement…”

  “And you believe me?” That’s the weirdest thing, the part I can’t wrap my head around. “You do?”

  “You’ve given me plenty of evidence to work with.” She pats the stack of paper beside her, all the messages that Trent has sent which she’s printed out. “As soon as we work out where all of these have come from, we can move on with the investigation. We will also need to check the hospital, see the CCTV.”

  I blow out a breath of relief, glad that they are even taking me seriously about the hospital visit. I felt all shaky as I said it, but thankfully there wasn’t any hesitation. This is how it should have been when I told Cooper and Cassie too. They glazed over, they didn’t take me seriously, but now someone has.

  “Thank you so much. That’s really great news. I really appreciate it.”

  “You have your crime number written down?” I nod. “Great, so like I said before, if anything else happens, anything at all, give us a call and quote that number. Then whoever you’re talking to will know.”

  “Great, and what do I do if I get any more messages?”

  “Then come in and we’ll print them all off again. The more evidence we get the better.”

  “It’s strange that I’ve had no messages while I’ve been here. They’ve been relentless this morning. I wonder if he’s watching me and he knows that I’m here.” That makes my blood run cold. “What do you think?”

  “Well, we can always get someone to escort you home if you’re worried.”

  I nod without thinking too much about it. That might be nice actually. I know that Trent hates the police, if he knows I have them on my side he might back off a bit. Unless that’s just wishful thinking…

  “Thank you, that would be awesome. I don’t want anything to happen to me.”

  “We’ll be able to sort something out; don’t you worry about that.”

  The officer pushes her chair out to stand so I do the same. As she holds out her hand to me, I shake it feeling more connected to her than anyone else in the world right now. I’m so happy that I have someone to back me up.

  “Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate it. I do feel better now.”

  “Well, that’s good. That’s what we’re here for. To make you feel much better.”

  She takes me out into the waiting room and leaves me there while someone comes along to take me home. While I do, I get out my phone to message people. I need some human contact, even if it’s through a screen.

  Lexi: Hey girls, sorry I haven’t been in touch much. It’s been a bit nuts.

  Krysten: How are you now? We’ve been so worried about it all.

  Lexi: I’m okay. I’ve just been to the police.

  Krysten: What did they say? Do they think it’s Trent?

  Lexi: Yeah, I think so. I mean, the evidence suggests as much.

  Krysten: What evidence? I feel like I’ve missed something.

  Lexi: Oh, maybe it was Flora I spoke to. Where is she?

  Krysten: At work I think.

  Lexi: Oh, well there have been some messages and stuff. I’ll have to meet up with you to show you.

  Krysten: What about tomorrow?

  Lexi: Yeah, I’m good for tomorrow. Just give me a ring.

  Krysten: I will do. Speak soon.

  Lexi: Yeah, speak tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you. It’s been too long.

  It really has. I’ve been hidden away for far too long. Because of him. Well, not any longer. If the police are on my side then I feel much braver. I’m actually looking forward to seeing my friends.

  Krysten has gone, Flora is at work, not answering her messages, but I’m still not done yet. There is still a deep urge to talk to someone. My first instinct is Cooper, but I don’t want to take him from his work more than I already have done. I guess there’s only my family left. I’m not keen on speaking to Mom or Aunt Bessie at the moment, they’re too full-on, and Uncle Ben will spill the beans without meaning to.

  Cassie… she’s the only person left, even if things are a little strained between us.

  Ring, ring… ring, ring… ring, ring…

  “Hello?” she gushes, sounding excited to hear from me. “Lexi, is everything alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m er… I’m at the police station at the moment.”

  “You are? Oh wow, are you okay? You should have told me, I would’ve come with you.”

  My heart swells and my chest heats up with happiness. I do love my cousin a lot, there are so many times she could have really gone in on me about what she suspects - well, probably knows by this point - about me and Cooper, and she hasn’t. She’s Nora’s sister, yet she’s been surprisingly understanding.

  “Thank you so much, but I wanted to face it by myself. I need to face it.”

  “What’s been going on? What have they said about Trent?”

  “Well, there are things that I haven’t told you that have been happening.”

  “Such as what?”

  “Lots of text messages. Dead flowers in the apartment when I got back from the hospital, that sort of thing.”

  “Oh wow, I wish you’d told me. I wish I could have been there for you.”

  “I’ve had Cooper. I haven’t really told him anything but he’s been there.”

  I suck in a breath, wondering if I should have said that. In a way, I’m trying to push her to say something to me because I kind of want to have it out. Get it all in the open.

  “Well that’s good. He’s a good guy, you know? He really cares about you.”

  It isn’t exactly us having it out, but it feels a little bit like her blessing too. Unless that’s just what I want to hear. It feels like I want to do something nice for him to make up for all the nice things h
e’s done for me. He’s gone above and beyond to take care of me and now I feel good enough to return the favor…

  “Yeah, he is nice. He’s been kind.”

  “Hmmm, well that’s something that we need to talk about at a later date, isn’t it?”

  “I guess so. Oh, I think the officer is trying to get my attention. Speak soon!”

  “Speak soon. Love you, Lexi.”

  * * *

  “Ooh, what is all of this?” Cooper asks with a smile as he walks through the door. “Something smells good.”

  “Aubrey and I are cooking for you as a nice surprise.”

  “Well, that is a nice surprise. What are you making?”

  “We are making a curry. I hope you like it, me and my little helper have been working hard.”

  “I can tell. Wow, this is awesome.” He narrows his eyes at me. “You seem in a good mood. All go well today?”

  “Yes, it all went really well. I’ll tell you about it later.” Obviously, we can’t talk about it now with Aubrey here. “For now, it’s time to just eat. Have a drink and a nice time.”

  He takes a seat by the table and smiles at me. Aubrey hands him some cutlery and he grins at her too.

  “This is so nice. You two are really spoiling me.”

  “Well, you’ve been so good to me. I just want to find a way to say thank you.”

  “Oh, right.” He looks taken aback. “Well, that’s awesome of you.”

  I hope he understands that there’s so much more to it than that. It isn’t just that I’m thankful, I’m so utterly grateful it’s ridiculous. I’ve been in a bit of a cloud, lost in my own fear and misery. Now after today, I’ve pulled my head out my ass and I can see that while he didn’t necessarily believe me before he’s done all that he can to look after me. He’s fed me, he’s put a roof over my head, he’s protected me.

  “I have some wine as well, if you would like a drink.”

  “Oh, just one for now.” He winks at me and smiles. “But definitely some more later on.”

  I feel a little woozy as I look at him, he’s making me feel all dizzy with lust. I know that I shouldn’t look at him like that, I’m supposed to be doing much better now, but I can’t help myself. There’s just something about him that gets under my skin. I smile and he gives me the same look back which sends tingles racing all over me.