Taking a deep breath, I looked back the way I came. Kristian hadn’t followed me. Why? Was he counting on the rest of his family to stop me from leaving? Did he just not care?
Of course he doesn’t care. You’re a thing to him. Just go.
Staying against the wall, I made my way to the ground floor as silently as possible. I peeked down the hallway where I’d heard the voices. I felt sure the rest of the family were either in the rumpus room near the bar or outside by the pool. The front of the house seemed thankfully quiet. If they’d heard Kristian and me arguing, they didn’t seem too concerned. All I had to do was casually walk out the front door and I could be done with this. Done with being used, done with being dragged into a world no one would explain to me, done with Kristian. It didn’t matter how he made me feel. I had to let him go. Like every other man in my life, he was no good for me.
He didn’t want me.
Saying a silent prayer to a god I didn’t understand, I stood up straight and strode towards the oversized wooden door. I was going to walk out and just keep walking. I didn’t need to get mixed up in their shit—whatever it was.
Reaching out, I gripped the handle, took a breath, and turned it.
“Fuck.”
It turned, but the deadlock was bolted. I couldn’t get through.
No wonder no one’s paying attention. I’m locked in.
Looking over my shoulder cautiously, I moved into the lounge room and began trying the windows. There had to be a way out of here.
“Don’t bother,” a female voice said.
Startled, I turned around and found Holland lying on the couch. She looked half asleep as she sat up.
“I…” I started, looking for some sort of excuse like needing fresh air, but she just waved her hand at me.
“Don’t waste your breath either. I’ve been in your position, babe, and they’re not stupid enough to leave the front door open.”
Holding my hands in front of me, I twisted my fingers together as I approached her. “Are, um, are you feeling all right?” I indicated the fact she was lying down.
“Oh yeah. Just tired all the time with this pregnancy. I’ll be fine.” She propped a cushion at her back and got herself comfortable. “Why were you leaving? You and Kris have a fight?”
I pressed my lips together and glanced toward the staircase. Still no sign of him. Arrogant bastard. “You could say that,” I said. “I just don’t think being together is the right thing for either of us.”
She laughed. “It’s a bit late for that now.”
“It’s never too late to walk away from a shitty relationship.”
“It is when you know everything you know.”
“Well, as far as he’s concerned, I have no idea what I’m talking about, and I’m too stupid to see what’s going on right in front of me. He might have picked a blonde, but he neglected to make sure I was a bimbo.”
Playing with the tassel on the corner of the pillow, she smirked. “I like you, Ronnie.”
“Really? Wanna help get me out of here then?”
“That would cause some massive problems. And I’m not the most liked woman around here.”
“I’m not going to tell anyone anything if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t have a good relationship with the cops myself. I’m not interested in getting mixed up in anyone’s shit. I just want to get the fuck out of here and forget I ever met Kristian Cartwright.”
She looked at me for a long moment before she glanced around the room, checking that we truly were alone. Then she lowered her voice to a whisper.
“The laundry has a doggy door. Maybe you’re small enough to fit through.”
“There’s a dog? What kind?”
“A Boston terrier named Rogue. He’s Toby’s, and he doesn’t bite unless he’s commanded. I learned that the hard way.” She scowled and rubbed a hand over her butt cheek.
“They sicked their dog on you?” I gasped. “Maybe you should come with me.” I felt genuinely concerned for her being pregnant and in the care of a family who used attack dogs to keep their women in line.
She shook her head and chuckled. “I’m here by choice. I love Nate and have no interest in leaving. But I understand why you want to go. It’s a lot to deal with. Just do me one favour: if you go, keep going. I can’t and won’t help you again.”
“OK,” I said.
She smiled. “Now, ask me where the ladies’ room is.”
I looked around then raised my voice to a normal tone. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”
“Down the hall towards the kitchen. It’s on your right.”
“Good luck with your baby,” I whispered. “I won’t forget this.”
She nodded then looked away as I left.
Passing the bathroom, I stopped in and flicked on the light, turning the tap on lightly so you could hear a trickle. Then I locked the door on the inside and pulled it closed on the outside—it would work as my cover for a while, or at least until they realised I couldn’t possibly pee for that long.
Then I went into the laundry, a small oblong room that was gleaming white without a single article of clothing in a pile looking messy. I had a quick look around, and I couldn’t see any sign of the dog besides the water and food bowls on the floor.
Squatting down, I eyed the size of the dog door and tried to work out what the best way to try and get through it would be. I figured my shoulders and chest were the widest point in my body, so if I led with that, at least if I didn’t fit at all, it would be easier to crawl back out.
“Let’s do this,” I whispered, giving myself a pep talk as I pressed on the Perspex and placed a hand through it, onto the pavement on the other side. I had to wriggle and push to fit through, but it was doable. I knew I was almost free when I slid out to my waist. All I had to do was twist to my side, wriggle out, and I’d be there. That’s when something cold nudged me on the arse.
Oh God. No.
I froze in a panic as the nudging turned to nuzzling.
“No. No. No. No,” I gasped, gripping at the ground to try and pull myself free as fast as possible. I would not be violated by a dog today. No, sir.
That’s when I felt the tongue.
“Eek!” I let out a squeak and jerked my body away as fast as I could, thankfully bursting through the doggy door enough to get to my knees and jump to my feet, holding my hands out in defence. The dog followed through wagging its tail and licking its chops as it looked up at me expectantly.
“You are disgusting,” I told it, while trying to shoo it away as I looked around and tried to work out which way to go.
The dog started whining and sat at my feet.
“Go away,” I insisted, still waving my hands about. “Shoo.”
It scooched a little closer, tail still going. It looked like it was smiling. “You are disgusting,” I whispered. “Go find someone else to lick.” It totally ignored me.
Deciding I’d just have to ignore the dog or have it draw too much attention, I moved to the edge of the house and looked out. This side of the property was separate to the rest of the communal areas. There was a patch of grass with a quaint sitting area near a clothes line. Beyond that, there was a line of trees. I wasn’t sure what kind of fencing, if any, was past that. But it looked like that was where I had to go.
Sprinting across the yard, I heard the tinkling of dog tags as my newest admirer followed along behind me.
“You can’t come,” I told him, walking through the thick scrub, hoping there wouldn’t be any snakes or spiders to make this my very own living nightmare.
Rogue didn’t seem to give a shit what I wanted and actually ran ahead of me, showing me somewhat of a path through the trees and down to the aluminium boundary fence that faced the street. He let out a little bark as a magpie strutted back and forth just outside of his reach.
“Are the birds tormenting you?” I asked him. He just panted and looked at me expectantly.
I shrugged then gave him a sc
ratch behind the ear. “I’m afraid this is where we part ways. I’d say it’s been fun, but I think both you and I know it’s been weird.” Then I wedged my foot against the fence and hoisted myself over the top. When my feet landed on the other side, I let out a sigh of relief. “You take care of yourself, Rogue,” I said, giving the dog a little wave before I set off on foot, hoping I’d at least make it to the nearest bus stop before they realised I was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Holy Fucking Pissflaps
After hitching a ride into town, I walked quickly to the beach shack, which wasn’t fun when I was clutching at my dress the entire time. The wind was fierce, and I cursed Kristian’s name with every gust.
The benefit of owning very little meant it didn’t take me long to pack my things and change into a more travel-friendly outfit.
Sitting on the end of the bed, I laced up my shoes then pulled my hair into a ponytail, giving the room one last look over. I told myself it was because I was making sure I didn’t leave anything behind, but when a surge of emotion slammed the backs of my eyes, I knew it was more than that.
Because I don’t think I can get you out of my system.
Shit.
Shaking off my conflicting emotions, I pulled my bag over my shoulder and picked up my duffel, taking a steadying breath before walking purposefully out of the room.
Right into a human wall.
“Fucking hell, Ronnie! You scared the shit out of me,” he said, catching me by the arms before I bounced backwards.
For a moment, my heart jumped for joy. He came for me, it sighed. Then my brain kicked in as my eyes lifted and noted something missing. A freckle.
“Abbot,” I said with a gulp. “What are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing, although I think the better question is where are you going? Where’s Kris?” He looked behind me into the empty room.
“Listen, this doesn’t have to be a big thing, OK?”
“Why? What’s going on?” His eyes narrowed.
“Nothing. It’s just time for me to go. Things aren’t working out, which should make you super happy. So, if you’ll just stand to the side, I’ll be on my way.”
“I don’t think so.” He reached for his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“Wait. Please,” I said as he unlocked the screen. “Don’t call him. Just let me go. It’s what you wanted, right? Me gone? You don’t even have to tell anyone you saw me. Just step to the side and pretend I wasn’t here. Easy.”
He considered my words long enough for his screen to time out and darken, causing hope to surge inside my chest. “Where are you planning on going?”
“I don’t know. I’ll buy a ticket as far away as I can afford. Start over. You’ll never see me again.”
His jaw ticked as his gaze flicked between my eyes.
“Please,” I pleaded. “Just let me go.”
With a heavy exhale, he stepped to the side. Freedom was in sight.
“Thank you,” I gasped, brushing past him.
“Wait.” I stopped at his voice. I really wanted to run, but for some crazy reason, I stopped and turned back around.
“Don’t you want your car back?”
I shook my head. “Keep it. Consider us square.”
He nodded then reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. “Go far and don’t come back, OK?” he said, holding up a wad of cash.
I hesitated before taking it. Normally, I’d clear a place of all the valuables I could carry in a situation like this, but in this instance, it didn’t feel right. But money given willingly, that was a different story. He’s paying me to leave. Yeah, that doesn’t sting. Much.
“It wasn’t that bad having me around, was it?” I asked, slipping the cash into my jeans pocket. He was the second Cartwright to warn me not to come back. He was the second Cartwright who didn’t give a shit if I left.
“It was complicated. It’ll be better now you’re gone.”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded as I fought the growing lump in my throat. “Well, I’ll be off then. See you round, Abbot.” I lifted my hand in farewell.
“I hope not, Ronnie.” Ouch.
“Right. See you never, then.”
He nodded once. Then I left. God, why did I feel like crying?
My whole life, I’d felt…tolerated. No one, not even my mother, had stuck their neck out for me. For years, I was overwhelmed by my loneliness. I tried to become important to people, to boyfriends, to friends, hoping they’d see me. They’d care… Ultimately, they all let me down one way or another. And I’d fallen on my face often enough to learn to get out before I got too deep. Every time I stuck around too long, I got my heart broken or my legs pulled out from under me. In life, there was only a single person I’d ever been able to count on, and that was me. I really hated asking for help or favours, and I saved doing so as a last resort. Like, when I was trying to leave town and my flight didn’t take off until the following night.
“Ronnie.” There was shock in Maree’s voice when she opened her door and found me holding my bags.
“Can I crash here tonight? I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” If she said no, I was really going to cry. I just needed one night with a friendly face. Then I could leave this town and forget the Cartwrights ever existed.
Maree regarded me with kind eyes. “Of course. Come in. You can have the couch if Daz ever gets off it.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” I said as I bustled through the door, dropping my bags on the floor inside.
“Who is it?” a male voice bellowed from the other room. I could hear the TV commentating the latest cricket match.
“It’s Ronnie. She’s staying tonight.”
“Hey Dazza,” I called out as Maree offered me one of her menthols. I took it gratefully and sat across from her at her kitchen table.
“She can’t stay,” he called back. “She’ll never leave.”
“I promise it’s just for tonight,” I said, rolling my eyes slightly.
“Ignore him.” She got up and took a six-pack of beer from the fridge. “He won’t be a bother.” She gave me a wink then took the beer to her husband.
I smiled and lit my cigarette, breathing slowly while I leaned back in my chair then blew smoke at the ceiling. Dazza was a chauvinistic pig. I’d never liked him. Only worked with him because of Johno. He was lazy, drank too much, leered too much, and took advantage of his wife’s kind nature. Maree could do so much better. She was the best thing about the man. And even she wasn’t especially good. She had pretty loose morals just like the rest of us.
When she returned, she took two mismatched tumblers out of the cupboard then filled them from a white wine cask in the fridge, setting one in front of me. “So what’s going on, love? You on the run, or something?”
“Not so much on the run as down on my luck.”
“Oh yeah?” She took a seat and gulped down some wine. “I’m all ears.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, I wondered what I should tell her. She was basically the closest thing resembling a friend that I had, and even that was stretching it. But, she cared about the people in her life—even work colleagues like me.
I went with a watered-down version of what had happened since I last saw her. “Remember those brothers from last year?”
She shook out her own cigarette and nodded, speaking with it bouncing between her lips. “The ones who beat Johno up for takin’ their car then fucked things up for the rest of us? Yeah, I remember.”
“And remember those guys you were perving on during the last wedding reception we worked together?”
“Yes,” she said slowly. “Wait. That was them!”
I nodded. “They busted me keying their car and have been making me work for them to pay off the damage—which is why I couldn’t work the function centre anymore.”
“Why didn’t you tell me who they were at the time?”
“Because I didn’t want you to lose your job if you
did something.”
“You still should have told me.”
“To what end? I did something and look at me. Things have gotten so complicated that I need to get out of here, leave town for a new start.”
She eyed me carefully. “Complicated as in you took something or complicated because you slept with one of them?”
I picked up my glass and took a mouthful of the wine, which was tart and acidic. It was a little hard for me to swallow, just like the truth. “The second one,” I said through the burn.
She laughed and pushed the ashtray a little closer to me as I took my last drag. “Girl, you are a special kind of fucked up.”
“I know. I need to learn to keep my legs together,” I said as I stubbed out the butt and pushed the ashtray back her way. “Sworn enemies don’t make good bedfellows.”
Tilting her head to the side, she lifted her brows. “I don’t know about that. A bit of hate sex can be bloody good. How was he?”
I groaned and slumped forward on the table. “Ridiculously good.” Even that was an understatement.
Letting out a cackle, she pushed out the chair between us and put her feet on it. “Must have been if you want to run away from it.”
“It’s just time to move on.”
“Falling for him, were you?”
I downed the rest of my wine. “No. Hard no. There’s no way. It just needs to be over, and I need to leave.”
Watching me through her veil of smoke, she lifted a hand. “No need to convince me. So what’s your next move?”
“I fly out to Brisbane tomorrow night. I’ll leave here in the morning.”
“What about your car?”
“They still have it. And I don’t care. They can sell it and consider my debt repaid.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “So these guys just get it all and we do nothing?”
“These aren’t the kind of people you mess with, Maree. They’re into way heavier shit than any of us are. Remember what they did last time? You guys nearly lost the house when Daz couldn’t work.”
Foolish Games: Cartwright Brothers, book 3 Page 11
