by Max Henry
“Come on, Belle.” Dad stabs the key fob to unlock the truck. “Let’s go.”
I round the hood of the vehicle and get in my side. The truck rocks as Dad slams his door, and within seconds we’re peeling out her driveway, hitting the road with enough force to jolt me in my seat.
Dad’s face is a storm, anger still prevalent as he rips through the gears. I don’t know what to say to him, what words I could use to ease his heartache when I’m a living reminder of it.
Turns out I don’t have to say anything. His face softens, the scowl slipping away as he adjusts himself in the seat, hands wringing the steering wheel.
“I’m sorry you had to hear all that, sweetheart.”
I reach across and rest my hand on his knee. “I’m glad I did, Dad. It explains so much. In a way it gives me closure, knowing her reasons for all of this.”
He eases the truck to the side of the road. A strained sigh comes from him before he rests his head on his arms looped over the steering wheel.
Seeing your parent upset—it’s odd. How do I fix him? What do I do when he’s always been my rock? I guess I treat him the same as he would me. Dad’s breaths come staggered as I adjust my position so I can reach him properly. One stroke of my hand across his back, and he shakes with the sobs that overtake him. I rub my palm in circles, my tears echoing his as I feel his pain.
Twenty-one-plus years of lies. The woman he chose to do right by just threw that back in his face tenfold.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I wish you’d had the life you deserved, not one ruined by her.”
He draws a deep breath, pulling himself together somewhat. “Belle.” His eyes are bloodshot when he lifts his face to look at me. “I had the life I wanted with you. I wouldn’t trade you for anything.” He swallows. “I’ve got the woman of my dreams now.” His lips curl up on one side. “Despite how I look, I’m happy. I just….” He leans back, head rested on the seat. “I regret so much. There are so many things I would have done different if I’d known.”
“You can’t change what’s been.” I learnt that early on. “Only move forward.”
“Yes.” He frowns as he reaches for my hand. “Exactly.” His gaze hardens, determination taking over. “Fuck rules. They were made to be broken, right sweetheart?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m taking you home, Belle. I’m taking you to where you belong.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Zeus
When the silence of your home drives you crazy, a ride seems the only logical thing to do. My cheeks sting from the bite of the cool air, my lips dry as I lean the bike into my driveway.
I rode to the outskirts, took a loop down a couple of roads I’ve never ridden before, and ended up passing by the property where Belle went to the party, of all places. Seemed fitting considering she was the only thing on my mind.
My headlight catches the tail end of John’s work truck as I curl around the large trees at the front of my property. I park the bike, smacking the garage door remote on my way past as I tear into the house. “How did you go?”
John flattens his lips in a kind of smile as Belle crosses the room to greet me. “Found out why she’s doing it, Z.”
“Yeah?” I wrap my arms around Belle, concerned at how tight she holds me. “What did I do?”
“More like, what didn’t you do?”
“Eh?”
He leans forward in his seat, hands clasped. “Turns out marrying me meant settling for second best.”
I cock my head, unsure what he means.
“She wanted you, mate. Never wanted to be with me. I think I was a means to getting your attention, but it all backfired on her when she fell pregnant with the twins.”
“Fucking hell,” I whisper, looking to Belle. “Legit?”
She nods.
I look to John, conflicted at the news. “I’m sorry, man. I never realised.”
“What would you have done?” he says, resigned. “Knowing wouldn’t have changed anything. Except”—he shrugs—“I might not have proposed.”
We both chuckle, trying in vain to draw some humour in this fucked up situation. Belle pulls out of my arms as John stands, walking him to the door.
“What now then?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “We wait and hope she takes the hint, I guess. I’m serious; if she starts this again you tell me and I’ll help pay for a goddamn lawyer. I’ve had enough of her.”
Belle pushes up on her toes to place a kiss to her old man’s cheek. “Thank you for letting me come with you to talk to her. For finding out the truth for us.”
“Yeah, well, I still don’t agree with this.” He gestures to us both. “But I also know a good thing when I see it.”
I could hug the guy if I wasn’t currently opening my arms for his daughter. “Thanks, J.”
“You look after my baby girl,” he calls on his way out the door. “I’ll look after her bitch of a mother.”
Belle waves him off, shutting the door behind John before turning with a small smile on her lips.
“Hey, dove.”
She nestles into my hold, arms banded tight around my middle. “Hey, babe.”
“She upset you?”
She smiles softly. “Of course she bloody upset me.” Her brow twitches into a frown. “Dad said some things about you I didn’t know.”
“Yeah?” I turn her toward the hallway.
She stays nestled at my side as we walk. “He told Cerise why you started working out.”
“Oh.” Outside of John and Jodie, there aren’t many people who know that.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I let her go to turn the living room lights out. “When would I have brought it up? I guess we would have talked about it eventually, dove, but I wasn’t in a hurry.”
I follow her into the bedroom, stopping behind her to run my palms over her shoulders. She sighs at my touch, leaning back against my front. “There’s so much about you I still don’t know.”
I choose not say anything, turning Belle to kiss her instead. I’ve got all the time in the world to talk about shit that doesn’t really matter.
“Where did you go?” she whispers.
“On the bike?”
Belle nods, hands clasped either side of my neck.
“Nowhere, really. Just put tyre to tarmac and cleared my head.” I slide my hands around her waist, hoisting her against me. “I felt hopeless, dove. I felt like I’d failed you.”
“Zeus….” She rests her forehead against mine, nose to nose. “You’ve never done a single thing to let me down.”
“I let you go,” I remind her. “I pushed you away and fucking sent you overseas, so how can I have never let you down?”
“And what did I achieve overseas, huh?” She pulls back, legs wrapped around my hips as she stares into my eyes.
She’s right, but she’s also wrong. If anything, I’ve learnt that there never is a “right way” when it comes to us. I’ve thought about the past three years plenty, about the months after she finished school. What if I’d never kissed her in that kitchen? What would she have done then? If she’d gone overseas without ever building that connection with me, would she be here now, or would I have truly lost her to another man?
Who’d fucking know? All I know is that it makes my goddamn head hurt, so it’s easier to keep looking forward.
“Did I hear your dad right when he said he’s okay with us now?”
Belle tips her head to the side, brow pinched as though in thought, while I walk us to our room. “I want to say yes, but he never actually said he was okay with it.” She holds my gaze. “He said something funny when we left Cerise’s.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he was taking me home.” She smiles as I set her on the bed. “So I thought he meant his house, home, you know?”
He approves. He may not like it still, but he approves. “This is your home now, dove.”
“I know.” She
slips her arms around my neck with her whispered words, pulling me over top of her. “How cool is that?”
I return her kiss, yet pull back before she can take things further, one last question still on my mind. “Are you still going to call that douchebag ex of yours?”
She chuckles beneath me, gaze fixed on her fingers as she weaves them through my hair. “I don’t think so.”
“Changed your mind?”
Her warm brown eyes find mine. “Realised that all I need to focus on is right here.” Her hands pat my shoulders as she says it. “I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, with exactly who I’m supposed to be with.”
I spend the rest of the night telling Belle I feel the same through my touch, echoing her words with my kiss, and stealing what little parts of her remain untouched and keeping them for myself.
And as she falls asleep with her head on my arm, her leg tangled in mine, I make a promise: Every day with her is a gift, and from here on I’ll treat them as exactly that; something given with sentiment and care, something not to be taken for granted.
I’ll take each day as it comes and make the most of it, because if there’s one thing I’ve learnt about keeping Belle, it’s that it’ll never be an easy task.
When you have something as precious as what we do, there’s always somebody out there who wants to steal it away.
Always.
TWENTY-NINE
Belle
Wade slides across the shop floor on his stool, huge grin on his face as he comes to a stop beside my station.
“Can I help you?” I tease.
He leans his elbows on the table between us, linking his fingers beneath his chin. “I have a favour to ask.”
“Yes?” I watch him from the corner of my eye as I clear away the used paint pots.
“I know you’re happy doing three days at the moment, but I wondered if you’d like more.”
“Of course I’d like more.” I stuff the used wipes in the bin. “Hold up. What about Teddy?” Me taking on more days means the old boy I share the chair with would miss out.
“He’s retiring.”
“Eh?” I mean I don’t talk to the guy, but you’d think somebody would have said something.
“Mm-hmm.” Wade’s eyes crinkle with his smile. “Either five or six days, up to you.”
“Five, at least.” I spin to face him. “Let me talk to Zeus, and maybe I’d do six.”
He nods to the sketches that peek out of my bag. “New work?”
“Yep.” I pull the book out and set it on the table between us.
He turns it, inspecting the mandala themed chest piece. “Simple, but detailed all the same. Nice.” He passes the sketchbook back. “And nowhere near as dark as your last print.” Wade flashes a wink as he wheels away.
I chuckle to myself and finish up cleaning down what is now going to be my full-time station. I shouldn’t get myself excited until it’s set in stone, but fuck yes! Finally, things are settling down to how I imagined them to be.
I pull my phone out to check for a message from Zeus. Sure enough, he sent one on his last break.
Z: Hey, dove. Looks like you have to walk home again sorry ☹
He picks me up on his way home when he can, but the new job has kept him busy this week. He said that it was the same hours for more pay, and so far, it’s not. But I don’t have the heart to bring it up when he gets in since he’s so damn tired.
B: See you at home, babe. Leaving now x
I plug my headphones in and crank up my music as I head down the street. To be honest, the walk is nice. Time to clear my head, exercise to get the blood pumping. Yet as I turn down our street my head swims, forcing me to stop until my balance comes right.
Must be hungry. More often than not I forget to eat when I’m immersed in a piece. Low blood sugar seems the most likely excuse, and great justification for a sneaky biscuit or two as soon as I walk in the door, which appears to ease the problem.
“Home, babe,” Zeus calls down the hallway when he gets in an hour after me.
I drop my sketchbook onto the sofa and bound up the hallway to greet him, frowning when the weak feeling returns. “Heya.”
He strips his work clothes off, grinning at me over his shoulder as I stand in the doorway, blatantly eye-fucking him.
He’s pushing forty, but in my opinion there’s no man like him. I don’t care about the lines that creep in around his eyes, the signs of ageing that are hard to deny. I look at Zeus and I see the man I fell in love with way before I knew what that love would become, the man who’d come and sit with me whenever Jodie and he came to visit, the man who would then be the voice of reason when Dad struggled through my teen years.
I see the selflessness, the care, and most of all the undying need to protect those he loves.
He thinks he’s this washed-up ex-criminal, that his history defines who he is, but he couldn’t be more wrong.
“What?” he asks, before squeezing past me as he places a chaste kiss to my lips.
I follow him up the hall to our room, flopping onto the side of the bed while Zeus finds clean clothes to throw on. “I have good news.”
He turns briefly to cock an eyebrow at me.
“Wade offered me extra days at the shop.”
“Yeah?” His smile is infectious. “That’s awesome.”
“I know, right? I’m hoping I’ll have enough to start the studio within a few months.”
He frowns, reaching out to pull me to my feet. “What else do you need to save for?”
“The sterilising equipment, most of all. That shit is expensive.”
“Hmm.” I’m pulled against his front. “You know, I could put the Barracuda on hold and help out.”
“No.” I slap a hand to his chest. “That’s your baby, Zeus. This is mine.” Speaking of babies. “I have bad news too.”
He frowns, and then places a kiss to my forehead. “How bad?”
“Coming home threw me out of whack and I forgot to get my injection.”
“Your injection.” His frown deepens.
“You know.” I lift my eyebrows. “Contraceptive injection.”
“Oh.” The look on his face is priceless. “Right.”
“Yeah, so we need to use extra protection for a while.” I turn my mouth down, rubbing my palms over his chest. “Sorry.”
Zeus laughs, his arms banding tighter around me as he says, “Oh, dove.”
“What?”
“Think about it, baby girl.” He steps away, heading for the kitchen.
I follow behind, frowning at his back as I try to work out why he’s not as worried as I was when I realised. Oh. Oh, yeah.
How could I forget? “I’m such an idiot.”
He cracks up as I flop dramatically over the back of the sofa, twisting the top off the beer he grabbed. “Dove, we could fuck bare all day, every day, and you’d have nothing to worry about.” He leans over the back of the sofa, slapping me on the arse. “How long until it kicks in again? You got the next one now, right?”
“I’ll go Monday. The doctors couldn’t get me in before then.” I sit up straight, tucking myself to his side when he drops down next to me.
“Nothing to worry about.” He sets a huge palm down on my knee, and then leans forward to set his beer on the coffee table.
A silly smile stays on my face as I watch him do the mundane task of switching the TV on, flicking through the channels before he settles on a car show. It’s normal and nothing special, but considering everything we went through to get to this point, it’s my ideal of a perfect night.
I nestle into his side, learning all about engines and suspension, shit I don’t have a care in the world about. But because it’s his passion, his interest, I take in everything I can.
Relationships are a partnership, and if he can show so much interest and care about what makes me tick, then it’s only fair that I can do the same for him.
“Hey, dove?”
I twist to look up at him, hea
vy-lidded and sleepy. “Yeah?”
“Love you.”
“Love you too, babe.” I don’t think this man could do a thing to make that change.
THIRTY
Zeus
My neck cracks with a roll of my shoulders, the tension built up after a day with not enough breaks. I started last Monday under the illusion that I’d be doing the same work for more pay, but as the days have gone by it’s becoming a hell of a lot more apparent that all I heard from Jerry during my interview was what I wanted to hear.
An extra hour on Tuesday night, an early start on Thursday, a double shift Monday just gone, and now here I am on Friday about to start an extra half shift because “We need to make a name for ourselves early, so the job comes first.”
Sure, but at what expense?
After the shit that went down with Cerise all I wanted to do was spend quality time with Belle. Yet so far all I’ve done is sleep on the goddamn sofa until she nudges me and forces me to bed. Not to mention that now she’s working a full week, I barely see her as it is.
I pull my phone out of my pocket as I head over to the digger—fuck the rules. If I don’t show up for dinner without a single word, Belle’s bound to lose her mind.
She’s gone off the rails about damn near every little thing lately, acting all moody and sullen. All I can figure is I’m in the dog box for that shit with Cerise, whether I explained it or not. Who’d know? Women have always been a fucking enigma for me, and it seems age doesn’t change that.
“Hey,” she answers, tired. “You on your way home?”
I cringe. “Nope. Got asked to do another three or four hours. I’ll get overtime.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” she drones. “Will that make up for how tired you’ll be all weekend? How can they make you do such a long day?”
“Dove.”
“No, Zeus.” She huffs. “You’ve come home most nights and just crashed. I feel as though I’m missing out.”
“It’s a new job, babe. I can’t cause trouble out the gate. Trust me—I can’t be fucked doing this either, but I have a good impression to make.” I hoist myself into the cab with my free hand.
Fuck. If I can support her while she works her arse off to get her career off the ground, why can’t she do the same with mine?
