The Song, The Heart

by Jade Winters

  ‘Listen, I need to speak to you,’ she said solemnly.

  ‘Any chance of a coffee first?’ he said, giving her a lopsided grin—the one that no doubt landed him a bevvy of women—and ignoring the seriousness of her tone.

  ‘Do I look like one of your slappers?’

  ‘If you weren’t my sister, you know you would be.’ He arched his eyebrows lasciviously.

  ‘Ew! Adrian! No! You are revolting! That’s too incestuous, even for a joke. Yuck.’

  ‘You’ve got no sense of humour anymore,’ he complained, resting his head against the headboard.

  Morgan could see why the girls fell for him. He had honest eyes and a little boy’s smile, all set in a good-looking face. He played this to the full, using it to secure one girl after another. Morgan had more pressing problems to speak to him about than his wantonness.

  ‘He’s been released.’

  Cobalt blue eyes met cobalt blue eyes. She didn’t need to say his name. Adrian knew exactly whom she was talking about.

  When he showed no sign of responding, she looked at him more closely. ‘Did you hear—’

  His eyes flashed. ‘Yes, I heard what you said.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And what?’

  ‘Haven’t you got anything to say?’

  He pushed the cover aside and slipped out of bed. Pulling on his tracksuit bottoms, he walked over to the window and stared out, quiet. As Morgan watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, she realised, her own rage hot inside, that he wasn’t even angry.

  ‘Is that it? You’ve got nothing to say?’

  He turned and looked at her. ‘There’s nothing to say, is there? He’s done his time, and now he’s out. End of story.’

  When she remained silent, he carried on. ‘Jesus, Morgan, what do you expect me to do? Hunt him down and kill him in revenge?’ He walked slowly towards her. ‘You’d like that wouldn’t you?’ He paused momentarily. ‘I can’t believe it.’

  ‘It’s what he deserves, isn’t it?’

  ‘And what will his death do? Bring Mum and Chloe back? If it would, I wouldn’t hesitate to put the bastard six feet under, but it won’t—’

  ‘So what you’re saying is, you’re not going to do anything.’

  ‘No, not a thing. What I am gonna do is try and live a normal life despite what he did to our family. I’m gonna try and dig myself out of the hole I seem to have buried myself in.’ He took a deep unsteady breath. ‘Most importantly, Morgs, I’m gonna try and be the brother I should have been to you all these years instead of letting you carry my burdens as well as your own.’

  She pushed herself to her feet. ‘Instead of all that rubbish, why don’t you just try being a man for once instead of a wimp hiding behind new-age bullshit?’

  As she left the room, Morgan slammed the door behind her. What had she expected? Adrian didn’t have a vengeful bone in his body—unlike her. She heard a sound coming from her bedroom and assumed Maggie was finally up. Morgan walked past the door and headed straight to the kitchen. Maggie was like a bear with a sore head if she didn’t have her coffee first thing.

  Walking into the living room she grabbed the quilt and pillow off the sofa and folded it into a neat pile. Last night was the worst night’s sleep she’d had in ages. All because I can’t get Skye out of my head.

  Morgan still couldn’t figure out how she had managed to get to her. It wasn’t as if Skye had been trying.

  The attraction was a natural one—seamless—like one depicted in the movies. You meet. You like. You get it on and live happily ever after. Yet Morgan sensed Skye hadn’t told her everything, that she had been holding back. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it but knew there was a reason she hadn’t jumped at the chance to sing in her club. It couldn’t be the money, because Skye would earn more on weekends than she probably earned working a week with overtime in the small restaurant back home. Morgan mentally ticked that excuse off the list.

  Her parents couldn’t have been a concern either, seeing as they weren’t even in the country. Either she is lying and has a partner back home, or she doesn’t want to leave her aunt for some reason.

  ‘Do I smell coffee?’ Maggie said, entering the living room, wearing Morgan’s favourite ‘Stress is caused by giving a shit’ T-shirt. The shirt barely covered Maggie’s lace panties.

  ‘I think you might want to get dressed. We’re not alone. My brother’s here.’

  As if on cue, Adrian appeared in the living room in only his tracksuit bottoms. This was his first time meeting Maggie, having moved in after their breakup.

  ‘Ignore my sister. She thinks I have an animal instinct to attack any woman who dares to show an inch of skin.’

  ‘And do you?’ Maggie asked, eyeing him up and down.

  ‘Only if they consent.’

  ‘Hmm, I’ll have to remember that,’ Maggie said.

  ‘You do that,’ he said, giving Maggie the benefit of his boyish grin that weakened most women’s knees.

  ‘Oh, knock it off, Maggie. You’ll have him panting like a dog in heat in a minute. She’s gay, Adrian, and before you start getting any ideas, no, there isn’t any chance of you turning her.’

  Disappointment flooded his eyes. ‘In that case, I think I’ll go back to bed, if that’s alright with you, of course,’ he said to Morgan.

  As he neared the living room door, Morgan called out to him. ‘I’m sorry about what I said earlier.’

  ‘No, you’re not. You meant every word of it. And do you know what? You were right.’ He smiled at Morgan and then vanished out of sight.

  Maggie came up behind Morgan and put a hand on the small of Morgan’s back. ‘Problems?’

  Morgan moved away from her touch. ‘Nothing I can’t handle.’

  ‘I didn’t think you couldn’t.’ Maggie followed Morgan into the kitchen and sat down at the table while Morgan opened the cupboard and took out two mugs.

  ‘I thought you would have come to bed last night.’

  ‘And why would I do that?’ She flashed a look that would have stopped the conversation in its tracks with anyone other than thick-skinned Maggie.

  ‘Why not?’ Maggie gave Morgan a slow, suggestive smile.

  ‘I’ve told you, Maggie. There’s no reverse button in my life. Once something’s over, it’s over.’ She turned her back on Maggie and carried on making the coffee, frustrated.

  ‘But it was so good between us,’ Maggie protested.

  ‘Even good things have to come to an end.’ Morgan poured the coffee, carried it over to the table and sat down opposite her. Morgan wouldn’t lie: things had been good between them once, but only in the sense that they’d had good sex. On every other level, they had been as mismatched as a couple could possibly be. Even now, Maggie couldn’t see their brief ‘relationship’ for what it really was.

  ‘You’ve got your eye on that blonde, haven’t you?’

  Morgan chose not to answer and merely sipped on her coffee.

  With a flick of her head, Maggie pressed on. ‘Come on, face up.’

  ‘Why does there have to be someone else?’

  ‘You can lie to me all you want, but don’t lie to yourself. I saw the way she was looking at you, all puppy-eyed and in love.’ She fluttered her eyelashes at Morgan before continuing. ‘And I saw the way you responded.’

  ‘Oh yeah, and how was that?’ Did she really need the obvious spelt out for her? Why was she denying what her heart had been telling her all along? Her attraction to Skye was the white elephant in the room. Why couldn’t she admit it? If not to Maggie, then at least to herself.

  ‘You’re forgetting it’s me you’re talking to. I know when you’re attracted to someone, remember? But saying that, you’ve never looked at me the way you look at her.’

  Morgan bit her lip as she looked away.

  ‘Oh my God, you really like her, don’t you? She’s different, isn’t she?’ Maggie put down her mug and leant closer, scrutinising Morgan with her chocolate-co
loured eyes.

  ‘Maggie—’

  ‘Save it.’ Maggie held up her hand to stall any protests from Morgan. ‘I can see my time was wasted coming back here. I think I’ll take a permanent position in America. There’s no point in turning down the job of a life time.’

  Irritation rose within her. ‘I never asked you to come back, Maggie. When you took that job abroad, we both decided it was best to call it a day, so—’

  ‘No, you decided, Morgan. You and you alone. I told you I wanted to keep things going, but you were the one that said no. And now I know why. You obviously wanted to be free to play the field. Well good luck to you!’

  Without another word, Maggie strode from the room, her long hair swaying as she sashayed out. Seconds later, Morgan heard Maggie gathering her belongings, and then a short time after that, the front door slammed.

  Morgan remained seated, making no attempt to call Maggie back. That part of her life was well and truly over. She searched inside herself for regret and found none. Glancing over at the bottom drawer, she let out a long sigh. There wasn’t time enough to be thinking about women; she had more pressing issues at hand.

  Morgan looked out of the window, watching the rain stream down the glass. Then why can’t I get Skye out of my mind?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Skye looked over at the empty bed opposite her. Izzy really was throwing caution to the wind. Unlike me!

  While Izzy was living it up with Mr Thighs, Skye was sitting alone in the hotel, wishing Izzy were here to talk to. About what? What was the point in trying to talk to Izzy? Her friend had heard it all before: the complaints about her dad and every excuse under the sun about why she couldn’t move on with her life. She didn’t blame her friend for getting irritable with her.

  In all the years Skye had known Izzy, last night was the first time she had seen her so angry with her—and vicious—as if she hated her with every last shred of her being, and all because Skye had turned down the job. She knew Izzy was disappointed and had offered to put in a good word with Morgan for her, but that hadn’t been enough. Izzy had attacked her character and her father and had thrown just about everything else she’d had in the reserve tank at Skye. Skye was grateful they had been on the street when it happened and that no one had overheard them—especially not Morgan.

  Morgan. Her heart still ached at the thought of her, the woman who’d appeared out of nowhere and turned her world upside down. Skye didn’t understand why Morgan hadn’t mentioned Maggie to her at the restaurant. Wasn’t that something people did when they had a partner? Talk about them? Unless … unless she didn’t want me to know about her. Oh my God. Does she think I’m the sort of person who would be okay with being the third wheel in someone’s relationship?

  She’d heard that all sorts of things happened in London—swingers in hot tubs, people having sex in the park after dark and even in cars while strangers looked on. Skye felt sick to her stomach.

  Small-town girl. So innocent to the ways of the world! No, Morgan wasn’t that sort of person. There had been nothing seedy about her in the slightest. Maybe she didn’t tell you because it’s none of your damn business! What about the giant thing you didn’t tell her?

  Skye was turning her phone over in her hand when it rang. She hoped it was Izzy. She would hate to lose her friendship over something so silly. Her heart sank when she saw it was her dad.

  As soon as she heard his voice, the hair on the back of her neck rose and thoughts of Izzy and Morgan became the furthest things from her mind.

  ‘I need you, Skye,’ Oliver sobbed down the line.

  ‘Dad, what’s happened?’ Skye couldn’t breathe; the walls were closing in on her.

  He said something inaudible that Skye couldn’t catch.

  ‘Dad, talk to me.’

  ‘I can’t take it anymore, Skye. I’m sorry.’

  Silence. Skye held the phone to her ear in case he spoke again, but the line was dead. She swallowed down the bile in her throat.

  Panic set in as she fumbled with her phone. Finally managing to dial his number, she listened for him to pick up but the call went unanswered.

  Okay, okay don’t panic. He’s made these threats before, and he hasn’t gone through with them, Skye reassured herself. But I’ve always been close by.

  Fighting her rising sense of dread, she pulled her suitcase from under the bed and ran around the room, grabbing anything that belonged to her and throwing it in. She was just zipping up her case when the door opened and Izzy stepped in.

  Izzy took in the open suitcase and said, ‘You’re leaving?’

  ‘I have to. It’s—’

  ‘If this is because of what I said last night, I’m sorry, Skye. I’m so selfish …’

  ‘It’s nothing to do with that. It’s my dad. I think he’s going to hurt himself.’

  ‘Again?’ Izzy said, her tone betraying her weariness.

  ‘This time it might be for real. I’ll wait for you to pack.’

  Skye rushed into the bathroom to collect her toiletries.

  Izzy’s words followed her. ‘For me to—No, wait a minute, Skye. I’m not going on a roller coaster ride with you because of your dad. I’m sorry. I’m done with being the supporting act in that drama.’

  She folded her arms across her chest and looked resolutely at Skye, who had stopped in her frenetic rush.

  ‘What the hell does that mean?’

  ‘Exactly what I said. To be honest, I couldn’t give a shit if your dad died in squalor with ten needles in him. He’s a waste of space. People like him shouldn’t be breathing the same air as us. I’m sick to the back of my teeth of hearing about him. He uses you, Skye. When has he ever done anything for you? When has he ever done one thing to benefit you and not himself? The sooner you get away from him—’

  ‘Aren’t you a piece of work?’ Skye’s voice was shrill in her anger. ‘This coming from a woman whose only interest in life is fucking and cocks. A lot of good you do for society.’

  Skye swung her case off the bed and onto the floor and dragged it to the door. She opened the door and turned back to Izzy. ‘Well I hope your Mr Thighs has got a fucking massive one and you die choking on it!’

  Skye walked into the hallway and didn’t look back. Once outside, she hailed a taxi to take her to the station. She couldn’t afford such a luxury, but she needed to get home as fast as possible.

  She tried calling her dad’s phone several times, but every call went unanswered.

  Once on the train, Skye caught sight of her reflection in the window. Her hair was wild and she could just about make out the swelling around her eyes. Not only had she cried for her dad from the moment she had walked out of the hotel room, but she had also cried for the loss of her friendship with Izzy. As for Morgan, the thought of what might have been tormented her more than she cared to admit.

  As the train pulled into Pewsey Station, Skye was already at the door, and as soon as the train came to a halt and the doors opened, she jumped off. She ran as fast as her heavy suitcase allowed, weaving in and out of passengers to make sure she was the first on the bus that would take her to her home.

  Twenty minutes later, she pushed her front door open, breathless, and dropped her case inside.

  ‘Dad? Dad?’ she called out as she rushed from room to room, finding each one empty.

  As she ran through the house, Skye became more and more panicked. Once again, the world felt as if it were closing in on her. She felt light-headed as she took in the mess of the house and its emptiness.

  Maybe I should call the hospitals. She was about to leave the kitchen when she heard voices in the garden. Was he out there? Was that him? She rushed to the door. It opened, and she came face to face with a man she’d never seen before.

  He was scruffy looking with hard, murky eyes that looked her straight in the eye. He started to laugh.

  ‘I don’t believe it. You were dead right, Ollie,’ he called out, glancing at his watch. ‘But I still win the bet. Y
ou said she’d be back within two hours. It took her two hours and ten minutes.’

  A roaring filled her ears as stars peppered her vision. She thought she might pass out and gripped the doorframe for support, her knuckles growing white as her father joined in the man’s laughter.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Morgan didn’t want the coffee sitting in front of her, but she sipped it anyway. It’s not as if it can make me any more jittery than I already am.

  ‘Have you eaten today?’ Chanel asked as she wiped down the counter. ‘You look pale.’

  Morgan lifted her cup so Chanel could clean underneath it. The thought of food caused a wave of nausea to well up inside her.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or do I have to guess?’ Chanel raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at her miserable friend.

  Morgan shrugged. ‘Nothing and everything.’

  ‘That’s what tends to happen when you live in limbo.’

  The corner of Morgan’s mouth turned up in a sardonic smirk as she mentally agreed with Chanel. The way she was living was unhealthy and putting her life on hold wasn’t doing her any good. If there were a pause button she could press to give her mind a break from thoughts of revenge and Skye, she would gladly press it. In her current state of mind, she couldn’t even feel any remorse for her shitty attitude towards Maggie earlier that morning—not that she regretted sleeping on the sofa instead of in bed with her. No, spending the night in bed with Maggie really would have been the wrong thing to do. How could she sleep with one woman while thinking of another? That wasn’t her style, not that she’d been in this situation before. There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.

  ‘We’re not open yet.’

  Chanel’s voice shook Morgan from her reflections. She turned to see who Chanel was speaking to. Her heart gave a skippety skip of excitement. It was Izzy, which meant Skye wasn’t far behind. Morgan found herself looking over the redhead’s shoulder, hoping to see Skye in her wake.

  Morgan hopped off her seat. ‘It’s fine, Chanel. They’re here to see me.’