Three Days

by Ariadne Wayne

  His deep voice came down the line and I closed my eyes, gathering my courage. “Kyle Warner speaking.”

  For a moment I paused, unable to form words. He had no reason to help me, and every reason to hate me.

  “Hello?”

  He would hang up if I didn’t say something, and I had to get this right. This was the only way I could hope to apologise to Rowan.

  “Kyle, it’s Andrew Carmichael.”

  There was silence. He didn’t need to say anything for me to realise he was in a state of disbelief. I doubt he ever suspected I would call him, though he must have known I was out of prison.

  “Andrew.” His calmness was chilling; he wasn’t about to show me any emotion.

  “I know you have no reason to talk to me, but I need to say some things.”

  He sighed. “Go ahead.”

  “I want to apologise to Rowan. The last three years have changed me, and I’ve sorted all my shit out. She belongs with you; I know that now. I guess I always knew it. I just want to say I’m sorry.” I crossed my fingers, hoping that if I grovelled enough, he’d help me. Three years ago, he would have told me where to go.

  “Do you have any idea what you’re asking me? What you put us all through?” There was nothing in his voice, no anger, and no frustration. Just a flat tone.

  “I know what I did, and I don’t need anything else but to apologise to Rowan. I’d like to set the record straight on a couple of things, but most of all, I want to say sorry. To you too, and your daughter.”

  I swear I could hear his brain ticking over.

  “I don’t want you anywhere near her,” he said.

  “Totally understand that. We could do this over the phone if we need to. I just want the opportunity to talk, and I’d like to do it face to face..”

  “Damn it, Andrew. You know it’s not up to me, and I’m probably in a no-win situation. If I don’t tell her about this and she finds out later, she’ll be pissed with me. If I do agree to tell her, she’ll think I’m nuts. Hell, it has to be her decision.” He sounded conflicted, and I did understand. If anyone had done what I did to my woman, I’d not want her to see him ever again.

  “I know this is out of the blue. I’ve spent the last three years working through all my issues. I’m not expecting friendship, or anything like that.”

  There was silence again, as I presume he fought with himself over what to do.

  “You know how Rowan is about this kind of thing. She’ll want to know now you’ve opened this particular can of worms. Give me your number and I’ll talk to her tonight. I can’t promise anything, and I can’t say which way she’s going to go. She’s moved on too, but it took her a long time to get over what you did. It took us all a long time to get over it.”

  The faint glimmer of hope he’d offered began to grow as I gave him my new cell number.

  ~

  The following morning the phone rang, and I didn’t recognise the number on the caller display.

  “Hello?”

  “Andrew, it’s Kyle.”

  Lost for words, I opened my mouth to try to force them, but they wouldn’t come.

  “Hello?” he said.

  “Hi. I didn’t expect to hear from you so quickly.”

  “I spoke to Rowan and she’s agreed to see you.” He sounded flat, almost disappointed.

  “Thanks, Kyle. I really appreciate it.”

  “I’ll be right there, so don’t even think of trying anything. I’m prepared this time.”

  Fair enough. I deserved that. I didn’t want to see him, but the choice between that and not seeing Rowan was easy.

  “I swear I only want to apologise for what I did.”

  “Is that really all you want?” He wasn’t about to let this go.

  No. I want my best friend back. I want my wife back. I want everything back the way it was.

  “That’s all I want,” I said.

  “We’ll be at the park tomorrow morning at ten sharp. We can meet you by the pond. I figured we’d go somewhere public just in case.”

  I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to take the bait. He would have loved me to have a go at him—, it’d give him an excuse to block Rowan from seeing me. Screw it, she meant more to me than arguing with him.

  “I understand.”

  “Good. And Andrew?”

  “Yes?”

  “This is going to be the one and only time I let you anywhere near her. Choose your words wisely.”

  I couldn’t get angry with him. He wanted to protect his wife. I understood that so much.

  If only I could have done more to protect mine.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  In the night I woke, not to a nightmare, but the haunted strains of a violin. There were random noises at all hours in this place, but this one was soothing, and I relaxed back into my pillow, not wanting the music to end.

  Whatever it was, it was beautiful.

  I closed my eyes, and lost myself to sleep.

  The morning sun streamed through the window. Relishing my freedom, I hadn’t pulled the curtains. Even through the glass, the feel of the sun on my face was indescribable.

  True freedom.

  I yawned, rolling over to look at the clock. Shit. Nearly nine thirty.

  Like a zombie, I staggered towards the bathroom, throwing myself under a cool shower to wake up. I’d had the most peaceful sleep in months, but wasn’t used to it. The memory of the music made me smile.

  Hopefully it’s not just a one off.

  Out of the shower, I looked at the clock again. It was quarter to ten, I’d wasted fifteen minutes in the water trying to wake up. I dragged on a pair of jeans, and threw on a t-shirt. Grabbing my jacket, I headed out the door, bounding down the stairs and only just missing a girl coming up them. I stopped to apologise.

  Holy shit.

  She was gorgeous, with long blonde hair in big curls, and deep brown eyes that I found myself falling into. One eyebrow slowly lifted as she took me in, and she smiled shyly, before slowly licking her lips. It was sexy as hell. Didn’t hurt that she wore a tank top with no bra underneath, and a short denim skirt. And those legs seemed to go on forever.

  “Hi … uh … sorry. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going,” I said.

  She nodded slowly, her gaze running down my chest before she met my eyes again.

  “Yeah, it was a bit my fault too. It’s fine.” She shrugged. “You must be Andrew. I heard we had a newbie.”

  I looked at my watch. “Yeah, that’s me. Sorry, gotta run. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”

  “Maybe.” She had that eyebrow raised again as she smiled seductively. Maybe it was my imagination, but she was really interested.

  Although, maybe I’d just been away from women too long to read them anymore.

  I ran down the rest of the stairs and out to the car. The park wasn’t too far to drive to, but I wanted to be there on time. There was no way I wanted to screw up this apology, even if it might be the last time I ever saw Rowan.

  Pulling up in the car park, I held onto the steering wheel and closed my eyes for a moment, nervous about seeing her, even more nervous that she wouldn’t be there.

  Please let her come.

  There was half a bag of old bread in the car, part of the groceries that Mum had given me before I left. This would be a perfect distraction from the anxiety that gripped me. There were plenty of ducks, and they’d be grateful for the food.

  The weather was chilly with winter on its way, and the park was covered in leaves still falling from the trees shedding their summer coat. This place was beautiful. No matter when you came, there were ducks in the pond. They knew how lucky they were here, being sheltered and fed.

  I pulled my jacket tight around me, and ventured towards the pond.

  There was a bench not far from the pond and I walked to it, sitting down on the cold wood. Pulling the bag out, I began to throw bread at the ducks. They squawked and flapped their wings in an effort t
o fight each other for the scraps I threw.

  When I ran out of bread, I looked up, just as she sat beside me. Kyle was still, standing and watching as his wife sat to talk to the man who had kidnapped her. I desperately wanted to touch her, just hold her in my arms and embrace the woman who had been my best friend all that time ago, but that would send her running for the hills, and I’d have her husband come down on me with all the force he could muster.

  “Hey, Rowan. I’m glad you came to talk to me,” I said.

  “I’m not here for long, and Kyle is right over there.” She shivered. The sky was clouded over, dark and gloomy, threatening to pour with rain.

  I shook my head. “I’m not going to try anything. We’re way past that. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I did, and I can’t really believe that I did it.”

  “I get that you were a bit crazy over Charlie’s death. I was devastated too, and you knew it. There’s no excuse.” She looked at me with those hazel eyes that I still thought about. The fear and outrage that I saw in them for those three days we’d spent together would haunt me forever.

  I looked away. “I know, and I’m so sorry. All I could think about was trying to get you to understand that we needed to be together, and yet I knew you were far happier with Kyle than you ever would have been with me. The thought of leaving your baby behind just kills me now. You were so right; I didn’t check that Kyle wasn’t more badly injured, and just left without another thought. If anything had happened to her …”

  The pain of what happened threatened to engulf me as I spoke. I looked up at Rowan again. Her lips were pressed together like she was suppressing how she really felt. “How is she?” I asked. “How is your little girl?”

  Rowan smiled, her pride for her daughter shining for all to see. “She’s amazing. Looks a lot like me, straight brown hair. No freckles, though. Well, maybe the odd one, but she’s more like Kyle in that way. She’s smart and pretty.”

  “Just like her mother.” I had to smile at that; it was always the way I thought of Rowan. Always the smarter one, and despite her not liking the way she looked, she’d always been pretty.

  “We’ve got another one on the way. Early days, but we’re hopeful everything will go well.” She looked away, towards the ducks that were approaching, looking for more bread. “I wish none of this had happened, Andrew. I could have just pictured yours and Charlie’s children playing with mine. We all could have been happy.”

  I sighed. “I lied about what happened on our honeymoon. Charlie did get upset, but it didn’t quite go the way I said. She noticed the way I reacted to Kyle at the wedding, and picked up that I had an issue with him. She loved you so much—she was worried that I might interfere with your relationship, push you further away. That’s what we argued about. It was my problem, not yours. I wanted you to know.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and she buried her head in her hands. I wanted so much to comfort her, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Kyle running towards us. Any wrong move and he would make sure I was put away again; I knew that. Rowan held up her hand, and he stopped, staring at me as if demanding to know what had happened.

  “I loved both of you,” she whispered, “but Kyle’s all mine. I don’t share him with anyone but Mia, and that’s different. Maybe I needed for you two to be together in order to find myself. I’m only sorry Charlie’s not here to share this, for me to tell her just how full my life is now. All it took was for me to get over you.”

  She stood, and my heart broke all over again to look at her. Out of this, I would never be able to salvage any kind of friendship. I would never have her hold my hand, hug me in comfort, pat me on the shoulder to reassure me that despite whatever screw up I’d made, I would still be okay.

  The fresh pain I felt at losing her was overwhelming, but I knew I’d suffered that loss three years ago when I’d made my choice and taken her.

  “Get better, Andrew. Find a way to move on and be happy. You deserve that.” There was nothing in her eyes—no love, no compassion. She was always someone who felt so deeply, and yet now she felt nothing for me.

  “Love you, Rowan. Always have, always will,” I said.

  She turned and walked away before running and leaping into Kyle’s arms. He spun her around, and the sound of their shared laughter floated through the air. What I would have given to make her laugh like that.

  I watched as he kissed her tenderly. Everything about him screamed of the love he felt for his wife, the one woman I could never have.

  I stayed on the bench for a while, watching as they disappeared into the distance. It was over. I’d made my peace with Rowan, but there would be no more us in any capacity, and that still tore me apart. So many sleepless nights inside were spent thinking of this moment, when she finally let me go.

  Who was I kidding? I let go first when I screwed up.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I drove halfway across town, and back to the boarding house. The sooner I could find a job and get on my feet again, the better. I had to start now.

  She stood outside, the girl that I’d seen on the stairs earlier. Her arms were folded defensively as I climbed out the car and walked towards the building.

  “Hey,” I said.

  She uncrossed her arms, reaching for a lock of her hair and curling it around her finger while looking me up and down. It was hot as hell, and my mouth went dry watching this one small act. It had been so long since I’d felt anything for a woman, and this one was pushing my buttons.

  “Hey, yourself,” she said. She followed me inside, trailing behind me up the stairs.

  I turned before going into my unit. “What are you doing?”

  “Coming to visit you.”

  I grinned, shaking my head. “Isn’t it polite to wait until you’re invited?” I asked.

  She swung on her heels, still twirling that lock of hair.

  “Look, Whatever-Your-Name-Is, I don’t know if you coming to my place is a good idea. How old are you? Seventeen? Eighteen?”

  She chewed her bottom lip, reminding me so much of Rowan as she did it. “I’m twenty-two.”

  “Seriously? You look like you belong in high school. What is your name, anyway?”

  She laughed. “Maddy. Short for Madeleine. But if you tell anyone my full name, I know where you live.”

  I cocked an eyebrow, and wagged my index finger at her. “Sounds like a threat to me. I think I’m going to need to see some proof you’re as old as you say you are. Don’t want to get into any more trouble with the authorities.”

  Smiling, she reached out, running her index finger down my chest. “I’ll go and find my driver’s licence.” Leaning over, she whispered in my ear, “And if you’re really lucky, I might still have a school uniform buried somewhere in my room.”

  I shook my head, laughing. “You are going to get me into trouble, aren’t you?”

  “That’s the plan.” She bounced away, glancing over her shoulder at the top of the stairs and giving me a look that left me in no doubt that she’d be back.

  I rolled my eyes, unlocking the door and pushing it open. I was used to being alone, but after seeing Rowan I felt Charlie’s absence more than ever.

  We’d been living with Rowan when we’d gotten together. One evening when Rowan was buried in some essay in her room, Charlie and I were studying in the living room, working out something together.

  I don’t even remember what it was, I’d been so blow away by what had followed, but we’d started arguing about some aspect of what I was writing.

  Charlie stood her ground. She was such a quiet, gentle soul, but insanely stubborn. And to be honest, she was probably right, but I wasn’t about to let her win.

  “You can’t come to that conclusion, Andrew. There’s so much data you’re ignoring.”

  “No, I’ve included it. Look further down.”

  She rolled those big blue eyes of hers, and I grinned at getting that reaction. That was Charlie about to lay down the law, and it alw
ays made me laugh. She never got angry. Well, almost never. A stern Charlie was a sight to behold.

  “If I read it like this, the tutor will read it like this. Move it so it’s nearer the top, and he won’t reach this part and think you’ve missed it.”

  “Yes, boss,” I said, rolling my eyes to follow, and laughing. After all these years, I knew she’d break down if I lightened the mood. She had too much of a sense of humour to ignore it.

  Charlie chewed her bottom lip before shoving my shoulder. “Stop it. This isn’t funny.”

  “Of course it is. Nothing’s that serious. I’ll just cut and paste the paragraph and no one will be any the wiser. Job done.”

  “But what about—” She never finished the sentence that was bound to point out that moving a paragraph would stop the whole thing making sense. We were so close, she got lost before she found those words, just as I did.

  “Charlie,” I whispered, reaching for her hand.

  Our faces were inches apart, her lips parted, her breathing accelerating as we gazed at one another.

  “We can’t do this,” she whispered.

  “Why not?”

  “Rowan will never forgive us. She loves you, Andrew.”

  “I know that. But she’s not who I want.”

  I pressed my lips to Charlie’s, ever so gently. When I pulled back, her eyes were closed and she slowly opened them again, showing me her heart.

  “Andrew.” My name spilled from her lips in a gasp. I’d never heard anything so sexy in all my life.

  Before she could protest I kissed her again, and again, never wanting to stop.

  Taking her by the hand, I led her to my room, locking the door so we could be alone.

  I jumped at the sudden rapping on the door, and opened it to find Maddy waving her driver’s licence at me. Maddy Jones.

  “Couldn’t find the school uniform, but I have this. Will it do?”

  I smiled, shaking my head. “You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?”

  “Hell no. I’ve waited ages for someone decent looking to move in. You’re not getting away.”