“So am I Lauren, I’ve never been more serious. Why do you care what he does to me anyway? You don't give a shit about me; you've made that perfectly clear these past weeks.”
I do care, of course I care, I’m not heartless, you don’t love someone for as long as I’ve loved Jason and suddenly it all just stops, if only it was that easy but I don’t want to get into any of that with Jay right now.
“Jay…I just... I just don’t want to see either of you get hurt. There's been enough of that already. Look, are you okay?”
“What do you think Ren? The only way to stop me hurting is for you to come back. Anything else I can handle. If he comes looking for me. I will be more than ready; you don't have to worry about that, perhaps that cunt will finally get what’s coming to him.”
His tone has totally changed, he’s gone from mellow to angry in an instant and my scalp prickles, “What does that mean Jason?”
“It means what I said. Do you think I will just sit here if he comes to my front door? He took you away Lauren, I told you last night. I warned you! You’re mine, you will always be mine, he just needs to learn that and he needs to pay the price for keeping you from me right now. He doesn't scare me; in fact I look forward to him finding me. Perhaps then he will finally understand what pain is all about, he’s taken you and he’s turned my children against me, I owe him some payback, perhaps I should go out looking for him, that way we will be sure to bump into each other, that way we will both be happy.”
“Jay, for fucks sake, please don't be stupid, he's fifteen years younger than you. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“Like I said Lauren, he doesn’t scare me, bring it on, perhaps we can bring an end to all this once and for all, if he’s out of the picture, then you will realise that you should be with me, because you will. One day you will realise where you belong. Don't call again; I'm breaching my bail conditions talking to you.”
He hangs up, I’ve known Jason, happy, sad, drunk, angry but I have no idea what that was, his voice was lifeless and his threats were deadly. I need to find Gabe because Jason, well he's really and truly lost the plot and it terrifies me.
I look up at Sam. “Call Zac. Call anyone that might know where he is. Jay’s lost it, seriously lost it. I thought he might wanna go and hide but he can't wait for Gabe to find him. They will kill each other.”
I hand the phone back to her and she calls Zac and tells him all that's gone on. His family must be wishing he had never laid eyes on me! Once again...What a mess!
Sam’s mobile goes off multiple times, and then mine rings too. It's Jen, calling to see if I'm okay. Then Stella calls and asks the same thing. An hour later they are at my door. The boys are out looking for him, the girls have come to look after me. An hour later Jo arrives, great, just great, so now I have to fill her in on the day’s events too, luckily introductions aren’t necessary, the ladies have all met before due to Jo’s involvement with the family business. Stella and Jo in fact, talk on the phone at least once a week. Hmmm, why did I not know this?
At around 10.15pm Sam’s phone rings and all eyes turn to her.
“Hey babe. Nope, no sign, nah, he's not called her. Where? What time? He what?”
She looks at me and tilts her head to one side, then turns her back on me, this isn't good, I just know this isn't good. “Okay. Well yeah. Okay, see ya after.”
She turns back around and looks at Stella and Jen before she looks at me and swallows. “They've just missed him; he left some bar in Mount Eliza about ten minutes ago. He was seriously drunk, could barely walk, the boys are on their way back here now, because apparently that’s where he was heading.”
Shit. Drunk, that's good though, I'd rather drunk than murderous, I think.
“He didn't drive did he?” Stella asks.
Sam looks across at Jen and then to Jo. What the fuck, surely he wouldn’t drive in that state, he’s always so good about not drinking if he has to drive. He always gets a cab or arranges a lift, now I’m worrying about his safety for other reasons, he wouldn’t drive, would he? I shake my head.
“Sam, he didn't, did he?”
She frowns for a split second as if she’s wondering what I am asking. Are we talking about different things? My Essex Girl Spidey Intuition suddenly kicks in, my skin prickles and my chest tightens. He’s got a lift from someone or, he’s left with someone, I feel sick.
“Who did he leave with Sam?” Please let me be wrong.
She lets out a long breath and looks at the floor. “Who did he fucking leave with Sam?”