“No she's not” she takes the phone from me.
“Come over here, you need to see this. If he calls you again, tell him nothing and call Lorraine and give her the tip too”
We never call Lulu Lorraine, so I know Jo is not in the mood to be argued with. She hands me back my phone but Jemma has hung up.
“I really need to take some pain killers and get some sleep, you must be ready for some sleep too, you've been up all night as well”
“I'm fine, I’m past it now. Do you think Jason will come here looking for you?” she asks. Almost right on cue, her mobile rings,
“It’s Jay” She mouths to me and motions for me to keep quiet.
“Hey Jay, a bit early for social calls isn't it. What can I do you for?” she winks at me
“Lauren, no, not since last night... she did come home didn't she, because we dropped her off..... Oh, oh right, I see, well no I've not heard from her, have you tried Jemma and Lulu? ..... Right okay, well if I hear anything I'll let you know and will you get her to call me, whenever she finishes her sook, yeah, that's right, see ya, bye”
She puts down her phone and lets out a loud breath
“Bastard.... Apparently, you two had words last night and he thought you had gone off to sleep on the sofa and sook but when he got up this morning, he couldn't find you. Now he's worried, because it's almost ten and you’re not back and not answering your phone”
I say nothing. What was there to say to that?
My phone vibrates and I pick it up, expecting it to be Jay again but as I look at the screen it says Angel. “Who the fuck is Angel?” I say out loud but really only to myself, I look at Jo who frowns and shrugs. I shrug back and answer
“Hello”
“Good morning gorgeous, are we still on for our meet this morning?” it's Gabriel. Of course Angel.
“How did you get my number?” I ask confused
“I rang myself from your phone last night when I put my number in and saved it, sorry, was that okay? It's just that I didn't end up taking as long as I thought this morning and so I wondered if you wanted to see the house a bit earlier, if you’re free and if you’re still interested and looking for somewhere” he trails off, sounding, nervous, was it?
“Erm, look, I am definitely interested and I am most definitely still looking but I don't think I'm going to be able to make it today”
My heart is pounding in my chest and my belly feels like there are a thousand butterflies flapping inside it, I know that I'm blushing. Shit, I really would like to see the house and, if I'm totally honest I would like to see him again too but there's no way I’m letting him see me like this.
“Oh” he says and I think and hope I hear a little disappointment in his voice
“Well is this arvo or tomorrow better for you?”
“Who is it?” Jo interrupts
“Hang on a sec' Gabe”
“It’s Gabriel” I reply “I was going to look at a unit of his to rent this morning but I'm not going to be able to make it” I shake my head at Jo pointing at my lip and cheek and shake my head some more. She motions for me to give her the phone and again I know better than to argue.
“Gabriel, baby, Jo here, can I call you back in a bit, we will definitely be looking at this rental with you today... Okay... Thanks, call you back in a bit”
I stare at her open mouthed. “What?” she asks. “You need somewhere to live, he has a place to rent, he's hot, and who wouldn't want him as a landlord? I will go and have a look at the unit for you, if you don't want to go”
I let out a loud sigh, “I need to sleep Jo and I need some more drugs, I really can't think much further than that right now”
She gets up from the table, gets me a glass of water and hands it to me with my tablets.
CHAPTER FOUR