From deep down inside of her, through the pain and the anger, a desperate need welled up. Where had he been all this time? What had happened to hollow him out like that? She wanted to tell him that she was alright, that she was happy, that he didn’t need to feel guilty about what happened. She wanted to ask him why he left, and now she didn’t care if the truth hurt more than the unsettled ignorance of the last few years.
She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. Last time she didn’t have any choice, she was unconscious in a hospital bed, broken and helpless. But not this time. This time she was awake and determined not to let it happen again. She deserved answers and she deserved to be heard. He owed her that.
“Hey – watch it!”
“Don’t be such a baby.”
“Some bedside manner you have there,” Callum grumbled, wincing.
Maggie handed him a beer, peering over Jane’s shoulder as she treated the cut on his cheek with antiseptic. She popped her beer open and took a mouthful before flopping down on the couch beside him.
“You’re welcome to do this yourself, you know.”
Callum frowned and pushed Jane’s hand away. “It’s fine, just leave it.”
“Suit yourself.”
Jane picked up the antiseptic bottle and medical kit and took it back to the kitchen. He stood up, and began to pace the room, taking a long swallow from his bottle. Okay, so Ally was pissed off at him. Wouldn’t be the first time. She’d get over it. In the meantime, what the hell were they going to do about Jack? He had half a mind to head over to Tom’s place right now and make sure he was packing his bags. Maybe he would anyway, on his way home.
Jane came back from the kitchen, scooping up her beer and dropping onto the couch beside Maggie.
“So,” Jane said. “Do you think he’ll stick around for a while?”
“I can’t see it.”
“No way, not after today. The truth hurts,” Callum snapped, hoping like hell he was right.
An uneasy silence filled the room.
“Can you believe him?” he demanded. “Jack? I mean, what the hell was he thinking? He just shows up here and thinks ‘I’m sorry’ will magically fix everything?”
“He came home for Tom, for the funeral,” Jane said, nursing her beer in her lap.
“Well, the funeral’s over so if he’s got any brains he’ll be out of here by morning – if he hasn’t disappeared already,” Callum said acidly.
“Don’t you want to talk to him? Find out where he’s –“
“I’m not interested in where he’s been or what he’s done. He chose to leave, no one made him go. He doesn’t get to stroll back here and try to pick up where he left off.”
Maggie frowned up at him. “I’m not saying I disagree with you, but I just think it took a lot of guts for him to show his face today. It can’t have been easy. He gets credit for that, in my book – not that it changes anything.”
“Like I said, he came for Tom’s funeral,” Callum snapped. “That’s it.”
“Yeah, I know, but he did try to talk to Ally yesterday. He didn’t have to do that.”
“And?”
“Well, I just think that if he had intended to come home, go to the funeral and then leave straight afterwards, he wouldn’t have bothered.”
“What’s your point?”
“Just that maybe he didn’t plan on coming home just for the funeral? Maybe he’s planning to stick around for a while?”
“Do you think so?” Jane asked, sitting forward on the couch.
Callum’s heart raced. “Maybe. Who knows?”
He sank down into the armchair and peeled at the label on his bottle nervously.
“I don’t know. If I’d gotten the reception he did today, I probably wouldn’t be hanging around for long,” Jane said quietly.
“Well, if he knows what’s good for him, he better stay the hell away from me – and Ally. She doesn’t need this shit, she’s been through enough.”
“Yeah, well you’re hardly helping the situation,” Maggie said.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It’s not exactly a secret. I’ve lost count of the amount of times you’ve said you’d rip his head off his shoulders if you saw him again.”
“Yeah? So?”
“No one blames you for feeling like that,” Jane said. “It’s only natural, you have every right. We’re just saying that Ally knows how you feel too, and she’s bound to be worried about how you’re gonna deal with all this.”
“I’ll tell you right now how I’m gonna deal with this, I’m gonna make damn sure he stays the hell away from her!” Callum shook his head, annoyed at the shift in focus. “So, you just leave Jack to me. It’s her we need to keep an eye on, not me.”
He took another swig from his bottle, wishing it were something stronger than beer.
Ally made her way to the front gate and paused, staring at the unfamiliar car in the driveway.
Jack’s car.
She breathed a sigh of relief – good, he was still here. The relief was followed by a flood of uncertainty as she forced herself to continue up the path.