Absolution(27)

“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.

How many years had she been coming here? She knew this house as well as her own. It was unnerving, the thought of walking inside knowing that Tom wasn’t going to be there. Drawing herself up straight, she tried to put him out of her mind. It was Jack she was here to see. The revelation brought a torrent of renewed anxiety with it.

She paused briefly at the bottom of the few steps leading to the porch that swept across the front of the house. Slowly, she began to climb. It only took her a couple of minutes, but by the time she got to the top, all the bravado and determination she had felt in her kitchen half an hour ago had evaporated. What was she going to say? Where should she begin?

You can do this. He owes you some kind of closure. Even if he says nothing, you have things you need to say to him. Just knock on the door.

“Hi.”

She looked up to find Jack standing in the doorway. She froze. She had been lying to herself, she realised too late. She wasn’t ready for this, not by a long shot.

“Come inside,” he said, his desperate gaze holding hers. “Please?”

He had changed out of the torn shirt and jacket, and stood before her in jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. He looked very much the worse for wear, his eye swollen slightly, an angry-looking cut on his cheek.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage. She fought the impulse to turn and make her way back to the car. He moved aside and she maneuvered herself over the doorstep and into the hall. She wanted to cry. It felt wrong, like they were trespassing somehow. She wished like hell that Tom was there.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” Jack said quietly, closing the door behind her. “But thank you, for coming.”

He stood facing her, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. Had his eyes always been that shade of green? They seemed darker, heavier somehow. God, what was she doing here?

“Ally… ”

Her hands gripped the handles of her crutches even tighter. The questions bolted out of her before she could stop them.

“Why’d you do it? Why’d you leave like that?”

The silence seemed to buzz in her ears, seconds stretching out.

“Why do you think?” he whispered, his eyes brimming with tears.

“That’s not good enough,” she shot back, tilting her chin in defiance. “I need to hear you say it – you owe me that.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Look, I… this could take a while. Come through to the living room, I’ll get us something to drink.”

She frowned, afraid of losing her resolve if she moved any further into the house. Before she could answer though, he walked into the living room and she had no choice but to follow.