Absolution(37)

“That’s what I thought. She’s been pretty stoic about it up until now, but I always got the feeling she was hiding something. We stopped talking about him after what happened, but I don’t think she stopped thinking about him.”

Callum stared blearily at the floor. He suspected the same thing.

“I’m worried about her,” Maggie said. “You saw how she was at the funeral. What are we gonna do? How are we supposed to help this time?”

“I haven’t seen her this low for a while,” he mumbled. “With the exhibition coming up fast, it’s the last thing she needs. She’s worked so hard for it, she deserves it.”

“I wish Tom were here,” Maggie said. “He’d know what to do.”

“Well, he’s not here, is he? And we have to do something because otherwise it’s all going to go to hell in a hand-cart again.”

He sat forward in his chair, anger pushing aside the headache, the nausea and the general sense of helplessness.

“Maybe your little chat with him did the trick? The sooner we can get back to normal around here, the better – for everyone.”

Callum stared at his hands again, gripping his coffee cup tightly. He remembered what Jack had said last night, through the haze of several beers and a killer hangover.

I’m not going anywhere – not this time.

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“Does Jane know?” Maggie asked. “About you and Ally?”

“There’s nothing to know. Ancient history, remember? And it wasn’t like it was reciprocated. It has nothing to do with Jane, anyway.”

He concentrated on his coffee, taking a big gulp and ignoring the fact that it burnt his throat and tongue. He and Jane had been on the verge of splitting even before the accident happened. Then, after the accident, things had gotten complicated. He had spent the majority of his spare time with Ally because she needed him. Even without the accident, he and Jane probably would have broken up anyway. As it was, it just seemed to delay the inevitable, putting their relationship woes on the backburner as they dealt with Ally’s situation and the long list of battles that followed. Eventually, their relationship had become one of friendship and mutual support.

There was no animosity when they both finally faced up to the fact that it was time to move on. The night they had officially ended things, he found himself at Tom’s and they had talked long into the night. Thinking about Tom now, the ache inside seemed to intensify.

“How do you do it?” Maggie asked. “Doesn’t it hurt? Being around her after that, I mean?”

“What am I supposed to do? She needs me, I can’t just walk away because it’s too hard. That’s Jack’s calling card, not mine.”

“You’re right. She’s lucky to have you.”

He snorted cynically. “Yeah – obviously.”

“She loves you. Maybe not the same way you love her, but she does love you. You know that, right?”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“I’m sorry. I know it must be hard for you, after everything that’s happened. I can’t help but wonder how close she came to actually getting him out of her system, though.”

He had doubted she was anywhere close to getting Jack out of her system then, and that was only a couple of months ago. Anger welled up inside of him. Jack didn’t deserve her love. He had deserted her in her time of greatest need, leaving Callum to pick up the pieces. Didn’t that count for anything?

He stood up, fighting off nausea. “Look, as awesome as this little chat has been, I have to go. Can you give me a lift back to Barney’s? I need to pick up my car.”

He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks for your couch last night. Sorry about the other crap. You won’t say anything will you, about this?”

She shook her head, frowning. “Of course not.”

“There’s nothing to tell anyway. It’s not like anything changed. I’d just as soon forget it ever happened, to be honest.”

“If that’s what you want.”

It wasn’t what he wanted, but what choice did he have?

“Are you gonna be seeing her today?”

“I thought I’d call her and see if she wants to meet for coffee, see how she’s holding up.”

“That’d be good – she was pretty upset yesterday. I mean, she tried to hide it but it was obvious, y’know?” he paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t mention my little chat with him, it’d only upset her. I told her I’d seen her car outside his house, but she doesn’t know that we talked, and it’s probably better she doesn’t, especially if it turns out he’s taken off again.”