Absolution(82)

“No more apologies, Jack. I want answers. And if you can’t give them to me, we have nothing else to talk about. You can see yourself out.”

Dumbfounded, he watched as she made her way across the hall and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.





CHAPTER 15




“What is important is not what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens to us.”

- Jean-Paul Sartre




Jack sat in his car, breathless and agitated. He was engulfed in silence, but inside his head Ally’s voice raged on.

He stared at the shadows of the mature trees that surrounded the cemetery gates in the moonlight. Even in the midst of all this turmoil, his gut instinct was to seek out his father.

Digging his new cell phone out of his pocket, he paused momentarily before hitting the contacts button. Callum picked up on the second ring.

“What the hell are you up to?” he demanded.

“Jack?”

“You knew damn well what you were doing, didn’t you? She’s right – you were just playing me!”

“Whoa, hang on – what the –“

“Is this your way of getting back at me? You satisfied now?”

“Just calm the hell down, will you? What happened?”

“Don’t play dumb, Callum. She threw me out, which is exactly what you knew would happen!”

“What?”

“What the hell are you playing at, huh? Do you think this is some kind of game?”

“Just calm down! Where are you? Are you at home?”

Jack huffed out a ragged breath and looked around. The leafy trees and well-kept gardens surrounding the cemetery spread out in the darkness before him.

“No.”

“Meet me at Barney’s in twenty minutes.”

“Why?”

“Just meet me there. No games, no bullshit. I promise.”

Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fine.”

The line went dead and he shoved his phone back into his pocket, his heart pounding. What was he doing here? He leant forward and crossed his arms over the steering wheel, forehead resting on the back of his hand.



Callum sat in his car outside Barney’s. He tried Ally again but she didn’t pick up. He hung up halfway through her voicemail message with a frustrated sigh. Apparently she was too pissed off to talk to him. All he seemed to do lately was push her away.

Or maybe – looking at it from another angle – all she seemed to do lately was push him away. Ever since Jack got home.

Damn it.

He shoved his cell phone back into his pocket, climbed out of his car and headed inside.

Entering the gloomy bar at this time of night, he took a few moments to spot Jack in a booth in the corner. He detoured to order a drink first and Harry nodded in Jack’s direction.

“What’s his poison?” Callum mumbled.

“Whisky. Neat.”

Callum groaned quietly, shaking his head. “Better give me two more.”

He slid his money across the bar and waited. Picking up the two glasses, he nodded his thanks to Harry before heading over to the booth.

Jack glanced up as he slid into the seat opposite him, setting both glasses down and sliding one over the table towards him.

“I’ve already got one.”

“Got a feeling you might need another.”

Jack eyeballed him, his expression unreadable. “What’s this all about? What do you want? Because I’m in no mood for games. Whatever you want, you can have it. You win, okay? I don’t belong here – I get it. Believe me, I get it.” He shook his head and took a swig of whisky.

“What happened?”

Jack stared into the glass in front of him. “I told you. She threw me out.”

“I thought she might try something like that.”

“Congratulations. You win.”

“It’s not a game, Jack. Far from it.”

“Then why do I feel like a pinball? What’s going on here? Because I honestly have no clue.”

“There’s no one answer to that question,” Callum sighed, running a hand down his face.

“Jesus, you’re as bad as she is. It’s like talking to a revolving door.”

Jack downed the last of his whisky and slammed the glass down on the table.

“You thought she was complicated before? Buckle up dude, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Callum said.