Absolution(89)

Maggie reached for her, but she pushed her hand away.

“Just calm down,” Maggie soothed, the hurt in her voice obvious. “What are you doing in here? And what’s with the mega-decibels? Don’t you answer your phone anymore?”

Frustration written all over her rapidly reddening face, Ally pushed Maggie’s hand away a second time. “What is this, twenty questions?”

“You ignore your phone and lock yourself in here with that thing blaring, I think we’ve got a right to be a little concerned, don’t you?” Callum snapped.

“I’m fine!” she shouted, eyeballing him.

“Really? You look fine, sitting on the floor like this, amongst all this shit! Did you do all this?”

“It’s my studio, I can do what I want in here!”

“You’re right, it is, and I don’t give a shit what you do in here, but why didn’t you answer your phone, or the door? Being pig-headed is one thing, but this is just plain selfish!”

She pushed him away irritably. “Get out of here, I’m fine! I don’t need the third degree, especially not from you!”

“Oh, okay – so it’s me you’re pissed at then? Is that what all this is about?”

“I’m not pissed at anybody! I just wanted to be by myself for a while, but apparently that’s too much to ask! I don’t need you running in here every time I miss a call!”

“Check your damn messages, it wasn’t just one phone call you missed! Jesus Ally, do you even know how freaked out we were, or do you just not give a damn?”

Her face reddened.

“It’s been a rough week, with Tom, and all this other stuff happening,” Callum shot a quick glance over his shoulder at Jack. “I know things have been kinda crazy, but you can’t do this, you can’t ignore the phone and ignore us and expect us not to worry! We had a deal, remember?”

“I’m fine – you can see I’m fine!”

They glared at each other in silence for a few moments before Maggie intervened. “We’re sorry. We were worried, that’s all.”

“How did you even get in here?” Ally ignored her, directing her question at Callum, who appeared to be taking the brunt of her anger.

Jack cleared his throat self-consciously. “Dad had a spare key.”

“You wouldn’t answer your phone, or your door. If you want to blame anyone, blame me, it was my idea,” Callum snapped.

She glared at him. “Bring me my chair.”

“There’s broken glass everywhere,” he warned, standing up and picking his way over the debris to her wheelchair. “And paint, and all this other crap. I’ll give you a hand.”

“I don’t need your help.”

Jack cringed at her tone.

“Right – would you rather pick up an infected cut instead?”

She glowered up at him, but he swooped in to pick her up off the floor anyway. Jack was impressed. Had she looked at him like that, he wasn’t sure he would have had the guts to go anywhere near her.

Maggie tilted her wheelchair back and guided it carefully through the room and out into the hallway. Jack followed her, standing in the kitchen doorway, his head spinning.

Callum expertly deposited Ally into the waiting chair, one of her shoes falling off in the process. He picked it up and handed it back to her. She snatched it off him, dropping it in her lap and immediately heading away from them down the hallway.

“You’re welcome!” Callum called after her.

She whirled around to face them. “Thanks for completely over-reacting and treating me like a five year old, really appreciate it.”

“Oh for God’s sake, just calm down, alright?”

“Don’t tell me to calm down – this is my house!” she yelled. “Sideshow’s over – now you can all get the hell out!”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen until you un-bunch your panties,” he shot back. “I’m gonna brew some coffee. Maybe when you’ve stopped hulking out, you can come into the kitchen and join us and we can talk about this like the civilised people we’re supposed to be.”

She glared at him, then turned around and disappeared into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Callum breathed out a frustrated sigh and leaned back against the wall as Maggie stared after her. Jack barely dared to breathe. Somehow, he had managed to blend into the background. They stood in silence for several moments before Callum pushed himself upright.