The House Guest by Mark Edwards(43)

‘I need to talk to him,’ Ruth said, trying to pick up Eden’s phone.

Eden snatched it away. ‘No. That’s not a good idea.’

‘Why?’

Eden lowered her gaze again. ‘There’s something else I need to tell you. About Adam. He . . . he hit on me.’

Ruth stared at her. ‘When?’

‘That night. At the bar. Actually, on the way home. He got really tactile and I guess, well, I guess I was flirting too. But then he tried to kiss me. Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t let him. Not for more than a second, anyway. And I’m sorry, but he was the same on Friday too, when he was sober, at the pool. He practically begged me to go swimming with him, and the whole time his eyes were all over me. He kept touching me too. I told him it was making me uncomfortable and he eventually stopped but . . .’

‘But what?’

‘I think he’s preparing to move on. He’s decided your success is going to kill your relationship and he’s trying to protect himself. Make a pre-emptive strike.’ She attempted a smile. ‘It’s a male-ego thing.’

Ruth was stunned into silence.

‘I know it must be difficult,’ Eden said. ‘I know people have abandoned you your whole life.’

‘What?’

‘Oh, I’m sorry. Adam told me that too. About how you grew up in the foster system. About your mom giving you up when you were a toddler. How all the families who promised to take you in let you down.’

Ruth had to force the words past the lump in her throat. This felt like the biggest betrayal of all. ‘Adam told you all that?’

‘Among other things. But I can promise you this, Ruth. We will never let you down.’

‘That’s . . . good to hear.’

Eden grabbed Ruth’s hand. ‘No, I mean it. Seriously. I understand what it’s like when the people you trust disappoint you. That’s why I’m so happy to have met Emilio and Marie and . . .’ The volume of her words decreased and she trailed off. ‘It’s so important to find friends who won’t abandon you. True friends, like the family none of us had.’

Eden had sounded so sincere and emotional that it had momentarily flummoxed Ruth, so she hadn’t known how to react. And before she could figure it out, Eden had got off the bed. ‘I’ll leave you alone now. You probably need some time . . .’

Now, Ruth got out of the bath and dried herself using one of the luxury towels that had been left out for her. Once dry, she put on the expensive, heavy robe and went into the bedroom.

She lay down and told herself, for the tenth time since that conversation, that she wouldn’t cry. She would be strong.

Because why should she be surprised? Adam was simply the latest in a long line of people who had let her down. Her birth parents, who had given her up. The social workers who had promised they’d find her a forever home.

Again and again, she had allowed herself to trust.

Again and again she had been let down.

She vowed to herself that that would never happen again. From now on, she was on her own. And she would be stronger solo. Losing the play was a temporary setback. All of those people who had abandoned and betrayed her – she was going to show them.



Ruth woke up, unsure how many hours had passed, surprised that she had fallen asleep.

She sat up and stretched, her train of thought from earlier that morning coming back to her. Her vow to change.

It was time to get out of here. To start her comeback. The new, harder, take-no-shit-and-trust-no-one Ruth.

She went over to the wardrobe. Yesterday, Eden had brought the clothes she’d been wearing the night she’d got drunk, along with bags filled with new clothes. ‘I went shopping for you,’ Eden had said, laying out an array of beautiful tops and trousers, skirts and dresses, shoes and even underwear. ‘I knew you’d want something new to wear when you left here and I got a little carried away.’

Ruth looked through the clothes now, trying to decide which outfit would most suit her re-entry into the world.

Jeans and a vest top. A simple outfit, except the jeans were made by Gucci and the top was Armani. How could Eden afford all this stuff? Who were these people?

As if Ruth thinking about her had summoned her, there was a knock at the door and Eden came in.

‘How are you?’ she asked.

‘I’m okay. I’m feeling good, actually.’ She mentally puffed herself up. ‘I’ve decided it’s time I got out of here. I need to go back to Jack and Mona’s, get my stuff, call my agent. I’m probably going to head straight to LA. Hey, maybe you could come with me.’ It all came out in a rush.

‘Maybe,’ Eden replied. ‘But before you go, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’

Eden moved aside to reveal a man standing behind her. He had a neatly trimmed beard and wore an expensive-looking suit plus old-fashioned horn-rimmed glasses. When he smiled, even though he was in his forties, his forehead didn’t crease. There was something plastic about him. A shine. He was good-looking, though.

He stepped past Eden into the room and, without asking, pulled Ruth into an embrace. His body was hard, muscular. And he smelled amazing, wearing a cologne she’d never encountered before.

He held on to her and she found that she was speechless. A little unsteady on her feet, as if his cologne was intoxicating. Behind him, Eden stood in the doorway, eyes cast to the floor.