“I think it’s probably that insane boss of hers, McAvoy. But that still doesn’t change the fact she knew who Grey was before she even came up with the insane idea to date me to get him off her back.”
“Do you think it was all fake?”
“I think she really did need someone to get McAvoy to fuck off and leave her alone. But I think she chose me on purpose, knowing who I am.”
I lean forward, head in my hands and squeeze my eyes shut. Maybe I might wake up and this will all have been nightmare.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I mutter to no-one in particular.
Hudson pats my back. “Stay with us tonight. I’ll make thesofa up for you and tomorrow, when you’re thinking a little bit clearer, we decide what we’re going to do.”
I have no choice but to nod; all of the fight, the adrenaline, disappearing from my body, leaving me more tired and drained than I’ve ever felt before.
Chapter 27
Calla
I’m a mess. A fucking mess.
My eyes are so swollen and bloodshot I can hardly see out of them and the last place on earth I want to be right now is work.
All week, I made sure to phone in sick like the good little employee I am, but the code red emergency email I got on this dreary Thursday morning, apparently overrides my sick leave.
I don’t even know what I was doing checking my emails in the first place.
Well. I do.
I was hoping to have something sitting in my inbox from Blake after he’d taken to ignoring my text messages, phone calls and knocks on his apartment door.
And I have no idea why.
I think that’s the worst part; I’ve been left hanging, in the air, out of the loop. An unpleasant mixture of confusion and sadness.
All week my mind has been coming up with different reasons, each more ridiculous than the last, as to why the manI’ve fallen in love with is ignoring me. The only slightly plausible reasoning I can come up with is that it has something to do with me finding out who Blake’s younger brother is and not telling him.
But why does something so trivial matter?
Knowing that Grey Millen is Blake’s younger brother doesn’t change how I feel about Blake. It doesn’t change my love for him. I feel like I’m missing something. Something huge. A stepping stone, the reason why Blake reacted the way he did, something, anything. Not to mention, how on earth he found out that I knew in the first place…
Wiping my nose on the cuff of my oversized hoodie, I tuck myself away into the corner of the tube. I can feel sets of eyes on me, probably wondering what on earth is wrong with me, but I’m too heartbroken to care.
Every part of me aches; my heart, my soul, my body.
My feet feel like they’re made of lead as I step off the dusty tube, beginning the treacherous walk, up what feels like a million concrete steps, to get to the bustling streets of London city. I squint at the sun pouring down into the underground, retinas burning, wishing I was still back at my apartment with the curtains drawn and the blanket pulled up over my head so I can rot in peace.
I lumber past a baker’s, its doors throw wide open to entice customers with its fresh bread smell, but all it does it turn my stomach sour. I haven’t been eating properly since Blake shut me out and if it wasn’t for my best friends using the spare key to slip inside my apartment and check in on me daily, I don’t think I’d be eating at all.
But so far, days later, I’ve still only been able to stomach dry crackers, fruit and a single doughnut.
Glancing upwards, I spot the familiar revolving door ofmy office block, breathing suit wearing businessmen and women in before spitting them back out again.
I cross the busy road, my ID badge already clutched in my grasp ready to show it to the security at the front desk, only for a couple, embraced in a passionate lip lock to block my way.
Huffing, I barge past them, while tears prick my waterline, and bile rises in my throat.
Quickly flashing my ID, I hop on the next lift to my floor, powering up my phone whilst we ascend.
My heart leaps when I see the single text message gracing my notification panel, but it’s not from Blake as I’d hoped.
