The back door opened again, and Frank came out with a bulging bag of rubbish in each hand. He stopped short when he saw us standing in the middle of the backyard. “Is everything all right?”
I put on a false smile, counting on the darkness to cover my tear-ravaged face. “I’m fine, but Lawrence and I just broke up, so he’ll be leaving now.”
“Gabi, no.” Law tried to reach for me again, but I jerked away, evading his hands.
Tossing the bags into the bin, Frank strode across the grass to join us. He took in the evidence of distress on my face before he turned to glare at Law. “What the fuck did you do? You said you weren’t going to lose your shit.”
“I didn’t,” he hissed in reply.
Frank swore under his breath and rolled his eyes back towards me. “How badly do you want me to beat him, Gabi?”
“Frank, stop it,” I snapped. “He’s your best friend, you’re not going to hurt him.” His look told me not to bet on it. “I mean it. This is my choice. That’s all you need to know.” I couldn’t bear for anyone to find out what happened. The embarrassment would kill me. Taking a deep breath, I straightened my shoulders. “This is my party, Lawrence, and I want you to leave.”
A perverse satisfaction cut through me at the stricken expression on his face. Good. I hoped it hurt.
“Come on, man.” Frank put a hand on his shoulder, casting a wary glance my way. “I’ll walk you out.” Finally, Law began to move, tripping over his own feet as they headed back towards the house.
I began to follow but couldn’t bear the thought of facing a houseful of people. My stomach clenched as I sat on the top step of the porch and I tried to concentrate on not throwing up.
After a while, the door behind me opened again. “Gabi?” Connor’s voice reached out. Quiet, tremulous.
I ignored him, wishing he’d go away and leave me alone with my heartache.
“I’m so sorry.” He tried to put a hand on my shoulder, but I hissed in a breath, shrugging him off. “Sorry,” he said again.
After a brief hesitation, he sat on the step beside me. “I don’t know what happened. We were talking, about you, and then…” My gaze rose to his face. His eyes were blank as he stared out into the empty night. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before you hooked up with my boyfriendin my bedroom,” I cried. “I have to sleep in there tonight. Do have you have any idea what that will be like?”
He turned to look at me, and I saw his confusion and horror. “Please,” he pleaded, his voice barely a whisper, “don’t hate me.”
I didn’t know if I hated him or not. After the heartbreak of Lawrence’s betrayal, I had no room left inside me to think about anything else. “Go home, Connor.” I slumped forward, wrapping my arms around my knees. “I can’t do this right now.”
Lowering his head, he nodded. “All right. I’ll stay away.” He left without another word, his long frame quickly swallowed by the darkness as he disappeared down the side of the house.
Tears gathered and I dropped my head forward, allowing them to come. A few minutes later, strong arms wrapped around me and lips brushed my temple.
“I’m here,” a deep voice murmured in my ear.
I turned, curling into the warmth of Sean’s chest as painful sobs began to rack my body. I didn’t know how he found me, but I figured Frank had something to do with it.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, stroking my hair.
“Not tonight,” I croaked, shaking my head. “I just… I loved him so much.”
“I know.” He stroked my hair, holding me close. “You’re going to be okay, Gabi. You’re not now. But I promise, one day soon, you will be.”
Closing my eyes, I allowed Sean’s words to comfort me.
Inside, the music stopped, replaced by the familiar sounds of car doors and farewells. The party was over.
SIX
______
CONNOR
I rapped on Gabi’s front door and then slid my hands inside my pockets to stop myself from wringing my fingers together. We’d barely spoken in the past three months, though it had killed me to honour my promise and stay away. But time was running out now. My flight to Melbourne would leave early the next morning and I had no idea when I’d be back. Even if I couldn’t make things right between us, even if I’d lost Gabi forever, I wanted to say goodbye.
