“So, before you came down to the beach to see me.”
“Yeah.” I wait a beat, hoping I haven’t fucked this up. “Maybe I should have explained exactly what happened that day, but by the time I got to you, all I wanted was to find out why you held back on me.”
Angie’s complexion pales. “This is all my fault, Tommy. This is my doing.”
“No, babe?—”
She turns to me now, with sheer panic in her eyes. “If I’d told the truth in the first place, this would never have happened. I’m the reason this story is splashed all over the news.”
I shift closer, place my arm around her and her head falls to my shoulder.
“It’s not your fault, babe. It’s me. I can be hot-headed when it comes to the people I care about. Don’t blame yourself. I’m an idiot.”
Angie looks up towards me and I look down to meet her eyes.
“You’re not the idiot. I am. Can you ever forgive me for this?”
I run my fingers over her soft cheek. “Stop. There’s nothing to forgive. Right now, we’ve got to stick together. It’s gonna get rocky out there, especially now they have your name, but as long as we have each other, we can get through it. Okay?”
She snuggles into me. “Okay, Tom.”
Tom. I love it when she calls me that.
She looks up again. “But I want you to know, I will never lie to you again. It was a huge mistake on my part. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I know babe.” I hold her as close as I can and rub her arm. This is gonna get rough, but I’m prepared to do what I have to and protect her from the shitstorm now brewing.
Yesterday was a nightmare. Today is not looking good either.
Last night we received phone call after phone call from concerned friends and family, but before any of that started, we took the decision to call Ash and Calla straight away. Weput them on speakerphone, making sure they were both listening, as we wanted to tell them together. Both of us were nervous and unsure of how they’d react.
“What’s up, guys?” Ash said.
“Is something wrong?” Calla asked.
Thankfully, the news hadn’t broken in Greece at that point.
“We’re okay,” I told them. “But we do have some news.”
Angie glanced over at me before she spoke. “Tommy and I… we’re together.” A slight smile flickered across her lips.
There was nothing but a deafening silence down the line and I’m certain I held my breath until Calla finally spoke. “We could not be happier for you two,” she said with a soft but happy tone.
“Yeah, guys. That’s amazing news,” Ash followed, sounding equally as happy.
“We thought you’d be upset or mad,” I said with some relief.
“Why would you think that?” Calla asked.
“Because you’re Scott’s sister, and Ash was his best friend,” I answered bluntly and sensed Angie’s worry as her hand squeezed mine.
“I loved my brother, Tommy. You know we didn’t have the best start, but he turned his life around and had a great marriage. Angie and Scott made each other so happy and what happened to him was sad and cruel.” She sighed. “But your life can’t stop because he’s gone, Angie. You’re still so young. He would want you to be happy. Both of you,” Calla answered.
Although I could tell she was genuinely okay with us being together, there was also an understandable edge of sadness in her tone.
“It’s not as if we didn’t see this coming, even if you couldn’t,” Ash said.
“What do you mean by that?” Angie asked.
