‘So you slept with Luke to make certain I could never go back to you?’ May as well get the full truth while we’re being so honest about it.
‘I slept with him because he was the closest to having you. I should have fought for you. I shouldn’t have given you the ultimatum. But I didn’t want to spend the next five years sneaking around until your career died down enough for you to lead a normal life with me, one where we wouldn’t be hounded on every street. And I realised you could probably never lead a normal life, not now. Your fame will never fade, even when you retire from the pitch.’
‘Wow. I thought I’d been your sorry second all these years, thought it was actually Luke you’d wanted all along.’
A breathy sigh travels across the phone. ‘Not at all. You’ll always be my number one. But, if you love this girl, make sure she knowsshe’syour number one. Go and fight for her, like I couldn’t fight for you.’
Busy trying to find the right words to thank Anita for her honesty and advice, I don’t notice the four men from Candy approaching me through the twilight until it’s too late. A fist connects with my face, followed by repeated blows to my ribs and back. The phone hits the ground a second before I do. Chubby sovereign decorated hands grab it, along with the wallet from my back pocket. The brutal beating continues from every direction and the last thing I hear before I black out is the snapping of my Rolex clasp as it’s removed from my wrist.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
AMY
By eight in the evening, I’ve had an entire tub of Ben & Jerry’s and about as much of my family as I can take. Dad is in a semi-mute state of shock to discover his youngest daughter isn’t the twenty-five-year-old virgin he hoped. Eddie and Emma’s questions continued all afternoon and I am wrecked, emotionally and physically.
How long has it been going on? – Eddie.
Do you feel like he took advantage of you? – Eddie.
Are you using protection? – Mam.
Why wouldn’t he have told you about Anita and his brother? – Emma.
Who else knows about this? – Eddie.
Do you realise you could lose your job over this? – Eddie, again.
Will you forgive him? – Emma.
I muffled my way through most of them, but the last one really threw me. I don’t know the answer to that one, and I’m not sure I want to either. I can’t think straight with the continuous interrogation. I need peace and quiet in order to dissect things myself.
‘I need to go home.’ I glance at my phone for the hundredth time. After bombarding me with calls since he left, Ollie hasn’t tried to contact me in over an hour. Maybe he’s given up? Or maybe he’s decided it’s more important to focus on repairing his relationship with Eddie than with me? Or perhaps, he’s on his way to Westport to declare his undying love for Anita?
The fact he didn’t tell me about her makes him seem guilty of something. Of what, I’m not sure. It hurts like hell. Because we were pretty much lying to everyone else, I assumed we were at least honest with each other. I risked everything for him. He could have confided the weird situation he was dragging me into. Jesus, imagine if we had actually eloped?
‘I’ll drive you.’ Eddie stands from Mam’s mauve reclining armchair.
‘My car’s outside. Besides, you’ve been drinking.’ I motion to the tumbler of whiskey he nurses in his left hand. I knew it was bad when he reached for the hard stuff.
‘Text me when you get home at least.’ Eddie flops back down in the chair. It’s the first time I haven’t had to fight him about going home alone in the dark. Hallelujah. Perhaps something good has come out of this after all.
‘I’ll see you to your car,’ Emma offers and I’m grateful for her support.
‘Thanks for dinner, Mam.’ I kiss her on the cheek and she pulls me into a tight hug.
‘It was one of the most exciting Sunday dinners we’ve had in a long time.’ She shrugs before whispering, ‘I like him you know, Amy. I don’t know why he didn’t mention that about his ex. But even if she’s still in his life, she’s his ex. She’s marrying his brother for goodness sake. And by all accounts, he wants to marry you.’ She squeezes my left hand with a hopeful glint in her eye. One I can’t relate to at this precise moment.
I hug my father and he grunts at me. Matthew and Nicky call the kids to wave me off. Eddie doesn’t rise from his chair again, staring gloomily into the amber liquid he swills round his glass.
Twilight looms, there’s a nip in the air and the burnt orange leaves drift aimlessly to the floor. Autumn is well and truly upon us. Inside the Golf, I turn the thermostat up before cranking the window down to bid goodbye to my future sister-in-law.
‘It’s true, Eddie did tell him to shag around, to get it out of his system. He came to our house the night he found out about Anita. I don’t think he’s your stereotypical player.’ Emma leans into the driver’s side, resting her elbow on the dusty interior.
‘Why wasn’t he honest about the whole thing? I just don’t get it. We all have a past. Truthfully, I haven’t told him the extent of mine. The real reason that Eddie is so protective of me.’
‘Why not?’ Emma tucks her poker straight hair behind one ear.
‘I guess I was ashamed.’ I shrug, only admitting the truth of it to myself now. ‘I didn’t want Ollie to think that I made habit of fornicating with my brother’s friends. Or that I’d been asking for it in some way.’
