“Would you want to go back?”
I cocked my head and raised a brow. If anyone knew my dream had been to work at StormSprint, it was him. He’d had to listen to me ramble on about it for the last seven years.
“You didn’t do it, though,” he said with a decisive nod. “You might be in love with him, but I know you wouldn’t have done that.”
“I didn’t,” I said through gritted teeth as Mum and Dad started to twirl in the middle of the living room, Dad moving his mouth like a fish out of water to get his bells to ring.
I was not tipsy enough for this.
“You’ve got a paper trail, right? That clears your name?”
“I… I haven’t had the energy to go through it all.”
Livie had emailed me the actual original report. Everly had logged me out of that account.
Jordan cocked his head and brow. “Fia Bacque not taking control of every little thing? Wow, this is hitting you hard. You deserve a drink. Here.”
He lifted his champagne to my mouth, and I sipped gratefully.
“StormSprint was all you wanted,” he said, leaning back on the wall and taking a sip. “Even when we were inschool. You told me you were doing your GCSEs only to get in.”
“Things have to change sometimes.”
“Not you,” he said softly. “Not your dream.”
Livie reappeared, thanked me for holding her son, and took him from me. My arms felt empty.
“If you want someone to look over the files…” Jordan continued.
“What, you can suddenly read Hungarian?” I laughed and knocked back his drink. He was right. It was Christmas. I deserved this.
“Well, no. But if encouragement is what you need, I’ve got buckets of it, Fia. I know we’re not together, but… I only want the best for you.”
The best for me would be to face it head-on.
But my hands tightened around the champagne flute at the thought.
“I’m scared to read his name,” I whispered, the bubbles making the truth float out. “Scared to speak it.”
It was different in an article. That was open — that was for the reaction.
The report was personal.Damning.
He stroked my arm. “And are you going to let that fear grow?”
I swallowed. Every day, I got more in my head about it.
“The way I see it, Fia, you’re a fighter. You always have been. You stand up for every injustice other than your own. Maybe it’s about time you stood up for yourself, too.”
The noise around us merged. Christmas songs, awful singing, and bottles popping all became a haze as I looked up at one of the few people who really understood me.
I should help myself.
Even if I was scared to.
“Will you come with me?” I asked, grabbing his wrist. “We can raid the bar and scroll together?”
He grinned. “Never thought we’d raid the bar together again.”
