“Come on, our ride is outside,” Vee announced, staring down at her phone.
They all left as I locked the door and as I turned, they all stood at the end of my driveway, grinning, while a bright pink limo sat idling in the road.
“What did you do?” I asked, wide eyed.
“Well, you look like a rock chick, so we thought you deserved to travel in style,” Vee informed me.
“And we wanted to make you smile again. We hate how sad you’ve been,” Becks added.
I grinned at them, feeling the love they were showering me with.
Lizzy wrapped her arm through mine and led me to the car. “And there it is. Now come on, he’s taking the scenic route to the club so we can stick our heads through the sunroof and pretend we’re twenty again.”
Forty-five minutes and a bottle of Prosecco later, we pulled up outside the club. Stepping out, I glanced down at my outfit, running my hands over my leather-look trousers Lizzy made me swap the jeans for, regretting my red sparkly top and matching shoes she also made me buy for tonight.
Vee handed me my purse. “You look stunning. Now come on.”
We bypassed the long queue because of our apparent VIP status and gave our names to the bouncer who ticked us off a list before he lifted the rope. As I was about to step inside behind my friends, my phone rang. When I saw who it was, I signalled to Becks that I would follow them in.
I answered and a familiar voice said my name, bringing down the fabric of my reality with a resounding crash.
Jax
The area station manager sat in my seat, at my desk, his fingers steepled under his chin while I stood across from him, my stance wide and my hands clasped behind my back as I waited for him to continue.
“Jax, we gave you this job because you assured us you could cope. I’m very aware of your history and what you’ve been through, but we felt you were ready for the promotion and the added responsibility that came with it. Did I make the wrong call?”
“No, sir.”
“Yet you lied to me and put your crew at risk. They need a strong leader, not someone who is going to vanish on them without a good reason.”
“It won’t happen again.”
It had been a week since Conner bumped into me in the hotel. It took me almost three days to sober up and stop feeling like I was about to die. Jasper let me stay with him and I spilled my secrets. He held me while I sobbed, letting out years of hurt I’d never dealt with.
For the first time since I was fifteen, I felt like I could breathe properly. He booked me in to see a therapist who’d I’d met with already and would be seeing twice weekly for the foreseeable.
Telling Jasper shifted something. He hadn’t run, hadn’t made fun of me, hadn’t questioned my masculinity… in fact, he couldn’t believe I’d kept it to myself all these years, carrying the burden on my own.
“What did happen? Honestly?” my boss asked, his voice flat, although I could see his disappointment with me etched into his expression.
He knew I’d gone AWOL for almost two weeks, but rumours had spread after people must have heard about the state I got myself into… nothing stayed a secret in this town for long and I did show up in the hotel lobby too drunk to stand.
“I’ve never spoken about my past. My illness. I’ve never told anyone other than when I signed up to be a firefighter and I had to declare it. I guess it all caught up with me.”
His face softened. I knew he had sons about my age, and I couldn’t help but notice the flicker of emotion in his eyes. “And what’s to stop you having another meltdown or whatever you want to call it?”
“I’ve started seeing a therapist. I’ve told a friend. I intend on telling the crew. I’ve realised that all this happened to me when I was fifteen, but I’ve let it take over my whole life; a life I should be grateful to even have.”
Eddie nodded, picking up a pen and flicking the end in and out as he looked at me as if he was considering his options.
“I’m extending your probation by another three months. I want you to prove to me that you are the right person for this job. No more fuck ups, no more jumping ship, no more excuses. If you’re struggling, I need to know. We care about your mental health and we will support you in any way we can, but what youdid… leaving your crew like that, not giving us any idea of what was wrong or how long you’d be off for, that’s not acceptable.”
“Understood. Thank you for giving me another chance.” Just then, the alarm sounded. “Get back to work, Cartwright.”
A knock sounded at my door and Jimmy didn’t wait for anyone to invite him in.
“Sir.” His gaze landed on Eddie. “Dispatch is on line one. This is a multi-crew job, so they need you on scene.”
