“I would let you. I never want to let you go.” Itell him.
“Maya, I’m not ever letting you go again.” He says, and I know he’s being deadly serious. I need to tell him about Fallon and why I have held myself back all this time.
There’s no going back now.
He has ruined me for all other men.
I don’t know how long we have been missing for, but I can’t find any of the others. Tommy leads me over to Jenson, handing back the keys.
“Not a single word,” He commands.
Jenson, holding his hand against his heart, mockingly says. “Scouts honour.”
“Do you know where the others have got to?” I ask him.
“Well, the girls wanted to go to another bar before heading home, so I told them you couldn’t handle your alcohol and threw up. Your knight in shining armour here took you home,” He winks, loving all this secret drama.
“Thanks, mate,” Tommy nods at him.
“I’d get off quick if you’re going. Blair will be heading back soon.” He says mischievously. We all know why she’s heading back here.
“You be good to her,” I try to be stern but end it in a laugh. It’s him I should be worried about.
We say our goodbyes and hurry out of the bar. Tommy holds my hand, dragging me in the direction of his place.
“Wait, I can’t come back with you. Max will be there, won’t he?” I worry my lip as I ask him.
“Max won’t mind. He has been going on about you and me forever.”
“I need to go home. I want to explain everything to you properly about why I’ve been so hesitant… But getting into it now while we’re both drunk feels like a bad idea,” I explain, finally being honest with him.
He studies me for a moment. Whatever he sees on my face must relax him as he holds my hand and pulls me towards him.
“Maya, I was being serious in there. I have wanted to be with you for so long, I don’t think I could ever let you go.” The depth in his words sends a shiver up my arms. Why is it so attractive when a man tells you openly what he wants? “Let me take you out tomorrow? We can talk then.”
“That would be perfect.”
Pulling up to my cabin in the Uber, I get out and make my way over to the front door. I route around my bag for my keys, but when I lift my head up, I notice lights on inside. Strange. I’m sure I turned them off this morning before I left. Cautiously, I go inside, putting one of my keys between each knuckle. You can never be too careful.
This is one of the tricks Tommy taught me when he found me huddled in a ball, crying outside my mum’s house. A boyfriend she had at thetime kicked me out. All because he couldn’t find his bottle of vodka and accused me of drinking it. I was fourteen.
As stealthily as a drunk woman can, I manoeuvre room to room. Checking behind doors, under beds and inside wardrobes. No one was here. Thank god. Starting to relax, I wander back into the living room to get some water and paracetamol to take to bed, the standard night out remedy, when I notice the back patio door is ajar.
Now I definitely didn’t leave that open.
The lights are an easy mistake, but it’s been days since I’ve been out the back. I feel sick. Paranoia swirling in my stomach. I need to shut the door, but my legs are frozen.
Who the fuck has been here?
The reality that someone must have actually broken in snaps me into action. I run over to the door, slamming it shut and locking it. Shaking the handle repeatedly so that my brain can register that it is definitely locked. Then I start the rounds of every window and door in the house, and again check all the places that I did earlier.
Nothing is missing that I can see. Nothing is out of place. Maybe one of the girls did it this morning. That must be it. I’m too intoxicated to think any more about it and head to bed.
But sleep evades me. My mind is too busy thinking of Tommy and a possible intruder.
