Page 17 of It Was Always You

Eve enveloped her in her arms. ‘Oh, honey, please tell me what’s going on. Is it Carl? Have you split up?’

Lily widened her eyes as she pushed back, creating a little space between them. ‘Eve… please… please, don’t tell Adam, please.’ She squeezed Eve’s arms.

Eve frowned and shook her head. ‘Tell him what? What’s going on, Lily?’

‘He hit me,’ she whispered.

Eve’s eyes widened now. ‘What? Who hit you?’

‘Carl… but it was only once.’

Eve’s mouth fell open. ‘What? He hit you? The bruise on your face?’ Lily nodded. ‘Oh my God, Lily, why on earth did he do that?’

She tugged her long sleeves towards her wrists. ‘It was only once, and he said sorry. He got a bit drunk when I missed a period and thought I was pregnant. He… he said I was stupid and careless… He was right. It was all my fault.’ Eve’s jaw clenched and glared down at Lily’s arm. Oh God, she’s guessed, Lily thought as she tried to back away but there was no space for her to do so.

Eve gasped and widened her eyes as she spotted the fading bruises. She lifted her face to meet Lily’s eyes. ‘Oh, Lily, no. This is not your fault!’ she said as she pointed to the yellowy brown marks that clearly showed where fingers had gripped the flesh hard enough to leave more than a memory. ‘I don’t care what had happened, this isn’t the way he should have handled it.’

Lily winced and shook her head. ‘I know, but he said he was sorry. I… I think he meant it.’ She yanked her sleeve down again, unable to meet Eve’s eyes now as shame knotted her stomach and made it roil.

The colour had left Eve’s face and she cupped Lily’s head in her hands, forcing her to make eye contact. ‘Lily Macrae, I don’t give a damn what you thought he meant. This has clearly happened more than once, and believe me, once is way more than enough. He shouldn’t have laid a finger on you. And what happened was not your fault, okay?’

Lily allowed another sob to free itself from her chest. ‘But it was my responsibility⁠—’

Eve vehemently shook her head. ‘Bullshit, Lily. You know that’s a load of rubbish. You’re an intelligent woman, for God’s sake. Don’t you dare defend that bastard for doing that to you.’ Lily felt the inappropriate urge to snigger. She had never heard Eve swear before – the realisation that she must be furiously angry and worried enough to do so was quite a sobering thought.

‘Please don’t tell Adam, okay? Promise me?’ Lily pleaded in a whisper.

Eve shook her head slowly. ‘You know I can’t make that promise. He’s your best friend and he cares about you deeply. He needs to know.’

Tears spilled over once again, and she pushed Eve back. ‘No! I trusted you, Eve. You can’t tell him.’ She could hear the fear in her own voice and it disgusted her that she had allowed a man to reduce her to this.

Ignoring her pleas, Eve demanded, ‘Where’s Carl now?’

‘He went out for a smoke. He said… Never mind.’ Lily shook her head.

‘He said what?’

Lily dropped her gaze to the floor. ‘He said my party was shit and my friends are pathetic. He thinks my friends are beneath him and he said I owe him for making him come here tonight.’ She sobbed as shame and bile rose in equal measure.

‘Right. Come on. Get some water splashed on your face. We’re going back out there to get Adam and we’re going home.’

Lily swiped at her face, catching the bruise which was now undoubtedly fully exposed now her make-up had disintegrated under a deluge of tears. ‘No… no, I’m fine… I’ll just put more make-up on. I’ll be fine,’ she insisted.

Eve’s nostrils were flared, and Lily couldn’t decide whether she was in awe of her friend for reacting this way, or in fear for what she might do next. ‘No. We should get you out of here until we decide what to do.’

Adam paced near the bar. What the hell was taking Eve so long? He decided she must have found Lily in some kind of drunken stupor in the toilets. Worry got the better of him, and he marched towards the Ladies’. Without stopping to think, he pushed the door open, and Eve and Lily swung around as he entered.

He clenched his jaw as he realised the full extent of the bruise on Lily’s face. She and Eve were acting suspiciously, Eve’s eyes darting between him and Lily and Lily tugging the sleeves of her top down. ‘What the hell’s going on with you two? Lily, why do you look like you’ve been crying?’

Eve turned to face Lily. ‘Please tell him, Lily.’

‘No!’ Lily’s voice was strained.

Adam frowned as his heart rate picked up. Something was definitely very wrong. ‘Tell me what?’

Lily shook her head at Eve in what appeared to be a silent, fear-filled plea.

Adam raised his voice. ‘Tell me what?’