Page 24
Sloane had known the truth since yesterday, but she still hadn’t confronted Graham about it. He’d gone off to “work” like usual this morning but was probably at the pub.
I was pacing by the window, rubbing my hands up and down my arms in agitation. I didn’t know what to say to her. One part of me was relieved that she was finally seeing the situation clearly, but another part was mad that she couldn’t have just listened to me in the first place. If she’d believed what I’d told her instead of dismissing it as me imagining things, then we could’ve avoided all the stress of the last few weeks. We could’ve avoided the fracture it caused in our relationship because, when it came down to it, we were all the other one had.
“You’re angry,” Sloane said as she watched me.
Tears began to fill my eyes, but I sucked in a sharp breath to push them back. “Don’t I have a right to be?”
Her posture deflated. “Yes, you have every right. What I said to you at the hotel that day, how I dismissed your concerns, it makes me feel sick just thinking about it. I wanted the fairy tale so badly that I chose to ignore the one person in the world who actually cares about me.” She sniffled.
Some of my anger softened. “Oh, Sloane.”
“I’m not asking for forgiveness because I don’t deserve it. I just want you to know that I’m more sorry than I’ve ever been, and I’m going to make it up to you. I’ll never not listen to you ever again. Not after this. It’s despicable how I treated you, Erin.”
I paused my pacing and went to lower into the seat next to her. I reached out and squeezed her hand. “You’re my sister, and I love you. I’m not saying I’m completely over it and ready to move on, but I am prepared to help you.” I paused, worrying my lip. “What we need is a plan. What should we do about Graham?”
“Nothing,” she said, and a wave of anxiety hit me.
“What do mean ‘nothing’? Surely you aren’t going to keep seeing him?”
“No, that’s not…I’ve been emailing with Fred a lot lately,” she said, and I blinked.
“Mam’s brother Fred? But we haven’t seen him in years.”
“He got in touch a couple of weeks ago wanting to reconnect. Do you know that he and his wife run their own small hotel? It’s called the Astor Cove and sits by the coast up in Bray. He sent me some pictures. It’s really beautiful.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” I said, not entirely sure where she was going with this.
“Every time we talk, he mentions me coming to work for him. That there’s always a place for us with him and his wife, Nessa, should we ever want to move there.”
My stomach twisted as I realised what she was suggesting. In theory, it was a good idea, but it also meant leaving everything behind again and starting over. Again. I was so close to finishing school, not to mention I had a job here. And then there was Tristan. How could I leave after everything he’d done for me?
“We could go today,” Sloane continued. “Just pack up and catch a train. Then I’ll never have to confront Graham. I worry how he might react if I lay out all his lies. He’s always so quick to anger. It’s safer if we just disappear. I’ve never spoken to him about Uncle Fred, so he won’t know to look for us there. It’s the best solution I can think of.”
“I can’t just leave,” I said, distressed.
Sloane frowned. “Why not?”
“Well, there’s school for one.”
“There are schools in Bray, too, Erin. Besides, you haven’t even been here that long. It’s not like there’s that much to leave behind.”
I swallowed thickly, emotion clogging my throat. I shouldn’t have been this bothered by the thought of leaving, but the fact was that I’d developed feelings for Tristan, feelings I couldn’t simply switch off. I’d only known him a couple of weeks, but he’d made an impression on me.
Then I remembered the way his dad had looked at me, like I was some scammer who’d been taking advantage of his son’s kind heart. Some low-class girl who wasn’t fit to be around someone of Tristan’s calibre. It wasn’t true, of course. Tristan and I had a connection that was undeniable. But we did come from different worlds, and I honestly wasn’t sure if it could work long term.
He was going to college, and I was getting a job. I’d be earning minimum wage while he got a fancy degree and joined the family business. Perhaps it was better to end things now before we got in too deep, before I really fell for him and got hurt when it didn’t work out.
Despite this, I thought seriously about staying behind. Maybe those college girls would pick me as their third roommate, and I could figure out a life here, continue seeing Tristan and just see where things went. But with Graham still around, he’d find me, and I shuddered to think of the threats he’d make, how he’d try to scare me into telling him where Sloane had gone. Just the thought had a tremble moving through me. Besides, Sloane finally coming to her senses was something I never thought would happen. I needed to grab onto this chance to rid him from our lives with both hands.
“Okay,” I said, my decision made even while my heart felt like it might crack in two. “What about your job at the hotel?”
She shrugged. “I’m going to have to leave without giving notice. It’s the only way to avoid Graham discovering I’m leaving. I can’t stomach staying another month and pretending not to feel sick around him. It wouldn’t work. He’d know I was faking. That would give him time to figure out where we’re going, and then he’ll just follow us again.”
Her voice shook a little and my heart clenched. “It’s bad form, but they’ll easily find someone to replace me. Besides, I won’t need a reference since I’ll be working for Uncle Fred.”
“Okay,” I nodded, the wheels turning in my brain. “You pack up and get on a train this morning. I have a shift at Christine’s. They’ll be left short-staffed if I don’t show up, so I’ll work out my shift and let them know I’m leaving town. I’ll say there’s a family emergency and that I won’t be back. Then I’ll break the news to Tristan and head to the train station to follow you.”
Again, the thought of leaving Tristan made my heart hurt, but I was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was a sacrifice I had no other choice but to make.
