Authors: Nicky Wells
James sighed. ‘I doubt he’s still out there. My money is on him getting himself back to London.’
Casey snorted. ‘If you knew the setup, you’d not be so sure. We didn’t even see a tractor since we got here, let alone a bus or a taxi.’
‘In that case, you’ll have to ring him to find out.’
‘I can’t do that.’ Casey surprised herself with her vehemence.
‘No, I guess you can’t.’ James had his therapy hat on, she could tell. There was no surprise, no remonstration, simply acknowledgement of her state of mind. ‘Which means your options are to stay put, or to leave and risk leaving him behind. If you’re asking me, as a friend, I’d say leave.’
‘Really?’
‘Really. He’s left you dangling for hours with no word as to where he is. It’s a fair assumption that he’s gone. That would be my line, and I’d be sticking to it. If I were you. And,’ he coughed, ‘may I add that I’m breaking every rule in the professional book by giving you that advice, but there it is. Get outta there and come home, sweets.’
‘Okay.’ Casey doubtfully looked at the windows, which were obscured by a torrent of rain. The thought of venturing out there with their luggage and driving off by herself made her queasy. ‘Great—
not
. But I suppose if I leave now, I’ll at least be home before bedtime.’‘There’s my girl. You drive safely, okay? And text me when you get back. I’ll come round with emergency supplies if you need me to.’
Casey laughed in spite of herself. ‘It was a good day when I met you both.’
‘Sure was. Now get on the road and be safe.’ James clicked off, and Casey felt somewhat buoyed by his staunch support. There was no doubt that James was in her camp, whether that was unprofessional or not. Irrationally, she liked it that way. It was nice to have an ally.
With a deep sigh, she picked up the first two bags and began trudging up to the car park. She had donned her rain coat and wellies, but they weren’t up to the task of keeping her dry, and she got soaked through to the skin. That was fine. It suited her mood.
What was a bit of water when her relationship was down the drain?One more trip back and forth, and she was done. She locked up the cottage and dropped the keys in the letterbox, remembering too late that an agent had couriered them to Alex and therefore presumably would be expecting them to be returned in the same manner. She snorted.
Tough luck
. Alex could sort that out if it turned out to be a problem. Served him right for buggering off without stopping to think.Anxiously, she installed herself in the driver’s seat and adjusted mirrors and seat height. She didn’t mind driving, but she didn’t particularly enjoy it either, and it would be a long, lonely, and miserable journey back. She hunted ‘round for a radio station, unwilling to listen to any of her and Alex’s ordinary playlists, and she settled for the first station that played a soft rock ballad.
Poison would do perfectly, and ‘every rose’ did indeed ‘have its thorn’,
Casey thought.Just before she put the car in reverse to set off, her phone beeped with an incoming text.
At last!
Her heart skipped a few beats while she opened the message. But it wasn’t from Alex. It was from Liza. Casey read it over three times before she could make sense of it.Hey babes, had mssge frm Myles that v. soggy Alex turned up at his place blind drunk. What happened on ur mini-break? Hope UR okay, thought u’d want 2 know. Love&hugs, ring me. Liza xxx
Alex was back in London?
So Alex
was
back in London! And he had gone straight to Myles’s house. He hadn’t even gone back to their own home. Well, that was saying a lot, wasn’t it? And how had he got to Myles’s place?Thoughts were tumbling over each other in Casey’s head like dominoes, but she couldn’t put them in any kind of order. In the end, she crunched the car into gear, venting her anger through the gearbox and not giving a damn what she was doing to the transmission. She reversed onto the road and left rubber on the tarmac as she set off in the direction of home.
That felt good, the leaving-rubber bit.
Casey grinned at herself despite the circumstances, but then her mood plummeted again.Stupid her for waiting all this time for her stupid, sulking husband.
Shift up, crunch gears. Nice feeling.
If only she’d left first thing this morning, she could’ve been safe and sound in her own living room by now.
Shift down, swerve round a bend, shift up, crunch again. Ah, the exquisite satisfaction of hearing the gears grind against each other.
And Alex, how dare he?
Slam on breaks and shift down at the next crossroads.
What was that sheep doing there in the road? Move it, dammit.
Toot horn. Crunch gears, set off again. Breathe.She’d
definitely
let Alex have a piece of her mind or three when she got to face him.
He was
so
not getting away with this kind of juvenile behaviour.Shift, crunch, shift, crunch. Grin and repeat.
An hour and a half later, Casey finally hit the motorway and abandoned her angry gear-crunching. By then, she was feeling guilty about the damage she might have inflicted on the car, and she drove as gently as she could. The traffic flowed smoothly, and Casey focused her thoughts on what she would do once she reached London.
Where should she go? Home? No. Maybe she should rock up to Myles’s place and confront her errant husband? Or should she go somewhere else entirely?She couldn’t make a decision, so she let her subconscious wander while she concentrated on getting herself back to London in one piece. One step, one mile at a time.
Chapter Fifteen:
Legal Challenges
~Alex~
‘How on earth did you get here?’ Myles finally asked after Alex had had his third—or was it his fourth?—pint of beer.
Alex shrugged and reclined lazily on Myles’s leather sofa. ‘Does it matter?’
‘Well, no.’ Myles shrugged too. ‘But it’s all a bit of a mystery, isn’t it? One minute, you’re down in Cornwall with the missus, and next minute, you’re at my front door, catatonic with rage, wet, and drunk. You’ve sat here for two hours drinking beer, not saying a word, and refusing to eat. I’m a bit worried, mate.’
‘Sssso’—Alex was aware that he was slurring his words. ‘Sssso, what you’re asking is not how I got here, but what happened down there?’
‘Errr. Yes, I guess so.’
‘I’ll tell you, Myles.’ Alex waved his can of beer above his head as he spoke. ‘Absolutely bugger all.’ He drank deeply and burped.
‘I’m lost.’ Myles frowned. ‘If nothing happened, then why you are you here pissed as a fart?’
‘You’re not listening,’ Alex whined. ‘Nobody ever listens to me. What I mean is, nothing happened down there. Again!’ He gestured for emphasis and tipped the remains of his beer over his crotch. ‘Bugger.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Myles nodded. ‘You guys are still struggling.’
‘Struggling?’ Alex erupted into bitter laughter. He leaned into Myles until he could see the little hairs on his friend’s ear. ‘It’s a sodding nightmare. We had sex for three hours, and we fell asleep before we got to finish it properly.’
‘Three hours, wow.’ Myles grinned. ‘That’s pretty good going.’
‘Yeah, but I didn’t get no
satisfaction!
’ Alex shouted, anger boiling up again. ‘I never do with
her.
And she doesn’t give a damn. She said it was
nice,
what we did. NICE!
’‘Blimey, calm down.’ Myles reached out a hand and patted Alex’s back awkwardly. ‘She was probably trying to reassure you.’
‘Ha!’ Alex spat. ‘She can reassure herself. I’m outta there. I’m done. We’re so totally frigging fucked, there’s no going forward.’ His hands slid into his pocket and found the ring that he had intended to give Casey as a wedding re-enactment present. It was an eternity ring meant to signify his undying love and devotion. Good job he hadn’t got round to giving it to her because he had made a serious miscalculation on the ‘ever after’ front.
Myles stared at Alex intently. ‘You didn’t walk out on Casey, did you?’
‘I sure did.’ Alex withdrew his hand from his pocket. Unsteadily, he got to his feet and saluted. ‘Yessirree. I walked out and never looked back.’
Myles stood too. ‘You mean, you left her down in Cornwall?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘How the heck is she meant to get back, you moron?’
‘Don’t moron me,’ Alex admonished before sinking drunkenly back onto the sofa. ‘I left her the car, didn’t I? Because I’m such a nice guy.’
‘If you left her the car, then how did you get here?’ Myles repeated his original question. Alex burped and lurched sideways on the sofa.
‘First, I walked. Then, I got a ride on a tractor. That took me to some godforsaken place where I waited for a bus, and then another bus, and another one, and then I got to Plymouth. I was gonna take the train, but I caught a lift on a fish lorry.’
‘A fish lorry?’
‘Don’t ask.’
‘Okay, I won’t. But what now? You and Casey are splitting up?’
‘Dunno.’ Alex closed his eyes. If only he could make the whole sorry thing go away. ‘Yes. We are. What’s the point? We can’t have a normal relationship. We can’t have kids—’
‘That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it? You don’t know that yet.’
‘It’s been seven months!’
‘So?’
‘Myles, I want to see you go without proper sex for seven months, and then we’ll talk again.’
‘So let’s talk.’ Myles lifted his shoulders. ‘I haven’t had sex since I split with Carol.’
Alex snorted beer through his nose. ‘You what? You—are—kidding me. That’s two years ago!’
‘I know.’
‘You haven’t had sex for two years?’
‘Nope.’
‘Shut the back door. You’re shittin’ me.’
‘Nope.’
‘What about all the women you’re always hanging out with? Your bender weekends in Brighton?’
Myles shook his head.
‘You’re a friggin’ rock star, for crying out loud; you’ve got girls throwing their knickers at you on stage.’ Alex couldn’t believe what his friend was telling him.
‘That doesn’t mean I’ve got to sleep with them.’
‘But—but you’re always off with some floozy or other.’
‘Exactly. Floozies. I’m past shagging floozies. So we make out a little, for the fun of it, and then I go home. Alone.’
‘You make out? What, like snogging?’
‘Yup.’
‘And that’s it?’
‘Yup.’
‘You seriously haven’t had sex since Carol?’
‘Nope.’
‘Oh my gosh. How do you cope?’
Myles guffawed and made a rude gesture. ‘What do you think?’
‘But why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why are you living like a monk?’
‘Because…’ Myles turned pink. ‘Because I’m tired of shagging the wrong woman, and because I’m not as lucky as you and Casey. One day I’ll find the right woman. I hope.’
‘You think Casey and I are lucky?’
‘Hey man, you guys are the dream couple.’
‘Ha.’ Alex shook his head. ‘Goes to prove that you never can tell.’
‘No, you cannot,’ Myles said quietly and turned a little pinker still. Alex thought it was a little strange, although he couldn’t quite work out why. But his stupefaction at Myles’s unexpected confession ended when Myles offered him relationship advice. ‘So you see, seven months is nothing. I think you should stick it out.’
‘No. Never. I’m done. And please don’t stick your nose into things that don’t concern you.’
Myles recoiled like Alex had slapped him. He gazed at his friend with wide eyes. Eventually, he replied in a measured tone, ‘Point taken. I’ll keep my opinion to myself, even though it does concern me. Literally. Because how do you think Blue Heart is going to work if you two create an effing rift down the middle?’
Blue Heart. Damn it,
Alex hadn’t even given the band a second thought. It would be a nightmare keeping going now that he and Casey had fallen apart. At the same time, Casey was the best lead singer they had ever had, and they had contracts. She would have to stay. That would be awkward, to put it mildly.‘We’re professionals,’ he said out loud. ‘It won’t be a problem.’
Myles raised his eyebrows. ‘You sure about that?’
‘Back off. Of course I’m sure. I’m ending my marriage, not breaking up the band.’
‘Can you hear yourself?’ Myles flared up. ‘You’re ending your marriage, just like that? That’s a big deal. That’s not like throwing away a used tissue or waving goodbye to a bimbo. Are you bloody insane?’
Alex sat back in astonishment.
What had come over his friend?
Bad boy Myles, without an ounce of tact or emotional intelligence, suddenly taking the high ground was about as likely as the proverbial pigs taking flight.‘Myles, eff off. It’s none of your business. This whole wedding was a mistake.’
‘No, it bloody wasn’t, and you know it. I was there. I saw the love. You’ve simply got to work it out.’
‘
Myles! Shut up!
’ Alex was seriously rattled. ‘I came here for support and a place to crash, not for a lecture. You’re supposed to be my best friend.’‘Sorry.’ Myles looked contrite. ‘I just—it’s so unbelievable. But you’re right. It’s none of my business. Sorry. And of course you can crash here for as long as you want.’
‘Thank you.’ Alex exhaled sharply. ‘I was beginning to think you had a thing for Casey or something.’
‘Me?’ Myles gave a hollow laugh. He rose abruptly and started picking up discarded beer cans. ‘Now I know you’re drunk. Me? A thing for Casey?’ He dumped the cans in a heap on the table and turned back to Alex. His ears were bright red, and there was a sheen of perspiration on his forehead. His voice wobbled ever so slightly when he spoke, but Alex put that down to too much alcohol.
‘If I had a thing for Casey, surely I ought to be jumping for joy if you guys were breaking up, right?’
‘Err… Yeah. I guess.’ Alex frowned. Something wasn’t right there, but Myles’s reasoning seemed to make sense. ‘I was only kidding.’
‘Of course you were. And I think you ought to stop drinking and get some sleep.’
Alex shook his head. ‘Myles, Myles, Myles. What happened to you? You’re coming across all grown up and sensible all of a sudden.’
Myles sighed. ‘One of us has to be. And seeing as that you’ve taken leave of your senses, I’ll be the responsible one for a change. You know where everything is. Sort yourself out, and we’ll see how you feel in the morning.’
‘All right then,
dad
. If you say so.’ Alex knew he was behaving like a petulant teenager, but he couldn’t help it. Reasonable Myles had wrong-footed him somehow, and he didn’t like that feeling one bit. But his resolve was iron. His marriage was over. He needed to get out.~Casey~
‘Divorce? What do you mean, he wants a divorce? He can’t divorce you!’
Sasha’s face was the picture of disbelief. Casey put her head on Sasha’s kitchen counter and sobbed. ‘That’s what he said,’ she mumbled through her tears. ‘In his text message. It’s not like we’ve spoken since Cornwall.’
Sasha sighed deeply and busied herself with the kettle and some tea bags. ‘You guys. I’m stunned. How did this happen?’
‘You know how this happened. Not having sex proved too much for Alex. We’ve been over this.’
‘We have.’ Sasha frowned. ‘We have indeed. Every day for three weeks. And I don’t mind, really, I don’t. It’s a big deal, and it needs talking through. However, I still don’t understand how you two went from a gung-ho “we’ll get through this” approach to this.’
‘Me neither.’ Casey grabbed a tissue and blew her nose.
She had been staying at Sasha’s since that terrible Sunday night. She had hoped that Alex would go to their house eventually, and that finding it empty would shock him enough to search for her. It hadn’t.
After a week of tearful waiting in Sasha’s spare room, Casey had finally received a text that required her to make contact with Alex—but it had from Liza, calling her to band practice. Blue Heart had to go on, quite literally. They would be touring in the New Year, and they needed to put a show together.
Casey had taken herself to the first rehearsal glammed up and with a beaming smile, ready to defy the world. She wasn’t going to let on how hurt she was. Myles and Liza had behaved as normal, joking around and bickering over lyrics, beats, and vocals with her.
Alex had ignored her that first time. At the second rehearsal, he had attempted conversation, presumably because Myles had put him straight. Casey wasn’t entirely sure of this, but Liza had let slip that Myles was seriously pissed off with Alex’s attitude. The band had to come first.