Chase, page 21
“It would seem not,” Daniel laughs awkwardly, then winces. “What the hell are you going to do with this information?”
“I don’t know!” I clasp my hand over my mouth, feeling nauseated over how Izzy’s going to take this. “She’s already fragile, but I can’t keep this from her, can I? Fuck!”
“Maybe she’ll be pleased?” Daniel offers; part of me thinks he could be right. However, a bigger part believes she’s more likely to feel hurt, confused, and angry. I sure as hell would be.
“Do I confront Uncle Craig, or do I leave that to her?”
“I think if it was me, I would take a few days to mull it over so I could come to a more rational decision when it’s all sunk in a bit,” Daniel advises, which makes sense. “But I wouldn’t mention this to anyone else, no matter how tempting. Not your mom, your dad, or Granny in the woods. You know how stuff like this can leak out and she won’t thank you for discussing it with anyone but her.”
“But Ethan knows because he’s the one who dropped the hints in the first place” I look up at him, feeling irritated by the thought of her dickhead half-brother.
“Then you really do only have a few days to think about it,” he sighs, leaving me to my headache of a situation.
_____
Izzy
After my appointments have ended for the day, I take Mel for a coffee at the local Starbucks before we head home. We’ll hopefully miss the rush hour traffic this way, so it makes sense. I’m still anxious about Will but can’t do anything except sit and wait for someone to contact me. Mel allows me to sit in silence while I mull it all over; she can tell I’m still flustered.
The sound of my phone buzzing across the table has my heart jumping into my throat. It takes a moment or two to register what is going on before I grab hold and pick it up.
“Hi, Penny, what’ve you heard?” I rush out.
“Oh, God, Iz, Will’s in hospital,” Penny sniffs. “His sister spoke to Jaime and told him he’d been beaten up…like…badly. He’s got concussion, a few cracked ribs, and looks bloody awful. We’re with him now but he’s still out of it.”
“Shit!” I whisper shout before placing my hand over my mouth. Mel is already packing up our stuff, obviously having heard everything.
“I’ll text you the details of where he is,” Penny says, “please hurry, Izzy, he’s really bad.”
“We’re on our way now,” I reassure her, then hang up and make a dash for the car.
On the way over to the hospital, I probably break a few speed limits as I wheedle in and out of traffic. I honk my horn and act like a crazy bitch with full-on road rage, all the while the traffic moves slowly Southwards. I call Theo to tell him I’ll be late, but after I tell him why, he insists on meeting me there.
We arrive within the hour, but I still make a mad power walk up to his room, where I find Penny sitting at Will’s bedside, holding his lifeless hand. Jaime is slumped inside of a chair beside the bed with emotionless eyes that are covered in roadmap veins. I can tell it’s hitting him hard to see his friend like this.
Penny eventually turns her head to see me and immediately jumps up to wrap her arms around my waist with relieved tears trickling down her cheeks. I hold her close, stroking her hair and trying to give her reassuring words of comfort. She eventually breaks free and leads me over to Will, who is deathly pale and covered in deep purple bruising, cuts to his face and arms, and has a drip feeding into his hand. If it wasn’t for how awful he looks, you would think he was just sleeping.
“Jaime?” I whisper, snapping him out of his troubled thoughts. “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine,” he says quietly but I know he’s not, so I walk around the bed to where he’s sitting and open up my arms. “Come here, Jaime.”
He looks at me like a lost little boy and it only takes a few seconds for him to jump into my arms and sob his heart out.
“Oh, Jaime,” I say softly, patting his hair like a mother would her son, “let it all out.”
He cries a bit longer and then breaks free, looking a little embarrassed as he wipes away a traitorous tear with speedy aggression. When he looks up, his eyes seem to bulge in horror.
“S-sorry, man, I just…” he stutters, then trails off, dropping his gaze to the floor. I frown but then turn to see Theo’s hulking great figure in the doorway. He smiles warmly and clears his throat.
“No need to apologize,” he says to Jaime, “I know I can’t refuse a cuddle from Izzy; she’s good at that.”
“Do we know anything about what happened?” I ask, as I take a seat on the side of the bed and take hold of Will’s hand.
“Just that he arrived here this morning; his sister and her boyfriend brought him in. They found him crumpled up on the ground next to his car, probably on his way to see you. His dog was lying next to him and wouldn’t leave his side,” Jaime explains.
“Where are his parents?” I ask. If it was my child, I would be here around the clock.
“They haven’t been in,” Jaime sighs quietly, almost looking guilty on their behalf. Knowing they haven’t even bothered to come in, I feel fury building up inside of me.
“Do they know when he’ll wake up?”
“They reckon it should be soon,” Jaime smiles with renewed hope, “but his body is trying to repair itself so it might take a while.”
I nod; sleep is probably the best place for him right now.
“Who are all these people, Jaime?”
A tall, willowy girl walks in with a cup of coffee from the machine. She’s elegantly dressed, wearing a full face of make-up as well as a scowl. From her features, height, and coloring, I would guess she’s Will’s sister. She eyes each one of us with questioning contempt, apart from Theo. I can only imagine what she’s thinking when she looks at him wearing his designer suit and perfectly coiffed hair.
“Hi, I’m Izzy,” I finally say, holding out my hand to shake, “I’m so so-”
“I know who you are, and you can leave,” she snaps.
“I’m sorry?” I question, even though her instant hatred of me is more than evident.
“You’ve been seeing my brother and giving him ungodly ideas, forcing him to tell my poor parents he’s gay or some such nonsense. Now look at him, are you happy?”
“Hey -” Theo tries to argue on my behalf, but I can more than defend myself against this crazy bitch.
“I would never tell anyone what they should do,” I fight back, “I’m not like some people who feel it’s their place to make decisions for others. I was a listening ear to your brother, who I happen to think is fantastic.”
“He never had any of these perverse thoughts about men before he met you. And we’ve all heard about your ghastly reputation,” she scoffs. “And now I know who he is,” she says, gesturing over to Theo, “the cousin you’re engaged to. The cousin you bedded when you were only fifteen!”
“Let me guess, you’re friends with my sister, Tilly?” I sigh, crossing my arms defensively.
“Tilly and I have been friends since prep school, we were in the same year together. Will came along much later for my parents. Much like you, he was a mistake, but because he is a boy, they didn’t mind so much.”
For a moment, I feel sorry for her; I imagine she has been overlooked, for her jealousy is more than obvious. But then I remember Will and what has happened to him, purely because he fell in love.
“I can’t deal with your issues right now,” I tell her, “I’m here for your brother.”
“Well, you’re not welcome here; you’re likely infecting the place with whatever diseases you’re carrying,” she says venomously.
“Hey, back the fuck off!” Theo says in an eerily quiet voice while pushing me behind his intimidating frame. She shudders a little but still opens her mouth to argue. However, a cough from Will’s bed causes everyone to break the tension and look at him instead.
“Get out,” he says weakly, “Esme, get out.”
He then starts coughing so I rush over to get a glass of water with a straw in it. He takes it with gratitude, the effort of even drinking looking like it’s exhausting for him.
“But Will, I-” she starts to argue, actually stamping her foot on the floor like a spoiled child being told no for the first time.
“Please, leave!” Will says as forcefully as he can.
She looks at all of us with pure hatred before stomping out of the room.
“Shit, Will, what the hell happened?” Jaime is at Will’s side within an instant, shuffling around on his feet and looking like he wants to hug him.
“Hey, Jaime, I’m ok,” he says with a crackly voice. “You know me, I’ll survive the apocalypse,” he teases, to which his friend smiles with relief. “But do you think I could talk to Izzy for a minute?”
Everyone looks at each other before they nod and make a move to leave.
“I won’t go far,” Theo says before kissing my cheek. “Mel has gone for the day so it’s my shift,” he says with a wink, to which I roll my eyes.
“God, Will, I’ve been so worried about you,” I tell him with fresh tears of relief rolling down my cheek as he grins up at me from his pillow. I help him raise the bed slightly so he can talk more comfortably.
“I feel like shit,” he laughs, and I can’t help but giggle with him.
“You look like shit, honey,” I tease, and he laughs again. He then ends up grabbing hold of his ribs in pain. I wince over my thoughtlessness. “What happened? We’re all kind of dying to know.”
His expression turns from mirth to sadness, so I instantly grab his hand to offer some kind of comfort and reassurance.
“I told my family on Sunday afternoon, just like I told you I would. My parents, my sister, and my grandmother were all there. Dad instantly disowned me and told me to leave the house. Mum was in floods of tears and flinched away from me when I tried to comfort her. Dad even told me to get my ‘filthy hands’ away from her.” I shake my head with disappointment on his behalf. “My sister told me that I made her sick, but my grandmother stood up and held me in the most loving and supportive hug I think I’ve ever had. Believe me, it was the only thing that stopped me from wanting to hang myself right there and then.”
“Oh, Will, I’m so sorry,” I tell him as I kiss the back of his hand. “Maybe I should have talked you out of it. It’s not what I’m supposed to do, but that must have been utterly horrible for you. I’m so…so… angry for you.”
“Don’t be sorry, Iz,” he says as he strokes my hair with a smile. “I’m so glad I did it, so glad it’s out in the open now. I don’t need to hide and battle with myself anymore. My grandmother has set me up with some finances and she says they can’t touch my trust fund, which means I can still go to Uni. She’s even said I can live with her when I’m not studying.”
“That’s great, Will, I’m glad” I tell him with my eyes suddenly full of tears that are threatening to fall. “So, how did you end up in here?”
“When I went back to collect my car and Dave, I was attacked from behind by three or four guys in masks. I don’t know who they are but seeing as they were on my parents’ property and calling me all kinds of homophobic names, I’m guessing Dad had something set up,” he sighs as he looks away in what appears to be shame and sadness, all rolled into one.
“Are you kidding me?!” I gasp in shock. “You really think your own father would have you beaten bloody and blue over this?”
His expression with the eventual nod of his head tells me he certainly would.
“Will, that’s…that’s…I have no words!” I flap my arms in the air. “He needs to be locked in a windowless room with four guys beating the crap out of him!”
“Says the girl who has put up with shit from her entire family,” he says, lifting my chin with his finger and smiling at me.
“We’re not talking about me,” I whisper sadly, now unable to look him in the eye.
“What is it they say? The truth will set you free?” he says softly. “It does, Izzy, it so does. Maybe you could start with that beefcake out there? The one who is so desperately in love with you, everyone can see it written all over his face whenever he’s in the same room as you.”
“I’m scared to, Will, what if he sees me differently? I can’t even say it out loud to myself; it’s not pretty,” I admit, anxiously biting my lip.
“Honestly? I don’t think he will, but if he does, it will still set you free from all the doubt and hurt swimming around inside of that overthinking head of yours. And if you can’t say it out loud, write it down,” he suggests.
“I’m the counselor, remember? Stop being so intelligent and logical,” I pout. “Will you keep walking the dogs with me?”
“Try and stop me,” he smiles warmly. “Actually don’t, because the last time that happened, I got my arse kicked.”
He gestures to his injuries and chuckles.
“I’ll call you, but I best let your brofriend come back in,” I tell him quietly. “Don’t tell him I told you, but he was completely distraught.”
“Pussy,” he grins, but then nods to let poor Jaime come back in.
Chapter 21
Izzy
It’s dark by the time we get back home and Stella is jumping all over us the moment we step through the door. I feel so guilty for leaving her, though it can only have been for about an hour. Besides, we make up for it by sharing our dinner with her and vowing to take her on extra-long walks over the weekend. Theo tucks into the takeaway pizza with as much enthusiasm as the dog, however, I find myself not being hungry. Instead, I sit at the table pondering over everything that’s come to pass, including what Will said to me earlier.
“This is probably a stupid question, given everything that’s happened, but are you ok?” Theo eventually asks, placing his hand over mine.
“No,” I utter quietly, “I’ve not been ok for a long time, but I think…I think I want to tell you why, Theo.”
I take a chance and look up to see his expression change into one of shock. He’s been waiting a long time for me to confide in him, but he doesn’t realize how hard it is for me to do this.
“Does it have something to do with what Will’s sister said at the hospital?” he asks, his frown appearing almost instantly.
I try to think what he’s talking about, but when I realize it’s about what happened at school, I smile sadly and shake my head. I wish that was all of it.
“My darling sister, Tilly, had taken a photo of us when she caught us in bed that morning, before everyone else arrived and everything kicked off,” I explain, smiling over the memory, otherwise I’ll cry. “It looked very suspicious; you were topless, and I was in just my bra and knickers. We were holding on to one another under the sheets. She sent it to virtually everyone at school. The Monday after you left, I walked into school to find poster sized pictures of that photograph up and down the hallways. My locker was filled with condom packets and the word ‘whore’ sprayed across it. Even when I went to the bathroom, there were messages written on the walls about me being an easy lay.”
“Fuck!” Theo mutters, unable to look me in the eye.
“Not only that, but Tilly had written my actual phone number underneath the photograph, so I became inundated with perverted phone calls. Disgusting text messages were sent on an hourly basis for weeks. In the end, I had to ditch the phone. I didn’t need it, anyway, seeing as I no longer had any friends. No one wanted to be seen with the school’s number one outcast. And those who didn’t care, were warned to keep away from me by their parents. I felt diseased every day, dirty for something that I also took comfort from because it was the last time that I had had someone touch me with affection. I dreamed you would come in and save me, like a little girl waiting for her prince to come.”
Laughing mirthlessly, I look up to see every muscle in his body tense up with pure rage. As the first tear falls, realizing this isn’t the half of it, he grabs hold of the salt shaker and squeezes it with such venom, I think he’s picturing it as Tilly’s throat. He then jumps from his chair, causing it to topple over, and throws the shaker at the wall. Stella whimpers and hides behind me all the while Theo paces up and down in anger. I let him for a few minutes because it’s an anger I know all too well.
After a few moments, he swings down in front of me, looks up into my eyes, then pulls me into a tight, all-encompassing hug.
“I’m sorry, Iz, so sorry” he muffles into my lap before looking back up at me again. “I didn’t mean to…I didn’t know… I never thought I was going to leave you to that kind of shit! What the hell did the school do? What did your parents do?”
“I should think you already know the answer to those questions,” I sigh. “The school cleared up the poster, then made me go and see a counselor who lectured me about sex safety. Tilly had to say sorry but that was about it; it was all swept under the carpet. As soon as she got me alone, she told me she wasn’t sorry at all, I deserved it. When that shitstorm finally blew over, she would torment me by showing me pictures of you from your social media account, particularly if you were with a girl.”
“Fuck,” he sighs again, then looks to the floor before releasing a noise akin to an angry roar.
“Theo, this isn’t the thing I was afraid to tell you,” I warn him, “and I need you to get a grip if I’m going to tell you the worst part of it.”
He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply before letting it out again. He then takes my hand inside of his and kisses my fingertips, seemingly trying to calm down.
“I promise, I will keep it together, “ he says with a long exhale. “You can tell me…anything.”
“I can’t tell you, Theo, I’m not that strong” I try to explain. “I can’t even admit it to myself out loud, but Will suggested I write it down. It may take me a little while to put what happened to me into words, but I think it’s the only way I can do this.”
“Does Will know?”
“No one knows,” I tell him truthfully, “but I want to tell you…only you. I love you so much, Theo,” I sob, “I always have and always will. But I’m so scared this will frighten you away,” I tell him as I cup his cheek.
