My head flops forward on her shoulder and I clutch her top between my fingers. “It hurts.”
“What does, honey?”
“Everything. Everywhere. My heart,” I choke out. “I’m so stupid. I live in a world where fairy tales don’t exist. I was naïve to believe I could have that.”
She pulls back and lifts my chin until we lock gazes. “Fairy tales may not exist, but love does. Our family is proof of that. It’s filled with love and one day, sweet girl, you’ll find your love.”
“I don’t think I want to.”
She leans down, kissing my forehead. “You will, because with a heart like yours, there’s no other possibility. You will get through this. You will forget about that man and what he has done. If you push the physical stuff he has done aside, he still hurt you. He broke your heart and for that, it will take time to heal. But I’m here.”
I nod, trying to keep the tremors at bay, but it’s so hard when she looks at me with so much love and heartache. I burst into tears and her expression crumbles as she pulls me into her arms. “It’s going to be okay.”
One part of me wants to believe her, but the other part has given up hope.
CHAPTER FOUR
DREW
FOUR WEEKS LATER
The noise of the gym echoes around the walls of my office, causing the pounding in my head to feel like it’s going to explode. And looking at these email replies isn’t helping.
I contacted local women aid groups, amongst other groups, to offer my services free of charge here at the gym. But the women were too scared to come to a place where grown-arse men work out, and I can’t blame them.
We still had a few women who turned up, and it was great. Donations were given at the door and it was working out fine.
But I don’t feel like I’m making a difference. Not yet. Not until more women are comfortable attending.
The door to my office slams into the wall and I look up, finding a red-faced Landon. He looks tired, haggard and aged. The past few weeks have taken a toll on him.
He’s looking for the guy who attacked his cousin but has had no luck. “Nothing?”
He throws his cap on the desk before dropping down in his chair. “How the fuck someone can just disappear is beyond me.”
“Did they find out his name?” I ask, sitting up. The last we spoke, the last name he had given her wasn’t even real.
And she knows nothing about where he lives, who his friends are or where he works. It sucks, and I hate that she has been played like that.
“No. And we’re reaching the end of leads now.”
“I thought you said the strip club owner remembered him.”
“Their security footage deletes after a few months and it seems he hasn’t been back there since the night Charlotte met him.”
“Doesn’t mean he hasn’t been to another,” I remind him.
He pauses, and I give him a minute to mull over it. “I’m gonna get on that.”
“Are you getting any help? Or should I ask, are you letting anyone help?”
“I should have been there for her,” he growls.
I shake my head. This is where society is fucked up.
“It’s not about someone being there for her, mate. It should never have happened.”
“We live in a world with fucked up people.”
“Yeah, we do.”
“I just wish the police would do fucking more. Every lead they’ve had so far is what we’ve given them. No one just disappears. Someone has to know him.”
“Just give them time. She’s safe now,” I remind him. “Is she still at her mum and dad’s?”
“No, the stubborn woman wanted to go back home last week. She’s doing okay. She has a way of bouncing back from anything, but I can still see her pain. It’s like a light has gone out inside of her.”
I know that look. It’s the same one I see on my sister’s face every time I see her. Thinking about Nora reminds me that I haven’t seen her in a few weeks. “I really hope you find the fucker, and if you need any help, I’m there.”
He glances from the keys to my face. “Going out?”
“Yeah, I need to go see my sister,” I tell him as I grab my leather jacket off the back of my chair. “Can you lock up?”
“Of course,” he replies. “And Drew?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for what you did for her that night.”
I shrug. “Any time.”
I leave him to stew over his thoughts and head toward the exit for my car, since I still haven’t gotten my bike fixed.
“See you tomorrow,” Helena, our receptionist, calls out.
“See ya,” I call back, and pull open the door.
Paisley runs into me, jerking back with wide eyes. “Wow, I keep forgetting how big you are.”
I chuckle. “He’s in his office.”
She hesitates to move and runs her palms down her coat. “Is he, um—is he okay?”
My brows pull together. “Um, yeah.”
“He’s only been home a few times. He’s worried about Charlotte. But Jaxon has been watching the house too. Everyone has. I’m really worried he blames me for it. Because I pull his attention away from her.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Um, he’s in the office.”
She forces out a laugh. “Guess you aren’t into heart-to-hearts.”
No, I’m not, but I’m also not into seeing women upset. It’s a weakness of mine.
“He doesn’t blame you,” I tell her when she reaches for the door. She stops, turning to face me. “He blames himself. That night, it was bad. She was in a bad state.”
Her lower lip trembles. “I hate that this has happened to her.”
“He does too,” I remind her. “Go to him. Talk to him. And get him to stop yelling at the staff. I can’t afford to lose any more.”
She nods, and pushes through the door. I wasn’t joking about the staff. He’s snapped at anyone who has even looked at him, which ended up with two people quitting.
I have been in his position, blaming myself, and no words from other people are going to help that.
My leather jacket squeaks as I head to my car, my gaze flicking briefly to the spot where Charlotte crashed. I’ve thought about her a lot over the past few weeks and I’m glad to hear she’s getting better.
Getting into the car, I fire off a message, letting Nora know I’m on my way.
*** *** ***
Nora is waiting for me when I arrive in the yard. I’m kind of glad my bike is still being fixed because the entrance hasn’t been tarmacked and my tyres are sinking into the mud puddles.
The scrapyard is my dad’s love. He’s worked here for his dad for as long as he can remember and took over it when he passed. Now, there isn’t just scrap, but he does body paintwork on vehicles inside. He has a pretty good thing going.
The house built on the lot isn’t the biggest but it’s more of a home than what it feels like at my mum’s. There, it just feels cold, like I’m a guest in someone else’s home.
Nora gets up from the seat swing, grinning when I get out of the car. “I was beginning to feel like you had forgotten about me.”