Sara does not like what I’m saying. “Listen to me. Louis is not cheating on Emily! She ran away to St. Lucia because she thought he was cheating on her but he wasn’t! He was trying to save his company from bankruptcy and had just closed an important deal with a woman from Russia. Louis was not sleeping with that woman; Emily misunderstood. When she ran away, he was looking for her all night around New York City like a deranged lunatic. He had a heart attack and almost died looking for her. You keep saying things about him that make me very uncomfortable. You don’t know what they have. That man loves her and his kids more than life. If someone loved me one percent as much as Louis loves my best friend, I would be the luckiest girl in the world. Don’t you dare say anything bad about Louis! He is a great son, a loyal friend, a loving father, and the best husband any woman could ask for. I don’t know what happened with him and your sister, but what he and Emily have is bulletproof.”
Her words are making me bleed inside and I won’t hear any more of her rubbish. He is not a good husband—he’s a fake, a liar, and a cheat. If Sara read my sister’s book, she wouldn’t have such a high opinion of Louis fucking Bruel.
“Do you want to tell me what evidence you have confirming that Louis committed the heinous misconducts you speak of? I think your opinion of him is based on hearsay. You accused him of sleeping with me a few moments ago while the truth of the matter is he wasn’t even here. Don’t you think he deserves a fair trial before you go accusing him without any proof of acts he’s never been a part of?”
This girl is most definitely a solicitor, and she may look fragile and weak, but I’m starting to think that she’s as strong as they come.
“I’ll tell you what, Mr. Knight, how about you go make us some coffee while I go shower and change. You and I can sit down and talk like two adults. I promise to listen to everything you think you know about Mr. Bruel, and if I feel your information has merit, I will immediately convey your concerns to Mrs. Bruel.”
Her stoic tone and her formal mention of Emily and Louis’ names are meant to draw the line in the sand between us, and yet I feel like we’re about to cross lines I didn’t even know existed. I smile and nod. I know I don’t have any choice; if there’s any chance of seeing and getting through to Emily I need this bird to help me. I get up and quickly offer Sara my hand. She accepts it easily and waits for me to properly answer her back and accept her proposal. “How do you take your coffee, Sara?”
She smiles, which makes me smile. She’s such a conundrum; she appears fragile, almost breakable, but I have this hunch she’s tougher than I am. I can’t explain how I know, but I just know it in my gut.
“I take my coffee in the form of tea with milk and two sugars, please,” she says while walking towards her room.
I yell back after her, “Are you sure you’re American? I don’t know any tea-with-milk-drinking American girls under the age of one hundred.”
She pops her head out while smiling and says, “Well, you do now, Liam.”
Liam! How did she know to call me Liam?
“Things Can Only Get Better” by Howard Jones
The hot shower helps me wash Jeffery from my mind and body. I have the urge to yell and cry but I’m calm, I’m used to this. After all, I wake up every morning with only his old grey T-shirt around my body instead of his arms. But today feels worse because I’m not there to see them all leave. I feel physical pain that is slowly turning into a massive, silent panic attack. Starting a day without seeing him off is almost as hard as knowing that my time with him is finally up. A thought crosses my mind: If people ever knew the truth, would they hate me? At least he’ll know the truth even if no one else does. Today was supposed to be about me coming up with a plan to start fresh and escape this pathetic existence I’ve staged