Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,33
over-25’s night.”
“I don’t know, ‘Leste,” Elise said hesitantly, “it’s not really my thing. I don’t tend to go out other than to work functions. I would feel totally out of place.”
“How can you possibly know you’ll feel out of place when you’ve never been before? Look, I’ve asked Annabel and Amelia and I think Olivia said she would come too so that’s already four people that you know...”
Elise refrained from pointing out that she didn’t consider any of those girls to be her friend. Instead, she asked something else as another thought struck her.
“Hang on....Aren’t they too young if it’s an over-25’s night?”
Celeste shrugged “Amelia is 25, I think, and Annabel and Olivia reckon they’ll have no trouble. I think they are planning on finding themselves some older men. So, are you coming or not?”
That sounded about right. Amelia was still trying to make Cole jealous despite her performance with Stephen the other night and, from what Elise knew of Annabel and Olivia, getting their claws into an older man would fit right into their style. Did she really want to go and witness that?
Elise thought for a moment and suddenly realised that she hadn’t done anything even remotely reckless for a very long time. As annoying as the others could be, it would be entertaining watching them and the thought of losing herself completely in the music was really starting to appeal. She was a free agent tonight so she supposed that she could go. Dale would still be in the hospital and need never know. Perhaps a girlie night out would be just what was needed. She could have some fun, have a few drinks and forget all about the men in her life for one whole evening. Particularly one man with a killer body and the darkest eyes she had ever seen. She had a feeling though that forgetting about him, would take a hell of a lot more than a nightclub and a few drinks. Suddenly though, going out tonight seemed like the perfect plan and smiling her acceptance, she turned to Celeste.
“’Leste, we are now looking for two killer dresses. Count me in!”
Chapter Ten
It had taken them another two hours to find the dresses, so consequently Elise found herself running late for visiting hours at the hospital. Throwing her car into the first available space, she ran into the building and took the stairs two at a time, arriving only a very commendable ten minutes late.
She checked in with the nurse at the ward station and was surprised when she was informed that Dale already had a visitor. Wondering who on earth that could be as Dale had no family locally, she rounded the corner and headed to his bed only to stop short in her tracks, disbelief pouring from every fibre as she took in the appearance of Dale’s other visitor.
It was Vaughn. Of course it was.
Vaughn had come to visit Dale in the hospital. What the hell was he playing at? For a brief second, panic flooded her as she thought about Vaughn telling Dale about all of the events of yesterday. Everything - every minute detail. How would she ever convince Dale that it was untrue and harmless? She knew that he would see right through her and there’d be hell to pay if he realised that she had actually been kissing someone else. And not just kissing either. Although they had been interrupted, Elise knew that she would have struggled to stop.
This was bad. Really bad.
Nervously, she approached the bed as quietly as she could, hoping to catch some of the conversation before they became aware of her presence. Unaccustomed to seeing Dale look so helpless, she took a moment to consider his appearance in the traditional hospital gown and bed, surrounded by monitors and other typical paraphernalia.
The alcohol had by now well and truly worn off and she could begin to see glimmers of the old Dale again. His dark blond hair was in desperate need of a wash but it was falling in its usual wavy and slightly-unkempt manner and his face appeared more rested and less lined. There were obvious signs from his fight; bruises and cuts marring his face and one particularly ugly cut just under his jaw which was where she presumed Vaughn had landed the final blow. Seeing her husband vulnerable like this tugged at her heartstrings and, not for the first time, she felt saddened at what he had let himself become.