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Chapter Eight
Terry
“Terry, she knows,” the voice on the other end said as soon as I answered.
I could hear the dread in her voice. I had hoped that Ally was calling me with good news. Calling to tell me that she had managed to talk Mia off the ledge, and she was less angry with me. But that didn’t seem to be the case. “What does she know exactly? Does she know about tomorrow, our arrangement, or about the other thing that you were never supposed to tell her about?” I sighed. We both had kept too many secrets from her, and it was killing me that it had come to this.
“She knows that I know why you left her, but she doesn’t know the reason. And she also knows of our arrangement. I never got around to telling her about tomorrow. She stormed out first.” Her words came out in a rush, and I could hear the defeat in her tone. I waited for her to yell at me.
But it never came.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Damn it. I’m sorry I’ve put you in this position. I knew it was going to blow up eventually. I was just hoping I could minimize the damage done to you.” The old me would have been screaming and yelling right now. Not at Ally, but into the vast space of my apartment. But I was determined to keep my cool. I was trying to be more levelheaded and think this situation through.
“Look, blame me,” I told her, hoping to minimize the wrath that would be directed at Ally. “Make all of this my fault. I don’t want her angry with you. Please do that for me.”
“It’s too late for that. She knows the arrangement was my idea.”
“I don’t care. She hates me already, just give her another reason to hate me.” My voice was strained, and I was begging now.
“Terry,” she replied, her pity apparent. “She hates you no more than you hate her. Mia is still in love with you. And we both know how much you still love her.”
“That’s not the way it is. You haven’t seen the fire in her eyes, the hate that lies there. All I seem to do lately is make her yell or make her cry. She hates me. And how can she not? Look at what I’ve done to her.”
“You’re confusing hate with passion. She still has feelings for you, and yes, she’s hurt. But she could never hate you. The two of you have a connection and history that doesn’t change just because you two were an ocean apart for years.” She waited a moment before continuing. “She has changed a lot in the last few years. She’s dealt with a lot, and it’s shaken her to her very core. It’s changed who she is.”
“What happened to her?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Please, you have to,” I pleaded.
“No, I can’t. That’s my secret with Mia, just like you and I have a secret. When you are both ready to be honest with each other, all secrets will be out. But until then, my lips are sealed. And that goes for both of you.”
We were alike that way, me and Mia. No wonder neither one of us had properly moved one. We’d both attempted it, but we weren’t successful.
“I need you to do something for me,” she said.
“Anything. Just name it.” I was eager to help her because I knew it would have to do with Mia.
“She isn’t talking to me right now. She’s angry. She feels betrayed by me, so she probably won’t take my calls. I need you to call her and tell her about tomorrow. Tell her you’re the photographer that InStyle has hired for the spread. Mia needs to know so she doesn’t feel ambushed at work. That company is everything to her, so please call her and give her a chance to prepare. Help her save face with her staff tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I’ll do it. I don’t know how well she’ll listen to me, but I can try.”
“No,” she began carefully. “This whole spread is very important to her and very big for the company, so please do more than try to make her listen to you. Please do this for me. More importantly, do this for her.”
“Okay, I will tell her.” She gave me Mia’s number and wished me luck.
* * *
I stared at her number for a while, trying to collect my thoughts. To make it easier, I grabbed a bottle of Jack and a glass and made my way to the couch. I poured the amber liquid into the waiting glass, then ran my fingers over the numbers that made up her phone number. It was a different one from the one that had been ingrained in my mind. I took a swig of my whiskey and dialed.
Three rings later, and her angelic voice filled my ear.
“Hello?” There was a question in her voice, like she didn’t know the number and was trying to place it.
“Hi, Mia. It’s Terry.”
“How did you get my number?”
