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He nods. He looks completely shell-shocked.
Huxley leaps across the sofa, and this time Guy stays puts. “Come with me,” Huxley says firmly, tucking a hand under his arm. Guy doesn’t resist as Huxley propels him out of the apartment, letting the door close behind him.
*
Huxley
“What the fuck?” I say in a furious whisper as I frog-march Guy down to the corridor. “I told you never to come here. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I needed to see you,” Guy says miserably.
I bang on the button to call the elevator, still holding onto his arm in case he tries to go back to the apartment. I’ve never been this angry. I can’t believe he just turned up, right when Brandy and Joanna were there.
I also can’t believe Brandy told Joanna that I’m not her birth father. I feel hurt and shocked. Why didn’t she discuss it with me? She said she did it last year. So Joanna’s known for months? She’s never said anything to me. Why didn’t she talk to me about it?
Fury boils in my veins. I made a huge sacrifice to be her father. I’m not going to have Guy waltz in now and ruin everything.
And Elizabeth… I’ve worked incredibly hard to keep my secret over the years, for Brandy and Joanna’s sake. What is she going to think now?
The elevator doors ping and open. I push Guy into the carriage, go in behind him, press the button for the ground floor, and the doors close.
“What do you want?” I snap.
He hesitates and studies his shoes.
“Money?” I ask, and he nods.
“What happened to the job I got you?”
“I’m still there,” he mumbles. “It’s not what you think. I’ve… met someone.”
I stare at him. “What?”
“Her name’s Claire. We’re moving in together. I’m still clean. I have been for three years. I’m doing my best. I work hard. But the room I’m in is too small for two of us. I want to get us a place together, but I need a deposit. And I wondered whether you could loan me the money. I’ll pay you back, I swear.”
I’m so shocked, and my brain’s whizzing around so fast, I can’t think what to say.
I’ve spent ten years trying to get Guy on the straight and narrow. For seven years, he drank and took drugs, gambled and stole, and got himself into all sorts of trouble. It all came to a head when he tried to take his own life. He was found having taken an overdose, and in the hospital he gave them my name. When they called me, I went down to Christchurch to visit him. He was in a pitiful state, very low, and said he’d hit rock bottom. And for the first time, he asked for help.
I got him into a clinic, and he slowly started getting better. When he eventually left the clinic, I got him a job working in a technology store, as he’s always been good with computers, and found him a room in a pleasant part of the city.
I’ve kept a close eye on him, but I can only do so much. Part of me has been waiting to hear that he’s moved out, lost his job, and returned to his old ways.
To hear him say he’s met someone, and they’re moving in together, brings a wave of emotion crashing over me that I never expected.
“I can’t believe you did that for me,” he says. “Took on a baby that wasn’t yours.”
“Brandy needed help. She’s religious, so she didn’t want to terminate the pregnancy, but she was absolutely terrified what would happen when her parents found out. I felt a duty to provide for her.”
Guy gives a ghost of a smile. “Duty and responsibility,” he murmurs. “That about sums you up, doesn’t it?”
“I had to do something. So I said to tell everyone that we’d had a one-night stand and that Joanna was mine. I told her I’d look after her financially, and make sure she didn’t want for anything. She hasn’t. And Joanna’s grown up into a beautiful, spirited girl.”
The doors ping and open, and we walk out into the foyer.
“Do Mum and Dad know?” Guy asks.
I shake my head.
