Page 45 of Arthur


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“And a certain Mr. Taylor?” she asks, smirking.

“About that,” I begin, and she sits down next to me. “We sort of got together.”

“What does that mean?”

“I think you know what I’m saying, Hads,” I reply.

“Right, but was it just sex, or sex and a relationship?”

I shrug. “He wants more, more than just sex,” I explain, and she grips my arm excitedly. “But—”

“No,” she cries dramatically. “No, no, no, don’t say but.”

I laugh. “But,” I repeat, “he wants to know about my past. I think he’s guessed something happened.”

She smiles sadly, taking my hand. “Don’t you want to tell him?” I shake my head. “Meli, you never talk about it. Maybe telling someone would help.”

I roll my eyes. “Hadley, he’s not my therapist—”

“Because you don’t have one,” she cuts in, her tone disapproving.

“I can’t start laying everything on him like that. He’ll run a mile.”

“Or he’ll appreciate you being honest, and he’ll help you move on.”

“I have moved on,” I argue.

“Huh,” she grunts, arching a brow.

“I have,” I repeat.

“You don’t see a therapist and you haven’t told anyone what happened, not really. All I’m saying is, if you don’t want to go into details, at least explain who Ripper was and what he did.” How do I explain it when I don’t understand myself? It’s not like Ripper pinned me down and forced me . . . well, not right away anyway. It happened without me knowing it was happening. How the fuck do I explain that?

Rylee comes over. “Anyone know what’s happened with Mav and Arthur?” she asks, joining us on the couch.

I sit straighter. “Why?”

“Mav just came out of church and ordered Arthur into his office. He looked pissed. And I’ve never seen anyone order Arthur anywhere. It was quite the scene.”

Hadley grimaces. “You should get in there.”

“Why? Do you know what’s happened?” asks Rylee. I head for the office, leaving Hadley to explain.

I don’t bother to knock because I hear full-on yelling from inside the office. Mav almost shouts at me to get out until he realises it’s me. “More secrets,” he says. “Fuck, Meli, I thought we were done with secrets.”

I scoff at his words, slamming the door closed. “You wanna talk secrets, Mav?” I snap. “Cos you have a big one that you’ve happily told Hadley about.”

“When I said I’d ease up, I didn’t mean my business associates,” he growls. “First, my brother, and now, Arthur.”

His words cut deep, and Arthur takes my hand, squeezing it. “You’re out of line, Mav,” he murmurs, and I feel him trying to stay calm.

“You don’t get to tell me I’m outta line when it comes tomyfamily,” Mav yells. He brings his attention back to me. “Have you thought about how this ends, Meli? What happens when you get bored and walk away, cos I can’t cut ties with him.”

“It’s not going to end,” says Arthur impatiently.

“It always ends where Meli’s involved,” Mav shouts. “She can’t fucking commit.” He sounds just like our dad, and I feel myself shutting down.

“I want to go,” I tell Arthur, and he begins to lead me away.

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