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I give myself a minute, breathing deeply, and then grab my bag from the trunk, closing it again, before I let myself into the house. It feels cool in here compared to outside, and I set my bag down at the foot of the stairs, soaking up the quiet stillness. I’m not willing to face my bedroom yet, so I make my way through to the kitchen to get a drink.
The glass doors are wide open, and I can hear voices outside.
“Why did you sleep with her?” That’s Ella and I can hear the smile in her voice, even from here.
“Why do you think?” Drew’s reply is typical of him, and although I’m not feeling very sociable, I can’t ignore them, so I wander out and find them lounging by the pool. Drew’s wearing black shorts and a very fine tan, but my attention is drawn to Ella… not because her bikini is only just decent, but because it’s been so long since I’ve seen her. She’s changed. Her dark hair is cut shorter, and I’d say she’s been visiting a gym. She seems more toned than I remember. She notices me first and sits up, pulling off her sunglasses and smiling, her hazel eyes sparkling at me.
“Hunter? I didn’t think you were coming down this weekend. Pat said…”
“I know. I changed my mind.”
Drew sits up too, frowning. “Something’s happened.” He gets to his feet, coming straight over, and Ella follows. “This is about Livia, isn’t it?” he says.
“Yes.”
“Oh, God… what have you done now?” Ella rolls her eyes and I turn to her.
“I haven’t done anything… at least, I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“That’s what you think. Although I’d like to point out, you didn’t think it was wrong to fire the woman you claim to be in love with.”
“We all make mistakes.”
“There are mistakes, and then there are mistakes. This is the latter.”
“Let’s go inside,” Drew says. “I could do with a drink.”
He leads the way, and I let Ella follow him, bringing up the rear. Inside, Drew goes straight to the refrigerator, grabbing some water, while Ella fetches three glasses, and I sit at the island unit. They join me, Drew pouring the water, and Ella passing it out, before they sit, either side of me. This feels ominous, and part of me wants to run and hide… although I don’t know where I’d go. I feel surrounded by memories here, and while all of them are good, I can’t face them at the moment.
Not when my future looks so bleak.
“What’s happened?” Drew asks, taking a long sip of water before he turns to face me.
“I went to see Livia.”
“At her apartment?”
I turn to him. “No. She wasn’t there. She’d gone home.”
“Home being?” Ella asks, and I turn the other way.
“Falmouth, in Maine.”
“Okay.” She nods her head. “So, you drove up to Maine…”
They’re both waiting and I know there’s no point in pretending nothing happened, when it so clearly did.
“I got there yesterday afternoon, and her mom answered the door. Livia was there, but she wouldn’t see me. She wouldn’t even come to the door.”
“I don’t blame her,” Ella says.
“Neither do I.” My reply seems to surprise her, but before she can say anything, Drew gets there first.
“What did you do next?” he asks.
“I found myself a hotel, and stayed there for the night, and then I drove back to Livia’s place this morning.”
“With what in mind?” Drew says.
