Page 12 of Cruel Embers
“I know, but I can’t just switch my feelings off,” I finally admit, and Ethan nods in understanding.
He claps his hand over my shoulder. “Of course not, man, and I get that, but I also know you deserve better, and I hate you’ve been dragged into all of this unwillingly.”
Henry moves past me and snatches up two towels, tossing one over to Olly.
“Dragged into what?” Henry asks, wiping his face and looking between Ethan and me.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, no point in me hiding it from him. “Naomi,” I say.
His eyebrows draw down. “What, the one who turned out to be married? You’re not still sleeping with her, are you?”
I grit my jaw, hating that he would even ask that, and straight away, his eyes widen and he bounces on the balls of his feet.
“Shit, sorry, I know that's a hard pass for you, man.”
Olly clears his throat. I almost forgot he was there.
I shake my head. “It’s cool. She's been a bit relentless recently, texting and calling. I even picked her up from a bar and had to book her into a hotel. She’s having issues with her husband.”
Henry pauses with his water bottle halfway to his mouth. “What kind of issues?”
He takes a gulp and waits for me to reply.
I crack my neck, a bad habit when I’m agitated. “She says he’s been getting a bit abusive.”
Henry’s face turns hard; after everything with Clara, and then Emilio holding Meg at knifepoint, I get it, of course, I do.
“What’s a bit? Is he hitting her?” Olly asks, concern etching his face now too.
“She won’t talk about it, and apart from a couple of bruises and finger marks I saw on her wrist, I’ve never seen anything else, but as we’re not sleeping together, it’s hard to know for sure.”
Unable to keep still, I begin pacing, my phone a lead weight in my pocket.
And here lies the problem. I sent her to voicemail, but in the back of my mind my voice is screaming at me to check if she’s okay.
“If I could just have her see sense to leave him and know she’s safe, then I can get some closure, you know.”
“Listen, man, I know after everything that went down between Clara and Emilio, with him being abusive and then her accidental suicide, you feel a sense of guilt. Shit, we all do.”
He grips the back of his neck, his shoulders tense.
It’s true. None of us believed her overdose was intentional, most of all Meg. She remained her best friend, even after Clara cheated on Henry with Emilio. The rest of us were a lot less forgiving, though, with our main loyalty lying with Henry and our ire mostly directed at Emilio.
Ethan lets out a heavy sigh. “And as much as I hate to say this, Naomi isn’t your responsibility.” I’m about to retort when he holds up his palm. “And I know this probably dredges up bad memories of your dad, and all of this is likely a trigger for you, whether you want to admit it or not.”
He’s not wrong. My dad always had a temper; he was verbally and physically abusive. He would lash out at my mum and accuse her of having an affair. Which was ludicrous. How the fuck he thought she’d find the time while raising four kids, looking after a home, and working a part-time job was beyond me. It turned out he was the one having the affairs and projecting that shit onto her. On the outside, looking in, anyone would think we had the picture fucking perfect family, but it was all a facade.
I used to be jealous of Henry and Ethan because they didn’t have a dad growing up; he left them and my aunt before they were one. And yet I remember them always saying how they thought I was the lucky one because I had a dad. But it couldn’t have been further from the truth, and it all came to a head when I was fourteen. I let out an involuntary shiver as the memories come flooding back, trying to take over.
Henry and Ethan stare at me because I wouldn’t even call her a friend, not after what she did and yet I seem to have this misguided need to ensure she’s okay.
“I need to call to check she’s alright.”
Without another word, I make my way towards the exit, smiling at Meg as I pass.
I pull up my voicemail and hit play. It's a quick message of Naomi asking me to call her back as soon as possible.
She answers on the second ring, sounding out of breath.
