“I can’t thank you enough for your help today,” Sally says, wrapping me in her arms. “You handled the rush hour like a pro.”
“The restaurant I used to work at was always busy. It was in the heart of the Gold Coast. It made your rush hour seem like a walk in the park for me,” I reply with a laugh.
Sally opens the register, pulling out two fifty dollar notes and passing them to me. “Here, for all your help today.” I want to tell her not to worry about it, because I actually enjoyed helping, but I’m going to need every cent I can get.
“Thank you,” I say, folding the cash before shoving it into my pocket.
“You wouldn’t happen to be free again tomorrow? I could really use someone as skilful and hard working as you in my café. My customers loved you.”
I shrug my shoulders slightly. I had planned on leaving town tonight, but I guess one more day here won’t hurt. The money will come in handy. “Okay, I’d love that.”
“Wonderful. Could you start at ten?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“You’re a gem.”
“Hardly,” I reply with a chuckle.
“Don’t underestimate yourself, I know a gem when I find one. Good help is hard to find. If I could, I’d hire you on the spot and never let you go.” She says it with such sincerity, which should have me feeling proud, but in that moment, I realise just how low my self-esteem has become. When you’re constantly belittled and told how useless you are, you actually start to believe it.
“Thank you,” I say, giving her a small wave as I turn and head towards the door.
In my heart I know I’m not ready to leave this quaint little town, but I will have to go eventually. I don’t have a choice. Everyone I’ve met so far has been lovely, and it’s been such a long time since I’ve felt welcome or wanted.
As soon as I step out into the street, I’m surprised to see not only my car parked at the kerb, but Ryan leaning against it. I’m not gonna lie, the sight of him standing there looking all handsome in his police uniform takes my breath away. It should be illegal to be that gorgeous.
“How did it go?” he asks, pushing off the car and closing the distance between us.
“It went well.”
“It’s nice to see you smiling.”
I didn’t even realise I was. Yesterday I was a complete mess. I was at my lowest, and I wondered if I’d ever find happiness again. Here I am, twenty-four hours later, genuinely happy. It gives me hope that one day I’ll actually find the inner peace I’ve been craving.
“Sally asked me to come back tomorrow,” I say, my smile growing.
“She did? So you’re not leaving?”
“Well not today. She needs help, and I’m going to need money if I want to start over. It’s a win-win for us both.”
“That’s great,” he says, and although he reciprocates my smile, I can tell it’s forced. I don’t know why he’s so hell-bent on me sticking around. “Come. I’ll take you back to Mum’s. She’s expecting us. There’s something I need to tell you.” He places his hand on the small of my back, guiding me towards the car.
“What do you need to tell me?”
“We’ll discuss it when we get there.” He frowns as he speaks, and that makes me feel extremely uneasy.
Ryan holds the passenger side door open for me, so I climb in. It’s weird that I’m not driving, since it’s my car, but I don’t argue. His mother’s house is only down the road. “So, Joe’s finished with my car already?” I ask when he gets in the driver’s side.
“Yes. I asked him to make it a priority.”
“Why? You didn’t seem to think it was a priority this morning.”
“I just did, okay,” he says, scrubbing his hands over his face. He’s agitated, and that does nothing for my anxiousness.
“Did he give you the invoice? I’ll need to go to the bank and get the money.”
“Don’t worry about that for now.”
“I’ve just put the kettle on,” Claire says when we enter the kitchen. Her body language seems off, like she’s on edge. It has me struggling to remain composed, and not freak out. Something’s happened—I feel it in my waters.
Concern is etched all over Ryan’s beautiful face as he pulls my phone out of his pocket, placing it down on the table before taking a seat beside me. My heart drops into the pit of my stomach. I totally forgot about my phone.
“You got a call earlier today.”
“From Wade?” I ask. “I knew it was only a matter of time before he contacted me.”
“There was an insane number of missed calls from him,” he says, frowning, “but no. This one was from your father.”
“My father?” He usually only calls me at Christmas and on my birthday. “Oh my god.” I reach for my phone, thinking something terrible has happened, but Ryan places his hand on mine, stopping me.
“I answered the call. Before you get mad, I wasn’t sure if he knew what was going on with you. I thought he’d be worried.”
I feel the colour drain from my face. “You didn’t tell him about Wade did you?”
“No.”
“Thank god,” I say, placing my hand on my chest as relief floods through me. Sometimes I wonder if he’d ever care either way, but it’s not something I want him to know.
“Morgan.” He tightens his grip on my hand, and my heart starts to race. “He was calling about something he thought you’d posted on your Facebook page.”
“Facebook?” I screw up my face in confusion. “I haven’t posted anything on my account for months.” I don’t bother telling Ryan it’s because Wade forbad me, because that only makes me look even more pathetic than I already do. To be honest, I had contemplated telling Wade to go and get fucked, but it wasn’t worth the consequences that would follow. The fear of the unknown has the power to make you weak.
“Wade accessed your profile from your computer.”
“He what?” I suddenly feel like I’m going to be sick.
I watch on in horror as Ryan picks up my phone, opening a picture from my camera roll. “I deleted the post straight away, but took a screenshot for evidence.”
My hands are shaking as he passes me the phone. It takes a few seconds for me to even realise what it is. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. “He posted this picture?”
“No, it was actually a video.”
“A video of us having sex?”
Ryan sighs before answering. “Yes.”
I drop my phone onto the table, rising from the chair in such a hurry, it falls backwards, landing on the hard, wooden floor with a loud thud. My head is spinning. How could he do this? And when did he film this video? I have no knowledge of him ever doing that.
Humiliation consumes me as the realisation that Ryan watched the video sinks in. Oh Christ, my dad. Ryan said he called about something I posted on Facebook. He doesn’t do social media, but my stepmother does. She’s never liked me and always looked for ways to drive a wedge between my father and me. She’ll have a field day with this one. I suddenly feel like I’m going to pass out. “I need air,” is all I say as I run from the room. I don’t even want to think about who else may have watched it.
“Morgan,” Ryan calls out, but I ignore him as I sprint down the hallway and out the front door. I don’t know where I’m heading, but I need some space to think.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I run up the hill and away from the town. I hear Ryan scream my name from behind me, but I don’t stop. The hopelessness and shame I’m feeling in this moment is like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life, and believe me when I say I’ve had some really low points, even before Wade came into my life.
“Morgan, stop!”
I have a stitch in my side, and I’m struggling to get enough air into my lungs, but I continue sprinting nevertheless. The sad part is I don’t even have anywhere to go. I belong nowhere. I see a ute coming down the street, and in a moment of pure desperation, I consider running out onto the road into its path, But despite everything, I don’t want to die; that would be the easy way out. Every struggle, every injustice I’ve had to face since I was a little girl would all be for nothing if I ended it right now. I can’t do that to myself. If nothing else, I’m a survivor. I’ve always fought so hard to live.
It doesn’t take long before Ryan catches up to me, but unlike the last time when he tackled me to the ground, he’s a lot gentler with his capture this time. “I’m sorry,” is all he says as he envelops me in his arms, holding me tight. “I’m so sorry.”
The floodgates open up as I bury my face in his chest, and racking sobs consume me. He places a soft kiss on my hair as his grip tightens. I’m grateful he doesn’t let me go. I’m not sure how long we stand there, but he eventually scoops me into his arms and carries me back down the hill towards his mother’s house.
“Is she okay?” Claire asks, as he walks into the house with me still safely wrapped in his arms.
“She will be,” he replies, climbing the stairs. A few minutes later, he places me gently down on the bed. I don’t want him to leave me here all alone. Looking up at him through my tears with a silent plea is enough. He’s still dressed in his uniform, but he quickly removes his belt and slips out of his shoes before lying down beside me, wrapping me in his arms once more. I can’t even remember the last time somebody made me feel like this, like they actually give a shit. No matter what tomorrow brings, I’ll be forever grateful to him.