Chapter 38
TARA
‘Did you sleep okay?’ Jed murmured, snuggling closer to me as Hercules rattled his crate early the following morning.
‘Took me a while to drop off but, when my mind finally settled, I slept surprisingly well. Thanks for being so supportive last night.’
‘I was worried about you.’
‘I was worried about me too, but I feel a lot more positive this morning and I’ve made a decision. You’re right about telling Mum and Dad the truth. I’m going to send them that email.’
‘I think that’s a great decision.’ He squeezed me a little tighter and kissed my shoulder.
Hercules rattled his crate again so I slipped out of bed to release him before darting back under the duvet. Jed had propped himself up on his arm.
‘What made you change your mind?’
‘You being Pollyanna and seeing their reactions differently. I’d got myself so worked up yesterday that I was blinded by everything that could go wrong.
I hated feeling that way. I can’t expect Mum and Dad to fully understand my feelings about Leanne when they don’t know the full story so it’s only fair I do share that with them.
I think I need a few days to take the raw emotion out of it before I write it. ’
‘If you want to brainstorm it or want some feedback on it, I’m here for you.’
‘I know you are and it’s reciprocal.’
Time together alone was rare and precious at the moment but I’d never once felt like Jed wasn’t there for me.
Even if he wasn’t physically with me, he was at the end of the phone.
I was annoyed with myself for not calling him after I’d seen my parents yesterday.
He shouldn’t have had to seek me out. It wasn’t that I’d wanted to push him out – just that so many years of having to deal with everything on my own had sent me spiralling back into my default mode of lone wolf.
But I wasn’t a lone wolf anymore. I was part of a pack and I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone in it.
That included my parents. I had no intention of pushing them away and I truly hoped I’d said the right words yesterday to explain why I needed space.
If I hadn’t, the email would make it clear.
‘Let’s talk about something nicer. I didn’t ask about Aaron’s art lesson on Thursday. How was it?’
‘He called me Dad.’
I gasped and clapped my hand over my mouth. ‘Oh, my God, Jed! That’s huge. How did it feel?’
He grinned at me. ‘Amazing. It was just the once and I don’t know if it slipped out through an old habit or was intentional but I’m going to believe he meant to say it.’
‘I don’t think he’d have said it if he wasn’t feeling that way. I’m so happy for you. But there’s a but, isn’t there?’
He sighed. ‘I want to be positive but it’s so hard when we haven’t a clue what Ingrid’s going to do next. What if she takes the kids back to Australia? The thought of not seeing Aaron again… and the twins too.’
Piper and Savannah had definitely stolen a piece of his heart, as they had mine.
‘If that’s what happens, would you rather have had Aaron back in your life for a short time – and the twins for a while too – or not at all?’
‘I’d rather I’d had this time with them.’ He gave me a weak smile. ‘I’ll always be glad they came to stay.’
I drew him into a hug and gently kissed him. ‘I think we’re both going to need to play “the glad game” a lot to get through the coming weeks but the point is we’ll get through them – no matter what happens – and we’ll do it together.’
A stunning handtied bouquet of yellow flowers was delivered for me from Seaside Blooms later that morning accompanied by a greetings card featuring Whitsborough Bay’s lighthouse.
We are deeply sorry for causing you more pain yesterday.
Please be assured that we understand and respect your need for some space.
We haven’t just chosen yellow flowers because they’re your favourite colour but because they represent the beam from a lighthouse.
We remain your lighthouse, here for you any time, hoping that beam will guide you back to us soon.
All our love and understanding, Mum and Dad xx
I swallowed down the lump in my throat, deeply touched by their message and the reassurance it gave me that I hadn’t lost them.
To Mum and Dad
The flowers are stunning and the card was perfect. I see your beam and it’s strong. Thank you for understanding my need for space. Love always x
The Chocolate Pot was closed after a busy day, the staff had gone home and I was in the kitchen buttering myself a scone when I heard a knock on the door.
I smiled, thinking it was probably Jed coming over to check on me but it wasn’t him.
There was a woman standing by the door, her head dipped forward. Zoe?
I unlocked the door and my stomach lurched as Zoe raised her head before rushing into the café with an anguished cry.
‘What’s happened?’ I asked, my heart pounding.
I pulled out a chair and guided her down onto it, wincing at the blood-soaked tissue held up to her nose, the blood stains down her chin and neck. Her cheek was bruised and there were bruises around her neck which, on closer inspection, had the distinct shape of finger marks.
‘Oh, Zoe! Griff?’
‘I thought she was going to kill me.’
I could hear the fear in her voice, see it in her eyes. ‘This is too much. I have to call the police.’
Zoe nodded. ‘She needs to be stopped.’
The fact that she’d given me her instant approval told me exactly how shaken she was.
I grabbed a pile of fresh serviettes so Zoe could swap out her tissue then made the call.
I was told there was a first responder in the area who’d be with us shortly which was a relief because it was possible Zoe’s nose was broken.
‘Can you take photos?’ Zoe asked. ‘Need evidence.’
I whipped out my phone but I had to concentrate hard to keep my hands from shaking. What was wrong with this Griff woman? Why was she victimising Zoe like this? It was heartbreaking.
‘What happened?’ I asked, sitting down beside her.
‘Someone told her it was my birthday today and she decided that turning eighteen deserved a gift. Not sure I like Griff’s gifts. Maybe a gift card next time?’
She attempted a smile but winced from the evident pain and I placed my hand gently on her shoulder, marvelling at her ability to try and make light of a dire situation.
‘I’d say happy birthday, but it probably doesn’t feel very happy right now.’
‘It will be if Griff’s arrested.’
The first responder arrived – a lovely woman who said her name was Connie – and she soon had Zoe cleaned up and the bleeding stopped.
After examining Zoe’s nose, Connie confirmed that it wasn’t broken.
Jed had spotted the marked car outside and came over to make sure I was okay and was shocked to see the state of Zoe.
A couple of police officers arrived moments later, just as Connie was finishing her write-up.
Zoe felt up to making a full statement so Jed and I accompanied her to the police station and sat in the reception holding hands.
‘I can’t see her wanting to go back to the hostel,’ I said. ‘Surely she’ll stay with me this time.’
‘I’d have thought so. It’s a horrific thing to have happened on her birthday but at least we know she’s eighteen now.’
Jed didn’t need to expand on that as I knew exactly what he meant.
As a minor, Zoe must have had some sort of contact with social services and us giving her a place to stay without being registered carers might have been a challenge, but it surely wouldn’t be an issue now that she was officially classed as an adult.
One of the police officers we’d seen earlier brought Zoe back through to reception. ‘Zoe doesn’t want to go back to the hostel and tells us you’ve offered her a safe place to stay.’
‘If that’s still okay,’ Zoe said, looking at me with wide eyes.
‘Of course! The offer was on the table for whenever.’
The police officer nodded. ‘She’s worried about her belongings so I’ve offered to accompany her while she collects them, and then she can go home with you.’
‘I haven’t got much,’ Zoe said. ‘It’s my books I’m worried about. She’s already destroyed one of my library books. The library staff were so nice about it but, if she destroys others…’
‘We’ll get your stuff,’ I reassured her, ‘and if anything’s happened to it in the meantime, we’ll replace it. Don’t worry.’
What was left of the evening passed in a blur.
Griff wasn’t at the hostel and all Zoe’s belongings were thankfully still intact.
Back at the flat, Zoe had a bath while Jed went to collect a takeaway.
We ate at the dining table and it was good to see Zoe tucking in although hard to see her wincing in pain every so often.
Jed took the plates through to the kitchen and my heart melted when he returned with a birthday cake covered in lit candles which he must have picked up when he went out for the food.
Seeing the astonished expression on Zoe’s face before she smiled widely, it took some effort to hold it together.
After blowing out the candles, she said she hadn’t had a cake on her birthday since her granny died so Jed lit the candles for a second time and reminded her to make a special wish.
She rolled her eyes at him but, considering the pause before she blew, I suspected she was making that wish.
Jed left shortly afterwards and I gave Zoe a pair of my pyjamas as, with her permission, I’d put her clothes through the washing machine. I made up a bed for her on the sofa while she went into the bathroom to change.
‘There’s a glass of water for you on the coffee table,’ I said, ‘and I’ve put a torch on there too. You might want it if you wake up in the night needing the loo. It’s pretty dark in here. Anything else you need?’
‘A bedtime story?’ she suggested, before laughing. ‘It’s okay. I’ll read my own.’
‘Okay. Happy reading and I hope you sleep well.’
‘Tara!’ she called as I moved away. ‘Thanks for doing this, especially when I’ve turned you down several times.’
‘It’s my pleasure. And I know that you saying no wasn’t personal. It just wasn’t right for you at the time.’
I left her to read, led Hercules to his crate, then settled into my own bed with a book. What an evening! I hoped the police had managed to find Griff and arrested her but at least I knew Zoe was safe here. Hopefully she’d be willing to stay longer than tonight.
Before I switched my light off, I looked over at my beautiful flowers in a vase on the dining table.
It was just as well I’d decided to give it a few days before I composed that email to my parents as Zoe had just jumped up the list as my number one priority.
Despite the terrible circumstances which had brought her to my door this evening, I felt a rush of excitement that she was here with me, safe, and willing to accept my help.
Hopefully the next step would be accepting a job and making her first tentative steps towards her dream of working in a bookshop.
It was horrendous what Griff had done to her and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy but Pollyanna’s approach was to find a positive in even the darkest situation and the positive here was that Griff’s despicable behaviour could actually end up making the most incredible difference to Zoe’s life.