Chapter 17
Astrid
I could get used to this.
Theo had a few days left of annual leave that he’d forgotten about, which meant I wasn’t starting until tomorrow. I’d deep cleaned the house from head to toe, lit some candles, popped on some vinyl’s, made a cup of tea, and sank on the sofa with a book. It was heaven . Well, as close to Heaven as could be whilst you’re trapped inside the body of a 6 ft 3 hairy male. Usually, if I even attempted to do this in on the weekend, my ambience would be quickly destroyed by the sound of Theo absolutely shrieking at his Xbox. So the peace and quiet was definitely needed. Flicking the page and sinking deeper into the sofa as the beautiful voice of Mac DeMarco soothes my soul, I suddenly hear the harsh vibration of my phone blaring from the coffee table. Placing my book down, I grab my phone and swipe upwards to unlock it, only to find I’ve had five missed calls from Yaz and a string of frantic text messages.
The panic set in. Was she okay? Had she fallen down a ditch and I was her emergency contact and didn’t know? Had she been abducted by some sex pest on her way home from work? How the fuck was I going to call her back when I’ve got Theo’s literal voice coming out of my mouth?
Opting to think rationally for a second, I text her, my stomach twisting and turn with anxiety as I wait for her response.
Yaz: I can’t actually believe her!
What was she talking about? Guess I’d have to pry.
Me: Oh god, has your mum tried to set you up with your cousin again?
Yaz’s mum was quite the traditionalist. Apparently, because Yaz was nearly 30 and still didn’t have a partner, this made her a ‘disappointment’ to the family. One day last year, without Yaz knowing, her mum took her out for lunch and told her it was going to be a girls’ day out, only for her to arrive and find her cousin sat waiting for her at the table. Yep. Her mum had set her up on a blind date with…her cousin. First cousin might I just add. It was fair to say, Yaz gained major trust issues after that, as far as her mum was concerned anyway.
A few seconds of silence pass before the text bubbles bounce back and forth.
Yaz. No. I’m talking about the bitch Deborah! I hope you’re doing okay.
Okay, now I was worried. What happened? And how was I going to find out without Yaz thinking I have the memory of a goldfish.
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I try my best to play along.
Me: I know, I can’t believe her. I’m doing okay, just a bit pissed off I guess.
Hopefully, that was casual enough to warrant some more spillage on her end.
Yaz: Too right you are! I mean, a temporary suspension?! At least it’s only for a month I guess, but that’s a bit far considering you’ve practically had a golden record up until now.
The bile rises through my throat and my mind fog hazily. Temporary suspension . I’d been temporarily suspended?! What the fuck had Theo done? I could pry Yaz for more information, but she’d start asking questions. No, I needed to hear it from the horse’s mouth. I wanted to watch him grovel.
Me: Yaz, I’ll text you back in a bit x
Immediately, I scroll down my contacts for Theo, his handsome face beaming back up at me. His handsome face that I ran the risk of punching when he walked through the door if I didn’t get the answers I needed.
The phone doesn’t even ring, it goes straight to his voicemail. I try again, same thing. That fucker has turned his phone off.
I couldn’t track him, and I couldn’t call him either. The only option I had was to give him a piece of my mind over text. A word of warning for what was to come. He needed to grow a pair and face the music. He did the crime, and you best believe, he’ll bloody do the time.