Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
I awoke in bed linens so light I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud.
That was the first sign I wasn’t in my own bed.
My eyes drifted open and the first thing I saw were my framed Evergarden sketches on the wall.
I had been so hopeful when I had created those, so excited for our future.
So naive about the kind of man Alfie truly was.
I stretched and eased out of bed. I noticed an envelope that looked like it had been pushed under the door. I opened it and sure enough, inside was a message from Alfie.
Lo ,
I’ve been called away on business so will be unable to have breakfast with you this morning. Please make yourself at home and feel free to stay as long as you like.
Elliot will drive you home when you’re ready.
I hope these will make up for my absence.
A.
What was he talking about? I unlocked the door and my heart swelled as I discovered what was on the other side.
I knelt, running my fingers over the delicate petals of the bleeding hearts.
Except that these weren’t pink like the ones he used to send me, they were a deep red, representing not only the romance and passion of the pink hearts, but power and strength too.
He was telling me to be strong. The thing was, I was already strong, and sometimes I thought it was that very strength that wanted me away from him.
I ran my fingers over the silken velvet of the petals, wondering whether it would take more strength to take Alfie back, or let him go for good.
“He’s really pulling out all the stops, huh?” Keira’s voice startled me. I turned to find her eyeing the vase of bleeding hearts as I arranged them on the window ledge in our living room.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I gave them a final tweak and straightened to face her. “I haven’t seen much of you this week.”
She’d only gotten home a few hours ago, looking her usual dishevelled self after a night out. Now, she was showered and dressed again, looking deadly in a little black dress and heels so high they must be giving her vertigo.
“I’ve been busy.” She shrugged. “Work.”
“Right…” I trailed off, wondering when things had gotten so awkward between us.
I eyed my best friend. She held herself as she always did, like a woman confident in her sensuality, but there was a distraction behind her eyes.
Something was gnawing on her, a poisonous parrot whispering in her ear.
“Keira, is something going on with you? You haven’t been right since we went to the club.
” Since you met Damien . I didn’t want to say that part out loud, the phrase ‘don’t poke the bear ’ springing to mind.
“I’m fine, Lo. Just work, like I said.” Bullshit , I thought but instead of calling her on it, I decided to let it be for now. She turned to head out the door but paused. I waited as she hovered, biting her lip before she finally spoke. “When you first met Alfie, what was it like?”
I stared at her, surprised by her question. “It was like getting punched in the face, kicked in the stomach and set on fire, in the best, most terrifying way. Why?”
She looked pensive, her dark eyes darker than usual. She cleared them, giving me a shrug full of faux nonchalance. “Just making sure I know what to stay clear of.”
What was going on with her? “I wouldn’t change it, you know. All the pain, the damage, I’d do it all over again.”
“Why?” she asked, looking at me like I was insane. Maybe I was.
“A connection like that, it’s rare. I’m glad I got to experience it.
Even if we didn’t get a happy ending, I’m glad I was brave enough to try.
” I looked at my friend, wishing she would tell me what was wrong, but Keira couldn’t be pushed, she had always been a person that had to do things in her own time.
“Hey, do you wanna watch an old film with me? Eat ice cream? We haven’t had girl time in a while. ”
She looked like she was going to say yes, until her phone buzzed in her bag.
She pulled it out, her expression freezing when she read the caller ID.
I frowned as she swiped her thumb across the screen, rejecting the call.
She cleared her face, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m going out.”
“Maybe you should take the night off.”
“I just need to blow off steam,” she said, a sharp edge in her voice as she turned to go. “I’m good, Lola. Don’t worry about me.”
I watched her disappear out the front door. I chewed my lip. Something was bothering my best friend and I didn’t like it.
The next day, after finishing mundane paperwork for Imani, I left her lost in her latest design and headed for my favourite spot in the Arboretum.
Nestled in the safety of the giant Redwood and the midday autumn sun, I sank into my own project.
I was just getting into a rhythm when my phone rang.
My stomach flipped over when I saw Alfie’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hey,” I answered, my heart beating a little faster at the sound of his voice.
“Lo, how’s your day going?”
“It’s going fine, and yours?”
“I’m at the office, my day is better now I’m hearing your voice.” I heard him release a breath. I pictured him leaning back in an office chair, loosening his tie, except Alfie would never loosen his tie at work. “I wondered if you would accompany me somewhere on Friday night?”
“Where?” I asked, chewing on my pencil.
“I’ll tell you about it on Friday.” His clipped tone had me frowning–what was he playing at? “It’ll be good for us, I promise.”
Suspicion still lingering, I agreed. “Alright.”
“Thank you, I’ll let you return to your day.” His tone was still too stiff for my liking and despite the distance I knew I should keep between us, I couldn’t help but worry.
“Alfie, is everything alright?”
“Of course.”
“Please don’t lie to me.” I softened my voice, Alfie wasn’t the easiest man to pry open but I was hoping that he’d changed enough now to let me in. “What’s going on?”
Silence met me through the phone, cold silence that I knew consisted of Alfie gritting his teeth, his mind turning over every possible way that telling me the truth could go wrong for him. I was about to give up when finally he spoke.
“It’s just been a difficult day.”
I paused, trying to read between the lines. “Your ghosts?”
“They’re everywhere here,” he released his words in a rush, as if he was trying to force them out before he lost his nerve. “I suppose the club wasn’t the only place that needed an exorcism.”
I remembered the building that served as Tell Company headquarters, all glass and chrome.
The place Alfie’s father had built. I’d only been there once, to give Alfie his journals back and it wasn’t a place I relished going to again but the soft sadness in Alfie’s voice twisted my gut.
He was hurting and had asked for help without asking for help.
I couldn’t let him down. What was the point of spending these three months together if we didn’t try to heal each other when we could?
“Well, my holy water and I will be there in an hour.”
“Alright, my little ghostbuster.” He laughed, clearly not believing that I would actually come to see him. “Lola, I have to go. I’ll see you on Friday.” With that, he hung up, leaving me staring at my phone.
Without thinking, I gathered my things, headed out of The Kew Gardens and made for the nearest tube station. Taking out my phone I found the address for his company.
Nearly an hour later I hopped off the tube, following the directions on my phone I walked through the packed London streets when a vibrant shop window caught my eye. The sign above the shop read: ‘Costume Heaven’ .
An idea struck me. An idea that was utterly ridiculous but had a grin breaking out on my face. Surely they wouldn’t have what I wanted but what would be the harm in looking?
I stepped inside, a happy little bell tinkling overhead. Twenty minutes later, I emerged in an outfit grabbing everyone's attention and headed straight for Alfie’s office, stopping only once to pick up lunch. I texted Elliot on the way, I was going to need his help getting in.
The closer I got to Alfie, the more disapproving the looks I received as the people I passed grew wealthier and more affluent in this part of the city. The huge Tell Company Ltd sign loomed ahead and there on the entrance steps, I spotted Elliot. His eyes widened as he took in my outfit.
“I see now why you needed me to escort you to his office. You won’t get past security looking like that.”
Inside, I drew stares in every direction but I didn’t care. I moved with one focus. Alfie. The bastard had hurt me in more ways than I cared to think about, but somewhere in this building he was suffering and I couldn’t bear the thought of it.
Elliot led me in the same direction as the first time I’d been here. Except, instead of a boardroom, he led me to an office sealed off with frosted glass. Bypassing the receptionist, Elliot knocked on the door before gesturing me through.
I stepped into an all too familiar sight. Alfie, grey suit, hunched over his work at a glass desk in a glass room, the city serving as a soulless backdrop. He looked up and his jaw dropped.
“What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like?” I spread my arms out. He looked me up and down, disbelief plain on his handsome face. Rarely had I ever seen Alfie gobsmacked, but I was enjoying the hell out of it.
“What are you wearing?”
“Seriously? You don’t know?” I turned around, letting him get a good look at me in all my boiler suit glory.
“You look like…”
“Bill Murray with C cups?” I grabbed my particle thrower and pointed it at him, the proton pack jostling on my shoulder. “Lola O’Connell, professional ghostbuster at your service, Mr Tell. Let me at em!” With that, I was treated to the rarest of sights as Alfie Tell burst out laughing.
“Lola,” he spluttered, “you look ridiculous!”
“What? You don’t like my ghost gun?”