Chapter 29
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Joel
M y knuckles crack as I make contact with his face. The anger inside is rooted deep from all the things he’s put Edith through and, if I’m honest, I don’t know if I’m likely to stop because the pleasure of seeing his head fly back with one punch gives me great satisfaction to swing for another.
I’d needed to get home—not only because I’d wanted to be with Edie but because of the strange feeling that had come over me when I’d seen his car parked outside of the Craven, and sure enough, I’d caught him backing her up against the wall.
The profound feeling of rage that came over me was something else.
No one touches her.
And no one fucking hurts her.
“I told you last time. Touch her again and she will be the last thing you touch,” I growl, Milo now barking in the doorway.
“Nice to see you’re keeping it in the family, Fitz,” he gloats, and I’m seconds away from matching the trickle of blood running from his lip on the side of his mouth. “Out of interest: which sister blows you better?”
“You sick fuck.” I slam him harder against the wall. The thud makes him groan.
“Coming from the guy who’s bedded them both.”
“Why are you even here?” I snarl, knowing full well he wouldn’t have been invited.
“Edie wanted a little bit of what she was missing.”
“Somehow I don’t believe that.” I grip his shirt collar tighter, digging my knuckles into his throat harder. Blood pounds in my ears as Leon’s face gets redder with the pressure on his windpipe, but Edith’s panicked voice cuts through any thoughts I have of finishing him.
“Stop it both of you!”
She hates conflict. She hates fights, and knowing I’m at the centre of this one is no doubt scaring her more, which is not what I want.
“Joel. Let him go. Please. He’s not worth it.”
As her hand presses against my bicep, it’s like her cold fingers erase the wrath inside of me and cool me down. Her soft voice hits my ears, and when I move my eyes from the sick fucker in front of me and find my girl, everything I wanted to do is instantly forgotten as I see her crystal blues are loaded with worry.
“Let him go.”
I do as she’s requested, shoving him out of my grip.
He doesn’t walk away freely, though, because calling me a pussy under his breath earns himself a blow to the stomach, leaving him coughing and trying to catch his breath.
“Get the fuck out.”
As he turns to leave, he looks back at Edie, wiping the blood from his mouth. “I’ll see you soon, Edith.”
“Go fuck yourself,” she fumes, turning away from us both. Once he’s gone, I slam the door and turn to look at Edith, stretching out my hand, my red knuckles aching from the hit.
She gets ice out of the freezer, her body language as she throws the cubes into a freezer bag telling me she’s pissed—that and the fact she hasn’t even looked at me yet.
I don’t know what’s worse: a silent Edie or an angry one—but what I’m trying to work out is if she’s pissed with me or him.
Seeing the bottle of vodka on the side, the need for an alcoholic drink to calm down the remaining frustration inside becomes all too tempting.
I take out two glasses from the cupboard and place them on the countertop before grabbing the bottle.
“Get the whiskey. He was drinking straight from the bottle. You don’t know where his mouth has been,” she says abruptly, wrapping the bag of ice in a thin tea towel, still avoiding my eyes.
I raise a brow. “How long was he here?”
“Long enough.”
Taking the whiskey from the cupboard, I pour us both one before I throw mine back in one go, replacing one burn in my chest with another. Having abandoned the bag of ice on the worktop, she spreads her arms across the edge of the wood, lowering her head between her shoulders.
I let my eyes drift over her body. Her thin frame is wrapped up in navy silk, her perfectly toned legs on show. My dick twitches at the sight of her, right before irritation comes back full force as I replay seeing him force her back against the wall.
“Why would you even let him in?” I say a little too harshly. “Especially dressed like that.”
This seems to get a reaction out of her and she snaps her head my way looking at me for the first time since he left. Her eyes are full of anguish, confusion and fury, but as much as I want to heal that, I also want to know why he was here, to begin with.
“I didn’t. I came down from my shower and found him sitting there like a king in his fucking castle.” She grabs my hand and shoves the ice pack on it. “And let’s not forget here that you’re the one that told me to get naked!”
Shit.
I turn to rest my back on the countertop, frustration running through my veins. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just… so fucking angry. When I saw him with you. Touching you…” I toss the bag of ice on the counter and reach out to place my hand over hers but she pulls away, downing her drink and squeezing her eyes shut from the strength of the alcohol. Her body still trembles and as I watch her, a thought crosses my mind. “Did he hurt you?”
“Only with words.”
“Do you want to talk about it? ”
“No.”
I look up at the ceiling for some kind of answer because her short responses are a little irritating, and I can’t work out what the fuck is going on here. “Have I done something wrong?”
“I don’t condone violence, Joel.”
I raise a brow baffled. “So what, you’d rather I let him back you up against the wall?”
“That’s not what I said,” she bites. “You didn’t have to hit him.”
“What the fuck was I supposed to do, ask him nicely to move like a good little boy?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’m not. I just reacted like any man would. But you, however, are acting more like you’re more upset with me rather than with your ex who just turned up to play catch up.”
She turns to face me now, her neck red from her temper. “Upset? Oh no, I’m not upset, Joel. I’m so fucking angry right now that I can’t even think straight.”
“Then tell me what the fuck is going on because I’m out of my depth here.”
“Did you know he was cheating on me?”
“Yes. You told me. ”
“No. Did you know he was cheating on me at the time?”
My eyes widen, shocked she would even ask me this. “What? No. Of course not.”
“Well, Sophia did. She knew the whole time and said nothing.”
Yet again the warped behaviours of my wife floor me. I’d either been very fucking blind or she’d been incredibly clever to hide so much from me—and others. “Shit,” I breathe out. I run my hand through my hair, wondering why Sophia would hurt her in ways that can never be undone. Then again, I too fell victim to her executions many times. It was like she had a vendetta against anyone close to her and as long as she came out on top nothing else mattered.
Knowing that Edith’s bite backs are now because of this new information and nothing that I have done, I step closer. Brushing her hair from her face, I cup the nape of her neck keeping my voice low. “Talk to me, baby.”
Her eyes find mine, and the heat that was in them moments ago is replaced with a vulnerability I don’t like.
“I’m sorry,” she breathes, her tone of voice now matching my own. “I’m not angry with you. I’m just so confused. She was my sister, Joel. Why would she do that to me? Why would she not tell me?”
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.” I pull her in to me and wrap my arms around her, not knowing what else to say.
“Is that why Leon was here? To tell you that.”
She shakes her head. “He was here because he wants me to write him a character reference for his fraud case.”
I pull back. “Absolutely-fucking-not. He treats you like shit then walks back into your life and tries to call in a favour… He’s got a fucking nerve.”
But her expression tells me there is more to this, which shouldn’t surprise me because it’s Leon. “What else did he say?”
Pulling away, she takes a few steps over to the kitchen sink, looking out of the window which shows our reflections now it’s dark outside. “Nothing, but he knows about us and I fear he will tell Lorna.”
Fuck.
I take a seat on the kitchen chair. He’s a prick on all counts, and I should have beat the fucker a little more while I had the chance. However, the last thing I want is for Gerald and Lorna to find out about us through gossip, regardless of whether it’s true. I couldn’t give a shit about Lorna, but Gerald deserves more than that. “Then we tell them before he does.”
She turns to face me. “But I’m not ready.”
“I know, but this has to come from us. You know it has to.”
“I know,” she whispers.
Her eyes lower, and I know she’s back in that place.
The one thing Edith runs from is fear, but I love her more when she gives in to the battle and accepts she needs to stand her ground and fight. And I need her to do this now. I need my high-spirited girl back because I can’t do this on my own.
“I’m scared, Joel,” she says with a shaky breath. “I’ve been broken so many times that I don’t know if I’m ready for what I know will come.”
“It doesn’t matter when we tell them, that war is always going to be there, Edie. We are the only thing that’s important in this.”
Reaching out, I lace my fingers with hers and pull her towards me. I kiss the exposed skin between her breasts before bringing her down to straddle me. Her arm snakes around my neck, her other hand cupping my face as she holds my gaze.
“Tell me what I need to do.”
“Just let go,” I murmur. “Let go of all your fears because I’m right here. Whatever or whoever comes your way and tries to bring you down will have to get through me first. I will catch you should you fall. I promise.”
“No one knows the half of what Lorna has put me through over the years. She gets in my head, Joel. Even if I try to not let her.”
“I know. But at the same time, you don’t give yourself credit. You’re so strong, Edie. So much stronger than you think. You always have been. You have to believe in yourself the way I believe in you.”
The words I speak are true. She is one of the strongest people I know, and it hurts knowing she can’t see this in herself.
She holds my gaze for a moment, searching my eyes—for what, I don’t know—and whatever she finds has her taking a deep breath as she nods.
“Okay,” she whispers. “Okay. I can do this.”
I kiss her on the forehead, feeling her body starting to relax. “I would die for you, Edith Kennedy.”
She wrinkles her nose. “That’s a little extreme.”
I smile. “But it’s the truth. I love you.”
“I love you more.”
I press my lips to hers and wrap her tight in my embrace, resting my forehead against hers and breathing her in. “Tomorrow is Lorna’s family dinner, right? ”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t going to go to that.”
“We are now. There’s no point in waiting.” I hope she can hear the confidence in my voice because if I’m honest with myself, everything I’ve just said to her about being strong feels like a contradiction. Because I’m shitting it.