Three Weeks Last Spring (14 page)

Skye threw the book she was reading on to the floor and hurriedly snatched the phone off the table.

"
Oh, Debbie, it's you."

"Yeah it's me.
You sound kind of disappointed."

"
Sorry,
I was expecting another call."

"I only
rang
to see how you
are
, but if you're waiting to hear from someone else, I can ring back later."

"No, it's all right.
He's probably not going to call anyway."

"He, as in John?
I thought you
weren’t going
to give him this number.
Or by any chance would it be a far more interesting member of the male species you're waiting for?
"

"I haven't changed my mind and given John this number."

"Oh, come on, Skye.
This is like pulling teeth.
Just who are we talking about here?"

"If you must know I
’m
expecting Walker to call."

"Walker!
Your ‘
Mr.
Damn Your Eyes’ guy?
Well, I'll be damned myself.
You mean to tell me, you two have been spending time together?
I was under the impression you couldn't stand the sight of each other."

"We can't.
I mean we couldn't.
Oh, it's entirely your fault!"

"
What makes you think that
?"

"If you hadn't forced me
to spend
the afternoon with him, none of this would have happened.
I would be out enjoying myself instead of …
instead of—"

"Sitting around and waiting for him to call?
Excuse me, but haven't you been telling me for several months that the word ‘No’ is the only word in your vocabulary?
Why didn't you exercise your right to use it?"

"Debbie, this is not funny.
If you hadn't backed me into a corner,
we
wouldn't be having this ridiculous conversation
.
"

"Maybe not, but then you wouldn't be waiting for Walker to call either.
So stop moaning and accept things for what they
are—
a change for the better."

"I guess you're right."

"You know I am.
So come on, spill.
What's been happening between you two?
I want all the drippy, gooey, romantic details."

"There's nothing to tell.
W
e
spent the afternoon together as
agreed, and then a few days later
he
called round with a bottle of wine and we had dinner together."

"And?
There has to be more to it than that, otherwise why are you sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring?"

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are.
Don't deny it."

"What if I am?
It's no big deal.
Anyway, he
’s
gone away on business."

"And that's all?
I don't believe it.
There's something you're not telling me."

"No, there isn't."

"You're hiding something major.
You'v
e slept with him, haven't you?"

Skye wished that Debbie would drop the subject.
She wasn't ready to divulge such intimate details.
Her relationship with Walker was too new to share with anyone, especially her best friend.
She finally settled for half-truths.

"It was late when we finished dinner a
nd so he spent the night here."

"Oh yeah?
You'll be telling me there are mermaids in the cove and you're one in training now.
I suppose he was a perfect gentleman and slept on the couch fully clothed.
Nope, I'm not buying it
,
Skye.
That's one red blooded American male and anyone can see he's got the hots for you.
Come on
this is
me,
remember?
I know you too well.
I can tell when you're holding something back."

"
So
, we slept together!
I'm told it's all the r
age between consenting adults."

"At last.
You know it's taken me ten minutes to drag that out of you."
Debbie's tone
softened.
"It's unbelievable.
You've actually slept with him?
What came over you?
You normally keep men at arm length and look at them as if they've got two heads.
What's so special about Walker that made you change your mind?
Was this just a
one-night
stand or are you two a couple?
You weren't a little tipsy, were you?"

"I guess we got off on the wrong foot.
Now we've stopped arguing,
we actually get on quite well."

"You get on well together, huh?
I get on with my next-door
neighbor
but I wouldn't sleep with him.
I suppose
that
’s
one reason to get into the sack with someone.
But me,
I
prefer someone who's a good kisser and makes me tingle from head to toe.
Don't you find him attractive?"

"Now you're being stupid."

"Not as stupid as you for letting it take this long.
Anyway, I can't see what all the fuss is about.
The guy's had to go off on business, so what?
He said he'd call, didn't he?"

"When he got to the office.
But he's been gone tw
o days and I've heard nothing."

"So, be a
big girl and call him."

"I can
't.
I don't know the number."

"A small thing like that shouldn't stop you.
There is such a thing as a telephone directory.
And you know his office is in Seattle, he told you that, right?"

"Yes, he did, but even if I knew the name of his firm, don't you see I can't call him.
I have to wait for him to call me that way I'll know.
"

"Know what?"

"Know that he's telling me the truth."

Debbie suddenly
realize
d
this wasn't about Walker
’s
abrupt departure.
This
was about something far more serious.
This had something to do with Michael, she was sure of it.

"Skye, Walker's not like Michael.
I'd bet my life on it.
If he said he'd call, I imagine he will.
Look, maybe things just got out of hand and he
’s not
able to get to a phone, right now.
You of all people know that things aren't always as straightforward as they seem.
Give the man a chance, at least."

"That's what I'm trying to do.
I
f he's different,
why
do I have a feeling that history is repeating itself?"

"I can't answer that, as you've never told me the full Michael story.
Maybe it's time you did.
Who knows, I might understand what's making you think like this.
Besides, you don't want what happened with Michael to control your life forever, do you?
And I'm sure you don't want end up becoming a bitter old spinster either
.
"

In spite of her reluctance to reveal the extent of Michael's transgressions, a hint of despondency crept into Skye's voice.
"I wish it was
that
simple.
There are other considerations and besides, you're at work, anyone could
overhear
."

"You're right, now's not the time.
I won't push you
anymore
.
I'll call when I get home.
If you feel up to telling me then, fine.
If not, we'll talk about something mundane, like the weather.
But try and cut Walker
a little slack, okay?"

"Perhaps I should give him the benefit of the doubt.
But
I don't want to get hurt again."

"None of us do, but life is never straightforward.
I'm sure he'll call as soon as he can, and when he does, you can forget we ever had this conversation.
I'll call you tonight."

"All right. I'll talk to you later."

Skye replaced the phone and leaned back into the cushions.
Debbie was right.
She was being over-anxious and expected too much of Walker.
But
was she was trapped
by her memories and the emotion
they stirred within her.
Even now one year later, she could remember every detail of that fateful Thursday and the appalling events that followed.

As the memory retreated Skye
fought
equal waves of fear and nausea.
She ran to the bathroom,
and splashed cold water on her face.
Her hands shook.
When the worst of the gut wrenching spasms passed, she raised her head and looked in the mirror above the basin.
The face she saw
there
was hardly
recogni
z
able
as her own.
Deathly pale and drawn, her normally bright blue eyes were dark with fear.
S
h
e tore herself away from the mirror with a choking cry
.
B
lackness enveloped her and her body crumpled to the floor.

When she came too she was lying on the bathroom floor shuddering.
She pulled herself upright, and rested her back against the bath.
She bent her head and sobbed.
God knows, she'd tried hard to move on, to forget that terrible day and get her life back on an even keel.
But when her memory played tricks, it took all her strength to walk down the street without looking over her shoulder.
With the exception of John and Debbie
,
and a few long established friends, she still found it
difficult
to trust people.

Why, why couldn't she just forget, instead of living h
er life in fear and pain?

After more than a year, she
was no nearer to
answer
ing
the question.
It had taken all her willpower to make this trip in an attempt to
put
those weeks behind her.
But it now seemed as though her efforts had been wasted, as the past
had
resolutely followed her and was bent on destroying her carefully constructed cocoon.

She heard the phone ring but made no effort to answer it.
Whoever it was could wait.
She wasn't ready to speak to them and that included Walker too.
In fact he was the last person she wanted to hear from right now.
Agoni
z
ing
over what Debbie would think when she finally revealed the truth,
Skye
yielded to the compulsive sobs that racked her body.
And what of John?
What would he think of his business partner when he discovered that she'd allowed herself to be manipulated by someone as shallow and callous as Michael?

Misery hung like a steel weight around her neck.
Such was her despair that for a nanosecond she considered ending her life.
It would be so easy to walk to the end of the dock and jump into the sea.
It wasn't as if she would be missed.
For John and Debbie life would go on.
They
would be upset, but would
understand how desperate and miserable she was.
In time they'd forgive her.
And with more time they
woul
d probably forget her.
But then Michael would have won and no matter how humiliating telling Debbie would be, there was no way Skye
could to allow him to do that.