Page 45 of Scars of Silk

His lips curve into a smile. “I’ll never forgive myself for the chain of events I put into action that night of the Bowsley Ball.”

I shrug. “You don’t have to forgive yourself. You just have to make sure it never happens again.”

He clutches the pictures to his chest like they are a hug he so desperately needs. “I will.”

“Then maybe I won’t hate you forever.”

“That would be a good start.”

This is way too touchy-feely girly shit for my liking. “Come, let's get a drink before Si—” I stop talking before blurting Sienna’s name.

He hasn’t missed my slip though. “Be careful, Dan. I’d hate for you to get burnt again.”

As we walk to the pub in silence, I think about his words.

I find it ironic he thinks anyone can hurt me more than Faith has. This is just fun. Something else other than depression and a deep need to never see another dawning day. And I’ll take that for as long as it lasts.

Twelve

Sienna

It’s only been an hour since my meeting with Reggie Fitzpatrick and Elijah ended and I’ve already ticked five names off the list I created with Dan and Abi’s help.

Brighton is tight-lipped, and the further you walk down streets where houses are crammed closer together and the paint work peels more, the tighter those lips become.

I’m close to heading home and giving it up, but determined to try five more house calls before I head back to Dan’s. I’m surprised at how keen my feet are to walk towards his home. The time since I left and went to 'work' seems to have ticked by at half its usual rate.

When my phone rings, I perch on a front wall of a house and fish my phone out of my bag. There’s a cereal bar too, so I grab that. I’m not convinced of when I last ate. Definitely not breakfast—breakfast was far more enjoyable than plain old food. My cheeks warm just remembering it. Being with Dan is surprisingly easy. He doesn’t judge and that sting of shame I feel when I’ve let my natural inclinations rule my sexual encounters is non-existent. I drag in a deep breath, knowing he doesn’t judge makes it so much easier to breathe.

“Hi,” I answer Melissa’s call.

“Where are you? I haven’t heard from you. I’m pretty close to calling the police.”

“You spoke to me Saturday.”

“Today’s Monday. What’s your excuse?”

I chuckle, although silence from the other end of the line meets my snort of laughter.

“Okay, no joke. What’s going on. Why are you laughing?”

I shake my head and cross my ankles. Hopefully the owner of the house won’t mind me perching for a while. “Are there rules against me laughing now?”

“Well huh, if you did it more often then maybe I wouldn’t fall off my chair in the office when it happens.”

“Shut up, you did not.”

“Could have though.”

Holding my phone between my shoulder and my ear, I use my free hands to peel the wrapper from the cereal bar and take a small bite.

“Anyway, this is business. First, the Metropole called and said you’d disappeared without handing back in your key card.” There’s a brief pause. “Sorry, I’ll correct that. She said key cards.”

Well bollocks.

I can hear the squeal Melissa is holding in. I swallow my bite of compressed cereal. “It’s not what you think.”

“No? Because then I’m totally thinking you’ve been on a dirty weekend.”