NOVEMBER 1, 2003
WHENIWOKE UP THE FOLLOWING MORNING, ALONE INCLAIRE’S ROOM, IQUICKLYclimbed out of bed and went in search of my boyfriend.
When I found Hugh downstairs in the kitchen, laughing and joking with Thor, I felt immediately incensed.
Why did he look so happy when he was withhimand not me?
What was wrong withme?
Why couldn’t he smile atmelike that?
Thor was the first one to notice my arrival, and I watched him discreetly nudge my boyfriend before standing up and moving for the door. “I’ll head home and check on Brian for a bit.”
“All right, lad,” Hugh replied, smile gone now. “I’ll see ya in a while.” He waited until his friend left before turning his attention to me. “Morning.”
“Morning,” I replied, feeling pissed off and out of my depth. “Why didn’t you come get me when you woke up?”
“I had things to do,” he replied levelly, attention shifting to the mug he was holding. “I was talking to your mam this morning.” His gaze cast downwards, and he took a drink from his mug. “She’ll be here soon.”
“Why?” I demanded, immediately on edge.
“To pick you up, Liz.”
“I thought I was staying here?”
“Your mam is going to take you home, okay?”
“Hugh, no!” Feeling devastated, I moved for him and tried to initiate intimacy. “Come on…”
“No, Liz,” he replied, immediately shutting me down. “I can’t do this right now.”
“Why not?”
His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t respond.
“Come with me,” I begged, wrapping my arms around him. “Please.” I kissed his shoulder. “Don’t send me back there on my own.”
He released a pained sigh. “Liz…”
“Please, Hugh,” I begged, feeling frantic now. “Come home with me.”
Another heavy sigh escaped him, and he relented. “Okay.”
Three hours later, I sat cross-legged on my bedroom floor, facing my boyfriend, and placed another card down, entirely uninterested whether it was a match or not.
Clearly, Hugh didn’t care either because he didn’t even look down before tossing a card down on the pile.
Instead, he kept his eyes on me the entire time.
Frustrated, I slapped another card down and arched a brow in challenge.
Again, he didn’t look at the pile of cards.
He just added another to the pile.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” I finally asked, unable to handle another second of this intense silence.
“That depends,” he replied calmly. “Are you going to tell me what you were doing with Pierce last night?”
