TWENTY-FOUR
Zeus
The past week has been nothing short of perfect, coming home to Belle each night. Having her there beside me when I go to bed. Having her there when I wake up, even if she isn’t much of a morning person. I love everything about her, even the way she beats me over the head with the pillow when I rip the covers off.
“We really should get a car,” she muses as she takes her helmet off. “It would save us having to come here three times a week since we can’t pack too much on the bike.”
“I told you, we could order online and get it delivered.”
She looks up at the supermarket, lips twisted. “I don’t trust other people to pick my produce.”
“You don’t trust other people, period.”
Belle narrows her eyes on me, yet smiles in that way that says I’ve got her figured out.
“Besides, I have a car.” I pocket the keys and hold my hand out for her. “I need to finish it, is all.”
She slips hers in mine, head shaking. “It’s seriously wrong how turned on I get seeing you in your work gear.”
I waggle my eyebrows as we walk through the automatic doors. “It’s the uniform, baby.”
She pulls her hand free to grab a basket from the stack. “Careful, or I won’t let you take it off. Even on weekends.”
I smirk at the idea, knowing that if she wanted me to wear my high-vis outside of work hours I’d fucking do I just knowing it made her happy. “What first?”
“We need apples.” She heads for the display, oblivious to who stands on the other side.
I glare at Cerise, letting her know she can keep her goddamn mouth shut. Bitch never did take a hint.
“You know, I’ve been shopping here for two years and I’ve never once seen you,” she says, holding my gaze.
Belle looks over the top of the fruit, and frowns. “Lucky us, then.”
“Had a good week?” I ask, playing the super-nice card.
“Quiet.” She places her oranges in the cart and pushes it around to our side. “But then, the weeks are always relatively dull when you live alone.”
“Wonder whose fault that is,” Belle mutters under her breath.
Cerise frowns, having missed what was said. “Having fun playing house?”
“The only person who played that like it was a game was you,” Belle snaps. “But yes, Zeus and I are happy. Thank you for asking.”
“How’s Damien? Heard from him since you crushed his heart?”
I set a hand on Belle’s shoulder, steering her away. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, Cerise.”
She doesn’t get the hint, digging in further. “John showed me some of your pictures from your time overseas.”
Belle turns her head to listen to the cow, despite my best attempts to keep us going.
“He really was a handsome young man.”
“Ignore her.” I lean down to murmur in Belle’s ear.
“We need to shop somewhere else from now on.” She shoots daggers Cerise’s way as we head through to the meat section. “That woman isn’t good for my blood pressure.”
“She’s not much good for anything.”
Cerise carries on her shopping, suitably pleased with herself by the smug smile I catch on her face as she turns away.
I steer Belle around the end of the first aisle. “We need granola, too.”
“Shoot. I didn’t grab milk.”
“Get this,” I instruct with a hand to her back, “and I’ll go back for the milk.” Like hell I’m risking those two bumping into each other again.
Belle nods, carrying on as I double back. I swing around the end of the refrigerated aisle and damn near collide with the front of Cerise’s cart. She shunts it forward, ramming it into my legs. Thank fuck for steel-cap work boots.
“Watch where you’re going.” Her lip curls up as she growls the words at me.
I shove the cart back into her. “What are you doing here, Cerise?” Like fuck she’s been shopping here for years.
She shakes her head. “What are you doing, Zeus?” Considering ramming you again. “Why are you wasting your time with her?”
I note the lady to our right select a tray of eggs and the way she listens despite trying to appear as though she doesn’t. Cerise backs up as I round the cart, apparently dubious of my approach.
“What makes you think Belle is a waste of my time?” I lean in close as I ask, lowering my voice.
“She’s a child,” Cerise stresses.
“She’s twenty-one.”
“A child compared to you.”
I frown, breathing heavily out my nose as I flick my gaze between Cerise’s brown eyes. What is her end game? Why is she so invested in this? “You seem to care an awful lot about Belle’s well-being for somebody who abandoned her for ten years.”
“Maybe it’s not Belle’s well-being I’m worried about,” she challenges. “Ever think that?”
Mine? Why would she care? “You’re not making any sense, woman.”
“I’ve known you since you were a teenager, Zeus. The mess with Jodie? That was hard on you. What do you think it’ll do to you when Belle leaves? Do you want to be back in prison?”
“Belle wouldn’t leave.” I take a step toward the milk, done with this fucked up conversation.
Her hand settles on my arm. “Don’t be so sure of that.” I shake her off, repulsed.
Cerise hasn’t laid a hand on me, ever. Can’t say I feel as though I missed out. Her touch is cold—cold as her dead fucking heart.
“If you know what’s good for you,” I grit out. “You’ll stay the fuck away from your daughter and let her be happy.” I catch the eye of a passer-by, waiting until we’re in the clear again. “You so much as cause a single tear to run down my girl’s face and I’ll make sure you feel that pain tenfold.”
“Your girl?” Cerise taunts with narrowed eyes. “Interesting choice of words, Zeus.” She cocks an eyebrow as I walk away.
I snatch up the bottle of milk, and then give Cerise one last parting shot as I head back toward Belle. “You ever wonder why you’re all alone, Cerise? Ever wonder why you’re the common denominator when it comes to drama?”
She scowls as I stride away, rounding the end of the aisle in search of Belle.
I’ve never known another person to be so eternally pissed off as Cerise. I can’t think back to a time when she wasn’t like this, getting around with a huge fucking chip on her shoulder. Maybe back in school, but back then I didn’t know much about her. It wasn’t until she started dating John that I knew her name, and even then she was cool and bitter toward me.
“Everything okay?” Belle places the packet in her hand into the basket.
I realise I’ve still got the scowl on my face I left Cerise with, and force my brow to relax. “Yeah. Everything’s good.”
Belle’s with me, where she belongs, and Cerise is on her own, where she belongs. John has found himself a woman who actually gives a shit about his well-being, and even though he doesn’t agree, he seems to be happy to let us all move on with our lives.
Yep. Everything’s just as it should be.
“What else do we need?” I loop my arm around Belle’s shoulders and tug her to my side as I place a kiss to the top of her head.
She walks with me, hip bumping mine. “A few things from the toiletries aisle, and then I think we’re done.”
The robotic dullness of her words bugs me. She operates by rote. “I love you, dove.”
“Love you too, babe.”
“Things will get easier.”
She makes a little hmph, pulling from my hold to snatch something else on our way past. “I guess.”
“Don’t let her get to you.”
She glances my way before starting toward the front of the store again. “It’s not just her.”
“What else then?” My fingers flex on the handle of the milk.
She glances over her shoulder with a frown. “I don’t really want to talk about it here.”
“I do.” What better place than where she can’t walk away? Than where her mind is occupied with the task at hand so her subconscious can’t dwell too much on what obviously bothers her?
Belle huffs, slowing her walk to take my hand again. I clutch her, thumb massaging the back of her hand to remind her that I’m here, I’m not going anywhere ever again.
“I couldn’t help but think about what she said, what Dad said, while you were gone. About Damien. I don’t know how he is.” She shrugs. “I feel guilty.” She chances a look my way, seemingly to gauge my response. “For what I did to him.”
Fuck. “Why?” From what she said, they weren’t anything more than a relationship born out of convenience. He cheated on her, for fuck’s sake. He clearly doesn’t feel guilty about anything, so why should she?
“Dad had a point, I think. I used him, didn’t I?”
How the fuck do I answer this? “What do you think you need to do about it?” Does she want to see the arsehole, because like fuck I’d be okay with that.
Fuck them for getting into her head. They’ve fucking done it, planted that seed of doubt.
“I think I should talk to him one last time. We left things… awkward. Maybe if I just put it all out there it’ll help me move on from it?”
“It might also upset you even more.”
She halts us before the makeup. “Possibly.”
“What else?”
Belle sets a stick of some black shit in the basket, and then turns to face me. “I don’t want to make you angry.”
“At you?”
She nods.
“Dove, as long as you’re in my bed at night I couldn’t give a fuck who you talk to.” Liar. I do care, but I also know that my jealous insecurities are just that: mine. “If you need to do that to feel better, then do it. But to tell you the truth, I don’t think you need to say anything else. It’s done, dealt with. Leave the cunt in the past where he belongs.”
She looks around at my use of such harsh language. “Zeus.”
“What?” I shrug. “I don’t like him. He touched you. He had you when I didn’t, and he wasted that time. I hate him for that.”
She wraps her arm around my waist, twisting to rest her head against my chest. “You have me now, babe. And you know what? I’m the lucky one. I messed everything up so badly, and you still love me even though you have every reason not to.”
I tilt her chin with my free hand and lean down to taste her lips—fuck the people who cast glances as they walk by. “I don’t know how to not love you.”
I know how it looks to other people—a guy who’s clearly started into his later years in life, the age lines around my eyes a dead giveaway, kissing a girl who still rocks her youth. But I couldn’t give two shits what they think.
I’ve wasted enough of my life trying to be what other people want of me to waste another day without Belle because of the same.
Something fierce awoke within me the day she got home, something that lay dormant while she was overseas. And every day I get with her simply feeds the beast.
I’ve always felt the need to protect Belle, ever since she was little. But this new dimension to our relationship, this shift in responsibilities? In some ways it leaves me afraid of what the future holds, because if I don’t get a heel on this guy inside, then who’s to say what the hell I’ll do when trouble comes knocking.
And with people like Cerise in our lives, trouble is inevitable.