Favourite Hello. Hardest Goodby - E.S. Carter Page 0,2
ghost them—even if I have no intention of going back to a life that now feels dead to me.
With the pulse in my veins nagging at me to head into town and visit Safe Anchor, I release a ragged sigh, drop my hand, and pull out my phone.
Sixty-three missed calls.
Over a hundred and fifty emails.
Almost twenty voicemails.
The result of deserting the life of Macsen Evans for less than eight hours.
I hit dial and bring the phone to my ear, my eyes once more finding the sea. It rings once.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Macs. I’ve been going out of my mind. Where the hell are you?”
A beat of silence, and a rogue gust of wind whips up from the small bay to catch my breath. “Lily Bay.”
“Lily what? Is that a hospital? Are you hurt?” I hear a harsh huff, his voice rising in cadence as he continues, “You missed the meeting with Eddington this afternoon. We tried to get hold of you, and they won’t deal with anyone else. But if you’re in hospital I’m sure we can swing a bit of sympathy from them, make sure they don’t give the contract to that fucking vulture Chisholm.”
I close my eyes, my tongue finding my lower lip and tasting the briny air on my skin.
“I’m not in the hospital, I’m not hurt, and I can’t explain it right now, but I’m not coming back. You can take the Eddington meeting. I’ll work remotely from here.” Even I can hear the distant quality to my voice. I’m detached from everything that once was, everything I once valued.
Silence. Thick, weighted silence.
I’ve never known Rex to be lost for words, and we’ve been friends—and now business partners—since meeting at university. I don’t attempt to fill his quietness with excuses. Instead, I let him process my words and turn my back on the million-pound view in front of me and head towards the money-pit behind me.
I’m going to need a hotel or long-term holiday rental. I really need to head into town. Maybe check out the pub. Take a look around. Maybe—
“Macs? Macs? Are you still there? Can you hear me?”
I blink, shaking my head to clear my thoughts as I slip my key into the lock of the rotten looking, but still solid, entrance doors.
“Yeah, I’m still here, but I have some business to take care of before everything closes for the day. Listen, Rex”—I turn the old brass key and shoulder the door to make sure it’s locked before heading towards the rental car—“I owe you an explanation, and I’ll give you one. But not today.”
When he makes a sound of protest, I stop him before he can begin to rant, my voice softer, almost beseeching. “I can’t explain all this right now, but you need to know this is important to me. We can work something out for the future of EF Recruitment, but I need you to step in for me. I know it’s a big ask—”
“A big fucking ask?” His voice is laced with both confusion and hostility. “A big ask would be taking a week off and asking me to cover. A big ask is ditching an important meeting and expecting me to be fine with it. This isn’t a big ask, Macs. It’s fucking lunacy. What the hell has got into you?” His tirade is followed by a frustrated groan, and I can imagine him pacing his office, running his hands through his always perfectly styled hair, sending the short blond spikes into disarray.
“I know.”
“You know? That’s all you’ve got to say to me. You fucking know?”
“I—”
“No, Macs. I deserve more than this shit. If you were anyone else telling me they’d abandoned their firm, gone rogue without word, and were sunning it up in some bloody geriatric’s summer paradise, I would’ve laughed—thought they were pulling my leg. But this is you, Macs. You never say anything you don’t mean, so when you tell me you’re not coming back, I know it’s not bullshit, and I’m certainly not laughing.”
The sigh that escapes my lips as I slide into the driver’s seat and start the engine only enrages him further.
“You know what, Macs. Fuck you. I’ll buy you out.”
I know Rex. This is a standard tactic of his. Pretend he doesn’t care. Use anger to deflect. Lock everything up tight. Go it alone. Bolt the doors and put a sign up saying he needs and wants nobody.
“If that’s what you want, we can talk about it and work something out.”