Page 87 of The Hideout
“Yeah. I had to tell you that. Because while you were sleeping with my husband, I was trying to escape him.” Paige came closer to the main light above the bar, stopping in front of Harriet and shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but I’d suggest you call it off.”
Harriet gasped, her hand smacked to her mouth. “Paige! What the hell has happened?”
Juliet wanted to cut in, to help Paige in some way as her bottom lip trembled, but Paige must have sensed exactly that and held up a hand.
“What do you think has happened, Harriet?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Your beloved James…the guy who everyone adores…beats the shit out of me any chance he can get.”
Harriet stumbled back, gripping the stool closest to her when Paige lifted her T-shirt and exposed the bruising around her ribs. Juliet hadn’t seen this before; she’d only heard Paige tell her about the bruising, the police too. She hadn’t gone into the room when they took pictures of her injuries this morning, opting to give Paige space and privacy. To see it so unexpectedly knocked the wind right out of her.
“Paige—”
Paige glanced in Juliet’s direction. “No. She wants to know what’s happened, so I’ll tell her.” Paige cleared her throat, lowering her T-shirt. “James is under the impression that I’m to stay home and live my life as a housewife. No job. No hobbies. Just existing.”
“What?” Harriet scoffed.
“Yep. And as you can see, he doesn’t like that I have my own life or my own mind. So, he beats me.”
“Hang on! Are we talking about the same person here?”
Paige barked a laugh. “Oh, yeah. The very same person. Sweet and innocent James beats women.” Paige took a calming breath, closing her eyes as she gathered herself. “I only went back there because you told me he was in Paris. If you’d just been honest and told me you were seeing him, I could have prevented all this. I wouldn’t have stepped foot inside that fucking house if you’d told me the truth!”
Juliet knew Paige didn’t blame Harriet for her injuries, that was entirely on James, but her lies had contributed to Paige making the decision to go back. Paige had discussed that with her last night when she was going over it all in her head again. Paige had tried to blame herself—something Juliet had quickly nipped in the bud—and then she’d mentioned Harriet. But why wouldn’t Paige trust her best friend when she told her James had left the country? Paige had then gone on to wonder if Harriet was in on this, but it appeared James was very good at hiding their home life. Harriet was in the dark as much as everyone else when it came to James’ true intentions.
“I don’t care if you’re fucking him, I really don’t, but when your lies lead to this happening, that I care about.”
Harriet let out a strangled sob, her eyes studying Paige’s face. “Paige, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Why would you?”
“Because I’m your best friend and we’re supposed to talk about stuff like this.” Juliet heard the anger in Harriet’s voice, but she’d keep an eye on that. The first hint of this getting out of hand, Juliet would remove her from the bar. Harriet may be shocked, but she wouldn’t have Paige upset. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you’re all fucking obsessed with him!”
“That’s not true.” Harriet sighed, lifting herself onto a stool and offering Paige the other. “Please, sit down.”
“I’ve never felt as though I’ve been in a position to tell you about it. Whenever we meet up, you want to know about him. His career, how he’s doing. Why would I come to you with this when you’ve been telling him where I am?”
“If I’d known this was going on, I wouldn’t have told him anything, Paige. I hope you know that.”
“Look, it’s done now. And I haven’t asked you to come here so I could talk about him. He’s not worth my breath.”
“O…kay.”
“I’m in love. The most amazing and stupidest love.”
Harriet’s brow rose. “Must be serious.”
“It is, yeah. Very serious.” Paige smiled fully for the first time since she’d gone back to Kent. “Because they’re all I’ve ever dreamt of. They protect me and love me and show me that life can be incredibly fulfilling. And you know, when this all happened with James, they were willing to let me go if it made me happy.”
Harriet cocked her head, smiling. “I’m happy for you, Paige.”
“They encourage me to perform. Nobody in my life has ever encouraged me. Except for Mum, but when she died, my voice died with her. Because she was the only one who ever had any faith in me. Everyone else told me I wasn’t good enough. They belittled me and sneered at me when my passion was all I wanted to pursue. Until now.”
“Paige, we just didn’t want to see you get hurt. The music industry is a tough business.”