Page 65 of Any Kind of Life
“I see.” Henry cleared his throat. “The doctor has just been in to see Juliet. Checked her over and whatever else they do. She’s sitting up now.”
Paige beamed a smile at that. “That’s amazing. I’m so proud of her for pulling through.”
“She’s always been made of strong stuff, kid.”
Paige chewed her lip as she scrambled to her feet. “Are you with her now?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Could I speak to her? She doesn’t have a phone, so I can’t get hold of her any other way.” Paige heard movement, and then that soft breath filtered down the line. “Hey, it’s just me. I’m going to head into town and pick up a new phone for you, okay?”
“Paige, you don’t need to do that. I don’t really need a phone while I’m in here.”
So Juliet didn’t want to keep in contact with Paige on the days when she wasn’t there with her. The more Juliet said, the harsher this all felt on Paige. “Well, I’m going to get you one anyway. And if you don’t want to answer my calls or texts, then that’s okay. But you should at least have some friends around you if you don’t want me. Hannah and Caz will want to keep in touch with you. Henry, too. Just…let me do this for you, please?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll only be a couple of hours. If you haven’t slept yet, maybe now would be a good time. I’ll just drop it off later, and if you don’t want me to stay, I won’t. Hannah is visiting, so you won’t be alone. U-unless you want to be alone. I don’t know.” Paige puffed out her cheeks as she shook her head. “I’m just wasting your time on this call now. Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Paige.”
“Yeah, bye.”
She’s so beautiful.
Juliet watched Paige sleeping in a single chair in the corner of the room. She didn’t know how long she had been here or how long Juliet had been sleeping, but it was clear that Paige hadn’t been taking much care of herself lately. She could ask Paige to look after herself, but after this morning, Juliet wasn’t sure she had any right to ask that. She didn’t know what she had been thinking or why she’d asked Paige to leave, but she really hoped Paige would forgive her.
Deep down, it wasn’t what Juliet wanted at all.
She could worry about Paige’s safety, but ultimately, they needed to be together. To plan a future with one another. Their relationship had blossomed so beautifully over the last year that Juliet only wanted to build on it. Not tear it down. As of this moment, it was important that she didn’t let her fears get in the way of the relationship she had. Because, really, Paige was all she had and all she needed.
Juliet reached forward for her glass of water, groaning as quietly as she could. She was in far less pain than she imagined she would be, and right now, she was just happy to be alive. She carefully sipped her water, enjoying the quietness and the view. Paige always looked so at ease when she was sleeping, even if she didn’t look very comfortable sitting upright in her seat.
As Juliet studied that pretty face, Paige’s eyes opened slowly. She grimaced, rolling her neck from side to side, then sat forward a little. She hadn’t realised Juliet was awake. Paige lowered her head to her hands. Juliet could only imagine what must be running through Paige’s mind this afternoon, none of them good thoughts. As Juliet opened her mouth to speak, she caught Paige wiping tears from her face.
Paige looked up to the ceiling, closed her eyes, and inhaled a deep breath. When she lowered her head again, their eyes met. “O-oh. Sorry. I didn’t realise you were awake.”
“I’ve been awake for a while.”
“You should have woken me up.” Paige stood and stretched her body. “I wasn’t going to stay, but when I got here, you were alone.”
Juliet smiled. “I’m okay being alone. People have lives to get on with.”
“I just didn’t want you to be alone. But…I’ll go. Give you some space. Let you figure everything out in your head.” Paige swallowed. “Just…” She ran a hand down her face, pausing for a moment. “If this is the end of us, would you at least let me look after you until you’ve recovered? To be there for you and anything you need? The doctor said it’s going to be a long road, and I’d really like to do that one last thing for you before you ask me to leave. Before I never see you again.”
Juliet’s heart ached at that. She had been so stupid to say what she had. “Paige?—”
Paige held up a hand. “No, please just hear me out.”
“Okay.” Juliet wanted to give Paige the opportunity to vent. To be angry if she needed to be. And then she would make things right between them.
“When James assaulted me, you looked after me. You promised to be there to take care of me, and I can never thank you enough for that. I didn’t expect it; it was my own fault for ever going back to Kent, but you didn’t judge me for that. You didn’t tell me how stupid I’d been…you just held me. Loved me.” Paige sniffled when her voice cracked. “From that moment on, all I wanted was to be the perfect partner for you. To you. And maybe I failed somewhere down the line, so you’ve realised that I’m not the right person for you, but I’d be so grateful if you would give me the opportunity to be here for you.”
Juliet’s throat constricted as she looked back at a broken Paige. What the hell had possessed her to be so blasé about their relationship earlier?
“I just need to ask you something,” Paige said, returning to the seat she’d been sleeping in. “All of the pushing when it came to the tour…is that why you wanted me to go? Because you don’t want to be with me anymore?”
“God, no. Never.”