Page 29 of Blackout

But what had got my attention was that my pastry wasn’t a mound of dough in the fridge anymore. It had been rolled out into the glass dish I’d found earlier, and the apples I’d sliced had been layered over the pastry. There was even a little twist to this apple pie as there was no top layer of pastry. A sprinkle of cinnamon covered the apples and now it just needed to be cooked.

Zach dished up the spaghetti and we both sat down at his kitchen table. We ate in silence, and it wasn’t until I finished that I started to feel better, a little warmer and not so washed out. And that was when I saw Zach’s knuckles, an angry bruise and red broken skin. He had been in a fight, and I could only hazard a guess as to who the other person was, after the thunderous look on Zach’s face last night. There was no doubt in my mind that he had paid Connor a visit.

‘Did you seek Connor out?’ I didn’t want to be the one that drove a bigger wedge between the two Black brothers.

‘I see you feel better.’ Zach stated. His eyes stayed on his dinner while I stared at his sore hand.

‘Zach?’ I tried for calm in my voice but didn’t quite get there. Zach had stuck up for me last night at Black’s Bar and Grill, so why had he sought out Connor today?

‘Connor’s an arsehole, Harley. He won’t bother you again.’ Zach looked at his bruised knuckles.

Did Zach’s bruised knuckles mean that he didn’t like the way Connor had touched me? Or did he have other issues with his brother?

‘What did you do, Zach?’ I know Zach said he wouldn’t let Connor get too close to me, but I didn’t know Zach would hurt Connor. But having read online how mean Connor was, karma was catching up to him.

‘Nothing Connor didn’t deserve.’

No doubt, Zach gave Connor what he had coming to him. Not that I felt at all that sorry for him. I couldn’t help but stare at Zach a little shocked. ‘Please tell me what you did to your brother?’

‘Connor has a black eye.’ Zach still wouldn’t meet my eyes. ‘I gave Connor a touch up because, even though I asked him to take his hand off you, he didn’t. No one gets to touch you without your permission. And we also have some other issues you don’t know about.’

‘Wow!’ I stated, a little flabbergasted. ‘I don’t know what to say to that. I’m not used to someone in my corner, fighting my battles.’

Suddenly bone weary, I stepped back from the kitchen table and walked towards Zach’s bedroom, stripping out of the clothes I wore except for the singlet. After turning down the doona, I got inside his king size bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep. These last couple of days had shown me that I could fall asleep before exhaustion took over. I wanted to fall asleep like this every night, not just while I was here at Zach’s house.

Fourteen

When I woke the next morning, Zach had left for work. I decided it was time I stood up for me, stopped hiding myself away at work and made a decision about what I wanted. I knew that to do this, I needed to go back to Melbourne and talk things over with my family. I made breakfast, toast and coffee, then cleaned up the mess.

There were still dishes from last night that hadn’t been washed. The apple pie had been forgotten about after the words Zach and I had shared. I turned the oven on and waited for it to heat up. I didn’t want the apple pie to go to waste, so I cooked it, cut it up and then I would freeze it. If Zach was smart enough, he would figure out it was in the freezer.

All the mess I’d made was now packed away. The spaghetti, pasta and sauce were in containers now ready to be frozen. I bundled the muffins and slices of bread two at a time and found just enough room in the kitchen freezer to stow these goodies away. The oven beeped, the apple pie was ready, and I took it out to let it cool.

I wandered aimlessly around Zach’s house, picking up the items that had moved out of place and putting them back. Zach’s house would once again be the bachelor pad he had styled it to be. I would no longer be here, and there would be no trace I had ever been here.

I packed my bag and made Zach’s bed with fresh sheets so my scent would no longer linger. The ones I’d slept on were washed and dried. New towels hung from the bathroom rails, and the old ones were washed, dried and put away. The house was immaculate, and that was my cue to leave before I could fall anymore in love with this house or the man who lived here. If my heart had a say whether to go or stay, it would choose the latter hands down. But I couldn’t rely on my heart. I needed to use my head.

It was late afternoon when I put my bags in my car and for the first time since I’d arrived, got behind the wheel of my own car. It felt bizarre not to have Zach right beside me, but I needed to go and sort out my life. Was I ready for a change? Was I ready to let someone else in? As much as I wanted to stay here and as far away from Melbourne as I could, I didn’t want to wear out my welcome as Zach’s house guest. He had been a perfect gentleman and nothing but kind since my arrival. In return, I had often been an emotional mess and not exactly forthcoming about who I was.

I started my car, letting the engine warm after it had sat idle for the last couple of days. The sound of the engine wasn’t loud enough to calm me the same way Zach’s truck did, and I wondered if I was right to just leave and not face Zach with my goodbye.

Last night played on my mind as I pulled away from Zach’s front veranda. He had stood up for me against his own brother. I wasn’t used to having someone fight my battles. While I wanted to be angry at him for what he’d done, I was angrier at myself for not being able to fight my own battles. I braked and put my car in park. I pulled my phone from my bag and sent a text. I needed to reach out to Zach and tell him about my decision to go back to Melbourne.

H: I’m heading back to Melbourne. It’s time I faced my family. Thank you for your hospitality and for showing me a great time.

With my phone back in my handbag I didn’t wait for a reply. I turned my car around and followed the road back into town the same as Zach had done two days ago. Only there was no need to stop at Black’s Bar and Grill today. Once I hit the black-top, I continued until I reached Melbourne Road, the main street of town. Bayly Street marked the centre of this country town, where there were several shops, two pubs and another hotel, the primary school, the service station, and supermarket. But I didn’t need to turn left today for any of those. I turned right and passed what I had seen before when Zach had driven me to his establishment. There was no traffic to hold me up as I made my way over the bridge that crossed the river and out of town, down roads that turned left and right and would eventually lead me to cruise-control speed.

‘Oh crap,’ I swore to myself. He’d read my text. I knew that was Zach’s black dot in the distance of my rear-view mirror. ‘Guess that goodbye is about to happen.’

I knew this road like the back of my hand as the number of times I had travelled this stretch of road with Mum, Dad and Addison were too many to count on one hand. There was a rest stop not too far ahead. It made no sense to start a car chase when we only needed to say goodbye.

Memories of that night from ten years ago played on my mind. I didn’t want my car to spin out of control, the same way our family car had spun out of control with my dad driving. My body couldn’t take that sequence of events again, the shift to the left then the right as the car moved in a continuous circle, the screams and cries before I blacked out. I planned to pull over off the road and wait.

The black dot grew larger the closer it got, and just when I thought Zach was about to drive right past, he stopped in front of me with a scream of his tyres and spray of gravel. The massive black truck had barely stopped its motion forward before Zach had gotten out of it.

He stomped towards me, his jaw set to show all the hard lines of his face. The man didn’t look to happy. Was he pissed I was leaving? When he read my text, did he still want to say goodbye face to face?

I debated as to whether I got out of my car or not. The vibe he sent told me he was more than pissed. I didn’t hesitate then to move. I was out of my car and about to lean back against it, as naturally as one could.