Always Fraser A. Steel (notion reading list .txt) 📖

jealous. What the fuck! Has this been going on since that night? She said at the time that she knew him from the café, where they probably had secret meet-ups while I was at work.

Fuck, my head is playing tricks on me, my imagination’s going wild imaging all types of scenarios. But none of them makes sense.

Screw it, there's no point holding myself back. What have I got to be good for anyway? It’s actually over with Elly. She’s with someone else and I need something to ease the pain.

I lift my glass to my lips, then place it back on the bar. This is a bad idea. It doesn't matter how mad I am about what I just saw, I'm not going to do this to myself again. I need to get out of here. I turn to leave and out of the corner of my eyes I see Shea walk into the pub. What's she doing here? She’s the last person I want to see tonight. I drop my head and turn back to the bar, hoping she hasn't spotted me.

But I can hear the tell-tale click of her heels tapping on the hardwood floor as she stalks over to me. I raise my eyes to see her with a massive smile on her face. An over-the-top smile like she’s just won the lotto or something. What is it she wants? She stops walking right in front of me.

“What's wrong, Fraser? Why so sad?”

“What do you want, Shea?”

“You’ve changed your tune since I saw you a couple of hours ago. Did something happen for you to be sitting in a bar all alone?” she taunts me, lowering her bottom lip as if to fake cry.

“Fuck off, Shea,” I hiss, dismissing her and turning my head.

She walks round to my other side, placing her hand on my shoulder. I get a shiver down my spine from her touch, my body recoiling from her.

“Oh, I think you know me better than that. I make it my business to know what's going on in this town.”

“Well, this is none of your business.” I shake her off, lowering my head, reconsidering my drink.

“Let me play the guessing game then, hey.” She places her finger to her lip as if contemplating what could be wrong with me. “Tell me if I’m right. Your perfect little lady’s not so perfect after all, is she, Fraser?”

I raise my eyes to meet hers. What the fuck does she know. Her smile returns. “Want me to go on? I’m on to something, aren’t I? Her eyes are bright and sparkly like she is enjoying every minute of this, knowing I’m in pain. What a masochistic bitch. How could she possibly know what happened tonight?

“Perfect little Elly was convinced I was the slut. Doesn't look like it now, though, would I be right, Fraser?”

What's she on about? How could she know I caught Elly with someone else? Unless… I remember what Elly said back at the house, ‘I’m being set up, Fraser.’

“What the fuck did you do?” I raise my head, glaring at her, waiting for her response.

She's a little taken aback at my response and takes a step back, stumbling on her heels. “Nothing, just a little matchmaking. Told you not to fuck with me. Guess now you know how it feels,” she says, way too sweetly, as she walks off flicking her hair.

Fuck! I run my hands through my hair. This is a fucking nightmare. What the actual fuck is going on? My head is spinning. Have Elly and that guy been sleeping together? Or has she been set up as she said? For as long as I have known her, she has only ever been up front and honest with me. I know her, don't I? She doesn't have a bad bone in her body, she wouldn't do this, it's not her. I'm such an arsehole for even thinking she would after her taking me back and everything I did to her. I should have trusted her. I need to get out of here and make this right before I fuck this up for good.

I leave my drink on the bar, I don’t need it. I need to see Elly and work this shit out. I make my way out the front door and run into Blake.

“Thank fuck you're here, Fraser, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“I turned it off. What's wrong?”

“Elly needs you, Fraser. She's in the hospital. She’s had a fall.”

“What? What's happened?”

“She fell down the stairs chasing after you. She hurt her ankle, it might be broken.”

“What about the baby?”

“The baby?” he questions, raising an eyebrow.

That's right, we were going to tell him tonight. “She’s pregnant.”

“Indie didn’t say, just that Elly’s scared and she needs you.”

His ute’s parked right out the front of the pub. We jump in and he takes off so fast his tires squeal. I can't believe she fell trying to chase me. I should have just stayed and listened to her, then this wouldn’t have happened.

Blake looks over to me and he looks pissed. “What were you doing at the pub by yourself, Fraser?”

“I was going to have a drink, but I didn’t.”

“What the fuck is going on with you two anyway? Are you fighting again?”

“I don’t know what's going on, that's what I’m trying to work out. I walked in on some guy kissing her in her apartment tonight.”

His eyes go wide. “What? That doesn’t sound like something Elly would do. She loves you, Fraser. Remember how sad she was when you split up last time?”

“Yeah, I know, I wouldn’t believe it either, but I saw it with my own eyes! Shea just said the weirdest thing too. Something about her playing matchmaker and now I know how it feels.”

“You were here with Shea?”

“No, I ran into her, or she came looking for me, I don’t know. But she was all smug like she knew something I didn’t, calling Elly a slut.