Page 20 of Everything After

“Lily, that man dotes on you. You have nothing to fear about other women,” she scolded in an incredulous tone.

“I guess… but he also hated that I travelled home alone with Cody. If that wasn’t enough, he then dropped the bombshell thatCrakt Soundzz was taking a year off when this is probably the busiest my band has been.”

“Ah, that last item is down to me, I’m afraid. I’m pregnant again… almost four months gone, and with these other two ankle-biters, I insisted that Drew find some time to help me… at least until the new baby’s a few months old.”

Elle’s disclosure gave me more insight into Alfie’s furious reaction to my response than she knew.

“Right… Oh, jeez, I didn’t know. Congratulations, I’m happy for you both, but I don’t envy you having three under five,” I replied, shuddering although she couldn’t see me. Alfie and I were godparents to their other two children. We’d babysat a few times and damn they were a handful.

“I didn’t tell Drew until I was nearly two months. He’s been gone so much, and I knew he had that European leg of the tour to get through…” she trailed off. Her consideration for her husband struck me hard, like they shared a closeness that had gone from what Alfie, and I now had.

We continued to talk normally, but panic grew within me when it dawned on me that I still didn’t know where he’d gone. “Look, if he turns up, please call me. I need to go and figure out where he went.”

“Yeah, and once you do track him down, make peace with him.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow for a proper catch up,” I replied, wondering if her comment needed to be said. Making peace with Alfie was why I was trying to find him in the first place.

“Please, do that. I need some sane conversation around here. The mums in the baby circle I’m in drive me crazy with their materialistic competitiveness. I’m starved of good, down-to-earth friends these days,” she grumbled.

I chuckled. “Alright, I’d better go. Take care of yourself and I’ll call tomorrow,” I said, closing the call out before she could say anything else.

How did we get to this?I wondered as I quickly composed another text.

Me: Alfie, please answer me. I’m worried now. Where are you? Don’t you at least want to talk?

As minutes turned to half an hour with no answer,I scrolled through my contacts and put in a call to Crakt Soundzz’ drummer, Andy.

“Damn, Lily. What happened between you two?” he questioned, sounding annoyed.

Relief flooded through my veins that Alfie had gone to Andy’s.

“Please may I speak with him?” I replied, ignoring his abrupt response.

“Oh, he isn’t with me. He called… pissed off and complaining at your reaction to the band taking a break. I-I think he just needed to vent. I did ask where he was heading though,” he added.

“Okay,” I said, waiting for him to tell me. When he didn’t expand, I prompted him for more information. “Come on, Andy, where did he go?” My heart pounded in frustration.

“Oh, he said he had some unfinished business at that chick’s place… you know the army buddy’s sister?”

My heart stopped for a beat before rage burned in my chest and my blood turned to molten lava in my veins. “He left me and went to Sienna’s?”

“That’s her,” he confirmed, sounding relieved that I knew who he meant.

I cut the call off without saying goodbye and immediately sent Alfie another text.

Me: Did you use our fight as an excuse to run back to her? Answer me!

CHAPTER 11

ALFIE

As expected, Lily was furious that I’d left her the way I had. But I had reached the boiling point in my frustrations about her attitude. It was either that or get into a full-blown fight that would have heard me unload the disquiet I’d been feeling about us for the year and a half.

On the journey across the water, I seethed when I recalled how few private times we’d had, for far too long now.

Lily was everything to me, but I’d slowly become a poor second to her band, which had made me begin to resent her. I don’t think she’d noticed how distant I’d become, mainly since any downtime I’d had in the past eighteen months had been mostly spent alone.

I could count the date nights for just the two of us on one hand in the past year. Alone leisure time rarely ever happened because any time we had managed to sync with our schedules had nearly always included the guys in her band.