Page 39 of Saving Ren

“Gabe, that’s not going to help. . .” Jo interjects. I cut her off.

“His name, Lauren? I’ll find it out somehow, so you might as well just. . .”

“Jason,” Jemma says from beside me. “Jason East.”

My eyes widen as I turn to look first at Jemma, then back to Lauren.

“Jason East? Jay from JME Developments? You’re married to Jay? He did this to you?” My voice rises with every question. I know the bloke, only because we’re both in the building game and operate in the same area, but I’ve met him, spoken to him.

“I thought I told you last night you probably know him?” Jo questions.

“No, I had no fucking idea,” I reply. My eyes still on Lauren.

“What does it matter?” Lauren asks. “It’s done, I’m fine. I’ve left him, and I’m fine.” She pours more wine into the glass and chugs it down.

“Seriously, that’s enough.” Jo snatches the empty glass from her hand. Turning around, Lauren grabs the bottle of wine Jo’s been pouring from and drinks straight from it.

“What the fuck,” Jo shouts as she pulls it from her mouth, red wine spilling down her chin and chest. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Lauren winces and presses the back of her hand against her split lip, eyeing Jo the whole time.

“What the fuck is wrong with me? Where would you like me to start? Oh, I know. Why. Is. He. Here?” She jabs her finger in my direction as she speaks.

“I came to see you,” I explain.

Pulling the house key from my back pocket, I hold it out as both women turn and look at me.

“Jo didn’t invite me. I knocked on the off chance I’d get to see you and give you this.” I hold up the key.

“But I already told you. . .”

“I know,” I interrupt while leaning across the bench to get closer to her.

“I know what you fucking told me, but I didn’t know about any of this. I didn’t know. . .” I raise my hand and wave it in her general direction before letting it fall back to my side.

My entire body vibrating with rage, I straighten, take a step back, then another forward.

“I needed an excuse to see you again, for fucks sake.” I shrug. “That’s it. I wanted to see you and the key and Prosecco were the best I could come up with.”

Burying my hands in my pockets because I don’t know what else to do with them, we stare at each other in silence for a few seconds. I use that time to consider all the ways I’m going to break Jason East’s bones.

“Well, here I am. You’ve seen me now, in all my fucking glory,” Lauren shouts, gestures with her arms out wide, before wincing and letting them fall back to her sides.

“Did you all have a good chin wag before I walked in? Discuss the state of my marriage, the fact my husband’s been beating me these past few months, and the absolute shit show thatismy life?”

Her chest heaves and her breathing shudders when she stops talking. Her eyes slide to where Jo has placed the wine bottle back down, but Jo reacts at the same time Lauren makes her move.

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” Jo says, snatching the bottle back up.

“Well, I need something to blur the vision of you lot sitting here giving me your sympathetic sad eyes. Don’t feel sorry for me, just don’t. I appreciate your help, but I don’t need your sympathy,” her eyes slice to me, “a pissing contest with my husband, or your charity. I don’t need looking after.”

She pauses, her face bruised, lips trembling, chest heaving as she fights to compose herself. It’s possibly the most heart-breaking scene I’ve ever witnessed, and I feel absolutely fucking helpless.

“It’s happened,” she continues. “I should’ve listened to all of you last night and I didn’t. I fucked up, and I went home. I thought. . .” she trails off again, her tongue darts out, the tip flicks over the cut on her lip before she huffs out a breath. “I thought the beating he gave me last week was the end of it, I didn’t think for a minute he’d do something like this, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone there.”

She steps back and leans against the sink for support and again wraps her arms around her middle. It’s heart-breaking to watch, and all I want to do is go to her, but I know that’s not what she needs right now. She needs to vent, to get all of this off her chest. I can’t even begin to imagine how she’s feeling, but I know I have to give her this moment to let her say what she needs to say.

Nodding, she stares down at the timber floor.