The Casanova by T L Swan

Chapter 24

ELLIOT

“Your brother and solicitor are downstairs, they’ve posted your bail,” the police officer says as he writes something on his pad.

I clench my jaw as I stare at him. “I did nothing wrong.”

He exhales heavily, clearly frustrated. “We’ve been through this, ten times today already, Mr. Miles. You cannot smash someone’s private property. Nor can you assault them. Now stop wasting my time with your blatant disregard for the law.”

“What about my rights? Where is my protection? I don’t want my photo taken, are you telling me that he has a right to do something against my will and I’m unable to react? I was protecting myself and my loved ones. It’s my rights that have been compromised today.”

“Look.” He sighs. “Stop playing dumb. You know how this works, you own a media company, for Christ’s sake.” He hands me a ticket. “You’ve been charged with assault and vandalism, get your solicitor to fight the arguments in court. I don’t make the laws.”

I snatch it out of his hand. “What you do is protect criminals.” I stand.

He rolls his eyes.

“And don’t roll your fucking eyes at me,” I snap.

“Do you want to go back to the lockup? Is that it?” He gestures to the door. “Just go, before you overstep the line for the tenth time today.”

I’m led downstairs and into the reception area, where I see Christopher and our lawyer sitting and waiting. I glare at them and turn to the police officer. “I want my possessions returned.”

“Your phone, belt, and keys are in the tray over on the counter.”

I take them and put them in my pockets. “Let’s go.”

“Thank you, officer,” Christopher says.

“Don’t fucking thank him,” I snap. “It’s a joke that I was even arrested.” I storm out of the front door of the police station.

“Will you stop being such a fucking prick?” Christopher calls from behind me. “It’s not his fault you had a brain snap.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I whisper angrily as I march down the steps. I turn toward them. “Thank you both for coming. Go home, now.”

“You go home too, Mr. Miles,” Edward, our solicitor, says. “You are in no state to be in public.”

“I’m fine.”

“You are not fine. Go straight home before you make your situation worse.”

“It can’t get any fucking worse,” I snap.

“Believe me, it can. Christopher, drive him home and stay with him tonight.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Fuck off the both of you.” I turn away in disgust. “Actually, drive me back to my car.”

“I had Andrew pick your car up earlier,” Christopher says. “I’m driving you home.”

I stare at him. “Fine.” I shake Edward’s hand. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be in touch. Stay home, Elliot. I can’t stress to you how important it is that you don’t get into any more trouble.”

“I won’t let him out of my sight,” Christopher says.

I exhale heavily and we walk over to his car. I slam the door shut. “Take me to Kate’s.”

“I am not taking you to Kate’s.”

“Fine.” I open the car door to get back out. “I’ll fucking walk.” I march down the street in the direction of her house.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” he calls.

I carry on walking and he drives the car up alongside me and winds down the window. “Stop being an idiot.”

I keep walking.

“Elliot, you are all over the news right now. They’ll be camped out the front of her house.”

I stop on the spot and my shoulders slump. “I’ve fucked it.”

“I know.” He sighs. “But you can’t be acting like a lunatic. Go home and call her. I’ll go pick her up myself, I promise. You cannot just turn up there unannounced.”

I stare at him.

“What if she won’t let you in?” he asks.

“She will.”

“Will she?” he says. “Because I saw the footage of her on the news taking a swing at you and she didn’t look like she was too happy to see you.”

My heart drops. “You saw that?”

“Everyone’s seen it, it was filmed from a phone.” His eyes hold mine. “Just get in the fucking car, man.” He sighs sadly.

I look up the street.

Fuck.

I get in the car and slam the door and we drive in silence.

Eventually he turns on to the motorway and we head to Enchanted.

I stare out of the window with my phone in my hand. What do I do?

I close my eyes in regret.

I fucked up. . . bad.

“She’s not going to forgive me,” I say as I get a vision of Kate from today, the look in her eyes. “I know her, she’s too stubborn. . . if you saw how hurt and angry she was.”

“Do you blame her?” Christopher says as his eyes flick over to me.

I clench my jaw as anger surges.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Christopher snaps. “You had it. For the first time, you actually had it in your hand. A woman who made you happy. . . and you go off on some stupid fucking tangent chasing an artist.”

“It’s not stupid to me,” I cry. “I’d only been with Kate for a month.” I kick the dashboard.

“Don’t kick my car or I’m kicking you out, and you can fucking walk, prick,” Christopher yells.

“I had been searching for this artist for years. I’ve been obsessed with her, I thought there was something there.”

“Did you sleep with her?” His eyes move between me and the road.

I stay silent.

“Did you fuck this artist or not?” he yells.

“No!” I scream. “As soon as I got there I knew I had done the wrong thing.”

“So why then. . . did you stay?”

“I stayed one night.”

“So. . . you did sleep with her?”

“No.” I shake my head, regret swimming through my body. “She was full on into me and. . . I faked a headache and went back to my hotel room. I didn’t even get through the first dinner date.”

He frowns at me.

“I was confused,” I cry. “I thought it was a sign, that she was the one.” My nostrils flare as I try to get a hold of my emotions. “The beautiful woman I had been searching for, for years, was right in front of me, but then when I looked at her. . . she wasn’t Kate.”

Christopher shakes his head in disgust.

“I told her the next morning that I’d made a mistake and was going home. I bought the remainder of her paintings and left.”

“Then where have you been for a week?”

“I believed in fate. The destiny I had dreamed about and thought I wanted wasn’t even real. It took me some time to see that what I had with Kate was real. She’s the woman for me, she’s the one that I love.”

Christopher exhales and we drive in silence for a while.

“Please, take me back to Kate’s, I have to see her.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I shout. “Take me to Kate’s.”

“Shut the fuck up,” he yells as he hits the steering wheel. “You’ve fucked your relationship up with Kate, and now you’re hell-bent on getting arrested again. You’re all over the news, Elliot. Go home and sort your shit out. I am not in the mood for dealing with your mental fucking breakdown over a woman.”

“She isn’t just a woman,” I yell. “She’s the one.”

He huffs with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Now you discover that. . . after you’ve completely annihilated the relationship.” He shakes his head. “What a fucking idiot.”

“Shut. The. Hell. Up,” I scream.

We drive the rest of the way in silence and pull into the driveway. “Drop me off and go,” I snap.

“I wish I could,” he sneers. “I’ve got better things to do than babysit your ungrateful ass.”

“Then don’t.”

“I promised Jameson I would. That’s the only reason I’m here putting up with your tantrum. Go inside, and go to bed.”

He stops the car and I get out and slam the door hard, and march inside.

Fuck this day.