Pretty Falling Pieces by Isabelle Culpo
Chapter Twenty-Four
Allie Watson will not look good in orange. That’s the unlikely first thought that crosses my mind when I turn on the six o’clock news. Blown up on the screen behind the newsreader is a close-up shot of mascara streaked tears running down her pretty face. The headline reads “Local socialite Alexis Watson arrested for allegedly possessing underage photos.” The screen cuts to her entering the courtroom, shielding her face from the flashing lights of cameras.
When the anchor crosses to a reporter outside of the Auckland District Court, I turn up the volume. “According to our source, Alexis Watson is being charged with the possession and distribution of indecent images of a minor. The socialite was not granted name suppression and has yet to release a statement. Police will not disclose any further details of the arrest until the victim has been contacted—”
I power off the TV immediately, not needing to hear anymore.
This can’t be a coincidence.
I ring Jess. “Did you watch the news?”
I can hear her sigh on the other end of the line. “Yes, we watched it.”
“Did he do it?” I ask. I don’t need to explain who he is. She’s silent for a moment and I can hear Trent talking to her in the background.
“Yes, but I shouldn’t be the one to tell you. Do me a favour and call him, Imogen. Please.”
No.
“There’s nothing to talk about Jess. I don’t blame him for doing it. He was put in a difficult situation being sent photos of someone underage and needed to alert the authorities to cover himself. I totally understand.”
“Imogen, you know that’s not why he did it. Please just call him. There are things I wish I could just tell you, but you need to hear it from him, not me,” she pleads. Deep down I know she’s right; my best friend wouldn’t push me into the arms of someone who’s wronged me.
“I’ll think about it okay. Sorry to interrupt you. Enjoy the weather while it lasts, it’s supposed to pack in tomorrow with thunderstorms.” Not long after I end the call with Jess the police arrive at her apartment and I tell them how everything with Allie happened.
* * *
Lying in bed that evening, I re-type the same message to Theo about a thousand times, always deleting it before pressing send. Never finding the right combination of words. Eventually I conjure up an excuse to text him about work.
IMOGEN: Hey, sorry to disturb you this late. Is the waterfront going to be open tomorrow? There’s something I wanted to double check in person.
Hopefully the spurious excuse to text him isn’t as obvious to him as it is to me once I’ve hit send.
I should’ve just waited to text him the next morning. Just when I’m about to flick my phone on airplane mode so I can stop stressing and get some sleep, he sends me a reply.
THEO:No worries. If you’re available, can you meet me there tomorrow and bring everything you’ve worked on so far?
My heart sinks.
What does he want that for?
The only explanation is that he’s decided he wants to get rid of me, collecting what I’ve done so far so he can share it with the next designer. This has happened to me once before, one of my wealthiest, albeit most demanding clients, wasn’t happy with how the designs were coming together so he asked me to meet with him, bring all my designs for review, and then I never heard from him again.
I’m devastated. My biggest professional undertaking and it’s ripped out from under me.
I reply ok, then put my phone on the bedside table and snuggle deeper into the covers.
Almost instantly it starts ringing, and I begrudgingly lean over to answer it. Feeling the acid rush to my stomach at the thought of speaking to Theo.
Expect it’s not Theo.
It’s my dad.
Without thinking, I accept the call and bring the phone to my ear “Hello?”
“You’ve really done it this time haven’t you?” he lets out a short dry laugh, that somehow sounds more sinister than his usual angry outbursts. “It’s been all over the bloody news. Why the hell would you embarrass yourself and this family by bringing them up again?”
And just when I thought that was the end of those photos…
“It wasn’t me that-”
“You better hope our name doesn’t come out in all of this. Otherwise I swear to God, Imogen…” his angry voice bruising my soul.
I’ve received a version of this threat about a million times since childhood, and he’s never finished that sentence.
“Or what, you’ll disown me? No longer love me? I hate to break it to you, but right now, I’m doing just fine without you in my life, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
He inhales a sharp breath “You ungrateful little b—”
I hang up the phone, put it on silent, and shove it in the drawer; wishing I’d never answered in the first place.
Everything will be ok.
I know it will.
I don’t need anyone.
With a racing heart, I fall asleep the only way I’ve been able to since my first night back in New Zealand.
Dreaming of Theo.
* * *
After days of grey skies, the heavens finally let loose. I dash under the building covers trying to shelter myself from the pouring rain. It’s no use though; I’m drenched by the time I get inside. Borrowing Jess’s silk cream blouse was clearly not the right choice for today. Not only is it two sizes too small, apparently it becomes completely translucent when wet.
I untuck my folder from my arm, which is luckily still dry, and take a look around, noticing the progress that’s been made since I was last here.
Theo and his team work fast.
There are still a few men on site but most of them have finished up for the day, probably hitting up a local bar somewhere, waiting for the rain to pass. I enter the elevator as the lone occupant and ride it to the penthouse where I’m supposed to be meeting Theo.
I unsuccessfully try to air out my blouse to detach the wet material from my skin, but it makes no difference.
Reaching the top floor, I’m once again greeted by the expansive views of the city and the dark, grey, thunderous sky. It all looks very theatrical, like the climax scene in a movie where the good guy and villain battle.
I hope it’s not an omen for today’s meeting.
I could do with less dramatics in my life right now.
I call out Theo’s name and he appears from the bedroom. Dressed casually in jeans and a sweater he looks even more devastatingly handsome than the last time I saw him. There are bags under his eyes that weren’t there a week ago, but they don’t detract from how attractive he is.
He is undeniably the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met.
I don’t know whether I’m the luckiest girl in the world to know what it’s like to be with him, or the unluckiest for knowing what it’s like to lose him.
“Hi,” I say.
“You’re wet.”
“I got caught in the rain on my way here. I’ll dry off soon.” Especially if you keep looking at me like that. I’m more likely to combust than catch a chill.
“Are those the papers?” he asks.
Getting straight to the point I see.
I take a few steps forward and hand them to him; his fingers purposefully grazing mine when he takes them from me. He flips through them casually, as if not even really paying attention to what’s on the pages.
Frustrated by his lack of interest, I decide to goad him, letting him know I’m aware of what his intentions are for bringing me here today. “If you need me to brief my replacement, I’m more than happy to. Unless you want to start from scratch altogether?”
I know it comes out angry and petty but I don’t care. If he’s going to throw me off this project for no good reason then stuff him.
I see the muscle in his jaw tick. “What replacement?”
“Isn’t that why you brought me here? Why you wanted me to bring all of the work I’ve done so far?” I question.
“No!”
“Well that was my only logical explanation since you’ve been avoiding me and—”
“I’ve been avoiding you?” he interrupts. “Why the fuck would I replace you, Imogen, when I’m in love with you!” he yells, throwing the papers across the bench and running both hands through his hair. “I’ve tried to be patient with you. Waited for you to come to me first. But you’re so fucking stubborn and I can’t do it anymore. You’re here because it was the only fucking excuse I had to get you to see me.”
He pauses, watching me closely.
I ask him the one question that’s been running through my mind since I walked out of Sarah’s apartment.
“If you’re in love with me, then why did you leave with Sarah? Why did you go with her to the hospital?” I can taste the jealousy on my tongue.
He looks outraged. “Because I needed to get her away from you! Do you know what went through my mind when you told me it was Sarah that had been calling your clients? I knew she had some sort of fucked-up dependency on me after what happened with her family, but there was never anything between us. That was all in her head. The second you hung up the phone my gut was telling me it was her that trashed your place. I helped set her up in that apartment, so I knew she lived there. When I pieced it together, my heart fucking stopped.” His voice gets thick with emotion. “Imogen, the only reason that I didn’t contact you after it happened was because you broke up with me. I didn’t think you’d ever want to speak to me again after you found out I was to blame for Sarah doing this to you.”
So all along I thought he’d finished with me, when he was blaming himself.
“Theo, it wasn’t your fault. She’s not well and needs help. You need to stop feeling guilty for something you had nothing to do with,” I plead.
“She hurt you…” he says, as if the words are too painful to even speak.
“Yes, she did, but it’s nothing I won’t recover from. A few broken bones are the least of my worries right now.” My broken heart on the other hand.
“Can I?” he asks, gesturing to my hand.
I gingerly lift my casted arm towards him, and he holds it with both hands, bending so he can touch his lips to just above where it ends.
Goosebumps break out along my arm.
He releases it then unexpectedly picks me up and lifts me onto the kitchen bench, kneeling down to my injured foot. He kisses my knee and down my shin then lightly grazes his fingertips along the top of my foot. “Does it hurt?”
No. Not when you touch me like this.
I shake my head and he looks up at me, then stands to his full height.
He pushes my knees apart and stands in-between them. “You should really get out of these wet clothes.”
I can hear his breathing getting louder.
Or maybe it’s mine?
Anticipating where this is heading I ask the final thing weighing on my mind before we take things any further. “Why did Ange send you that photo of her?” The question rushes from my mouth.
Yes, I saw it, Theo.
And yes, that’s why I up and left in the middle of the night.
Now fess up.
“After everything at your apartment had been compromised, I called her and asked if she could pick up some essentials, clothes, toiletries…underwear. I just wanted to make sure you were covered in case you couldn’t go back there for a while. And maybe it’s because she heard how desperately in love with you I was when I explained to her what happened, that was her last ditch effort to try to start something between the two of us. Which was never going to happen, by the way. I don’t fuck my employees. She’s gone now. I’ve given her notice.”
Well that certainly clears things up.
“Technically I’m your employee. You fucked me,” I say, throwing his words back at him.
He smirks at hearing me swear for the first time.
And the sight of that boyish grin sends me over the edge.
I reach up and peck his lips, pulling away just as quickly.
He looks shocked for a second, like me kissing him was the last thing he expected.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
“About what?”
“That you’re ready to let go.” He cups my face with his hands. “I can be patient, Imogen. For as long as you need, but I need to know you’re ready to let all the shit that happened to you in the past go. To stop putting an expiry date on our relationship and waiting for the moment where I leave you because you don’t think you’re good enough for me or for anyone. Because there’s no fucking end for us, baby. Ever.”
“That depends. Are there any more women out there who’re in love with you and will try to break us up? Because I don’t think I can go through that again, Theo. I’m sick of never being anyone’s choice, but that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to live the rest of my life like that. I’ve been alone for this long anyway, and I honestly think I’d prefer that than having to fight to keep you because there are so many other women out there that also want you.”
It’s harsh but he deserves me being honest.
“There’s no one else, Imogen, and even if there was, they could never hold a candle to you. After what happened with my dad, I let people get away with things because I don’t want to hurt them and end up like him.” He clears his throat.
“Your trust in me means more to me than you will ever know. I know you think that someone that looks like Allie or Ange is going to come between us, because your whole life all you’ve ever known is people judging you based on how you look. But just because someone’s beautiful on the outside doesn’t mean they’re any more deserving of love. It’s what you see in me that made me fall for you, Imogen, and we’re past the point of no return.”
Despite his reassurance, there’s still a tiny part of me that still worries that one day he’ll realise that he’s made a mistake. Maybe it’ll be the day I wake up one morning, no makeup, sick, and in sweats when he realises how plain I am. Or maybe it’ll be when we’re all dressed up attending a special event, and I notice some other woman from across the room catch his eye, and he’ll wish he wasn’t tied down in a relationship. Or maybe another Ange, or Allie, or even Sarah will come along and throw themselves in his face, except they won’t be bat-shit crazy like they were; they’ll be kind, generous, intelligent and beautiful.
At the end of the day, I just don’t trust that I’ll have Theo forever. But right here in this moment, he’s mine. This gorgeous, exceptional man is mine and he’s in love with me. Even if we don’t last forever, I’d be foolish to let this slip between my fingers.
I reach my hand up to Theo’s neck. Bringing his head closer to mine, I whisper, “I love you too. So much that it scares me. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Theo. I will never forget it. Even if for some reason our relationship ends—” I hold my finger to his lips when I see he’s about to protest. “I will forever be grateful for crashing your roof-shout, because the time I’ve spent with you has been the happiest of my life.”
Theo answers with his touch instead of words.
Every kiss feels like a promise of a lifetime.
When he unbuttons my shirt, he shows me how much he wants to care for me. When he unclasps my bra and squeezes my breasts, he shows me how crazy I drive him. And when he sinks himself inside of me, with a symphony of thunder and lightning surrounding us, he finally makes me believe we’ll be together for a lifetime.