Free Beautiful Storm by Megan Isaacs Page B

me.
    And now, Mac’s home. Everything’s one great big mess. I should have sorted everything out sooner, but I thought I had time. That’s all been shot to hell now.
    My phone rings and I glance at the name on the screen. Mac’s manager. Does the man have no concept of time? I answer on hands-free.
    “Joseph?”
    “Elizabeth. I need to discuss a few things with you.”
    I listen to what he has to say and give very little response to him. Every word he utters makes my chest hurt. By the time he ends the call I can hardly breathe.
    Oh, God. What am I going to do?
    Needing to hear a friendly voice and talk things through, I call Boo. My pulse races while I dial her number, put her on speakerphone, and wait for her to answer.
    She picks up on the third ring. “Hey, hun. What’s up?” Her voice is groggy.
    I glance at the clock; it’s only seven in the morning. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
    “Yeah. It’s okay. What’s wrong?”
    “Mac’s home.”
    “Oh? Shit.” She always has a way with words, but she sounds more awake.
    “What am I going to do?” Panic consumes me. I don’t want him home. I don’t want to pretend we’re something we’re not. I fight the tears threatening to fall.
    “Why the hell is he back?” she whisper-yells.
    “I just had a call from his manager. They cancelled the rest of the tour. He needs to go into rehab.”
    “Oh, right. Well it’s about time. Um… I’m not sure what you should do, hun. What do you want to do?”
    “I want to leave him. What else would you think I’d want?”
    “Then why haven’t you already?”
    Her question isn’t meant to hurt, but it does anyway. I’ve asked myself the same thing a million times over in the three rings it took her to answer. “Because while he was on tour I could pretend he didn’t exist most of the time. Now he’s back and they’re telling me I can’t leave him. They said they’d get me fired. Run a smear campaign. Anything to wreck my life.” I release a stressed sigh. “But it’s even more complicated than ever now, isn’t it?”
    “That’s utter bollocks, Lizzie, and you know it. It’s impossible for them to have that kind of influence. Don’t let them bully you. Did you tell Noah yet?”
    There’s no need for me to ask her to elaborate, because I know exactly what she’s asking. My stomach clenches, adding to the heightened stress already swirling rampant in my body. “No.”
    “Why the hell not, Lizzie? That’s just stupid. He needs to know.”
    “I’m waiting for the right time.”
    “Do you love him?”
    “Yes.” It comes out as an almost whisper frightened by how much I do.
    “Well, he loves you, right?”
    This morning his tense body told me a million things he’s never said. I don’t need the words from him. I never will. It’s in the way he looks at me. Even how he holds my hand. The small things, which tells me he loves me, even if he doesn’t realise it.
    “Yes, I think so. He’s never told me. But I get the feeling he does… He asked me to leave Mac.” He didn’t let me walk away, even when it would have been so easy for him to say goodbye.
    “Yeah. He loves you.” She laughs a little and for a second I start to smile. “So, there’s no issue with that.”
    “There’s a huge issue.” My voice rises with the twisting in my heart.
    “Okay, take some deep breaths. It’ll be okay. Where are you?”
    “I’ve just left Noah’s.”
    “Mac’s home and you’re not there? You had a call from his manager? Where do they think you are? It’s seven in the morning.”
    “They think I’m on my way back from your place.”
    “That’s okay then.” I hear her exhale. “But would it be so bad to let him find out?”
    I’ve never told Boo about Mac’s violent behaviour, too ashamed to admit I live like that. She only knows about his addictions. “Yes.”
    “Hmm… Hun, you’re just going to have to leave him. They can’t blackmail you to make you stay. What’s the worst thing