Tobey, what're you doing?
I mentally shook my head. I knew exactly what I was up to. I was trying to take in everything in the room so that I wouldn't have to think about the one thing I was desperate to avoid. Callie Rose. She sat next to me, watching me with puzzled eyes. She was still trying to figure out what was wrong.
We all sat, waiting for Mr Bharadia to make an appearance. Minerva and Sephy were discussing Sephy's forthcoming wedding to Nathan, talking about the best places to buy a wedding dress. I wished Callie would join in their conversation. That way I wouldn't have to speak to her. Deciding to make myself scarce until the solicitor put in an appearance, I tried to stand up, but Callie's hand on my arm stopped me.
'Tobey, we need to talk,' she said softly.
Which was just what I was afraid of.
'How come I've hardly seen you since I've been home?' Callie's voice was barely above a whisper as she tried to keep the conversation strictly between us. Unlike Misty, she didn't believe in making a scene.
'I've been busy.'
'Too busy to even come round and say hello?'
'I've been busy.'
Callie looked at me, hurt clouding her eyes. 'Have I done something to upset you?'
''Course not.'
'Then why won't you even look at me?'
I turned to glare at her, my expression pure biting frost.
She flinched. 'Tobey, what have I done? Why am I getting the treatment?'
'Godsake, Callie. Can we just get through the will reading without all this drama?'
'Tobey . . .'
'Callie, leave me alone. For God's sake, just leave me alone.'
The whole room went quiet. I jumped up and left the room before I did something incredibly stupid – like holding Callie and telling her the truth. I hid out in the men's loos until after the meeting was scheduled to start. It was the only way I could make sure that Callie and I didn't enter into the same conversation again. I went into the meeting room, grimly pleased to see that the solicitor had arrived and everyone else was waiting for me.
I sat down again, drawing my chair away from Callie as I did so. Callie kept looking at me, and I kept pretending I didn't see her. The solicitor started spouting some legalese which had me zoning out in seconds. I didn't even know what I was doing here. So Jasmine Hadley had mentioned me in her will. So what? She was probably using this opportunity to warn Callie off or something. This was a complete waste of time.
'Mr Bharadia, could you skip over all the legal jargon, please?' said Sephy, interrupting the solicitor's flow. 'I'm sure everyone here would rather just get to it.'
Apart from a slight tightening of his lips, Mr Bharadia's expression didn't change. He was too much of a professional for that. 'Very well, Miss Hadley. I'll get to the details of the will as you've requested.'
'How long before Mum died did she draw up this will?' asked Callie's aunt Minerva.
'Er, three . . . just a moment.' Mr Bharadia checked the top of the will and another document in the pile of papers before him. 'Yes, three weeks.'
The solicitor was obviously the kind of man who didn't yawn without confirming its date and validity first.
'Three weeks?' Minerva said slowly. 'So when she drafted this, she knew her cancer was terminal?'
Mr Bharadia frowned. 'I believe so.'
Terminal? I didn't know Jasmine Hadley's cancer had come back and was terminal.
'Minerva, what difference does it make?' Sephy asked her sister.
'I just wondered, that's all,' Minerva replied.
The solicitor turned to Minerva first and told her that she and her husband had been left a substantial six-figure sum and that half that sum again had been left in trust for their son Taj, which he would obtain when he was twenty-five years old. Minerva's husband was already a very rich man, but now they were richer. Taj was a lucky boy. How lovely to grow up knowing you had all that money waiting for you. I couldn't even begin to imagine what that would be like. Well, actually I could imagine. I could dream, just like everyone else. Minerva nodded at the solicitor, her face sombre.
Mr Bharadia turned to Meggie. 'Mrs Hadley wrote this letter one week before her death. She asked that it be read out to you before I tell you how much you've been left.'
Meggie nodded, but didn't speak.
Dear Meggie,
You and I were friends a long time ago, and giving up your friendship was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I made a mistake and then lived in denial for years, blaming you instead of looking in the mirror for the real author of my misery. I really feel that we'd started to get back to the relationship we had when our children were young – as were we. I hope so. Please know that I think of you as probably the truest friend I ever had. No amount of money will ever make up for all the pain and suffering you've been forced to endure in your life. No amount of money will ever bring back what you lost, but I hope that the gift I leave you will at least ensure that the rest of your days are spent in some comfort.
Your friend, always,
Jasmine
Mr Bharadia stopped reading the letter and turned back to the will. When he announced how much money Meggie had been left, a collective gasp sounded through the room. She'd been bequeathed the same amount as Minerva. It was six figures and one hell of a lot. Enough to buy a new house outside Meadowview and still have enough to live life as she pleased. I regarded Meggie, but her expression didn't change. Was it more or less than she'd hoped for? Maybe she'd got past the stage of hoping for anything at all.
Mr Bharadia turned to Sephy. 'To my daughter, Sephy, I leave my two houses, all their contents and all attached lands to do with as she sees fit. I truly hope that Sephy will use this legacy to make her life easier – something she has never been particularly good at in the past.'
Sephy smiled faintly at the last comment.
I knew for a fact that Jasmine's house by the beach was worth a whole roomful of currency just by itself. I didn't know about her second home, but whatever it was worth, Sephy was a very rich woman.
'Sephy, will you be moving into Jasmine's house now?' asked Meggie quietly.
Sephy regarded Meggie, then smiled. 'Not without you,' she replied. 'I'm not living anywhere without you.'
The relief on Meggie's face was very evident. She looked far happier about that than about the money she'd been left.
The solicitor turned to Sarah Pike, Jasmine Hadley's personal secretary for years and the only other non-family member present. 'To my loyal personal assistant, Sarah Pike, I leave the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds plus my black WMW which she has always admired.' Sarah allowed herself a big smile, followed by a small sigh.
Well, apart from Callie and myself, everyone in the room had been taken care of. Had Callie's nana left her anything? None of us had to wait long to find out. Mr Bharadia turned to Callie. 'To my darling granddaughter, Callie Rose Hadley, I leave all my stocks, shares, bonds and other equity. The portfolio will be professionally maintained for her until she marries or reaches the age of twenty-five, whichever comes sooner. My fervent hope is that she will not let this money spoil her and will use it to do some good, but the choice is hers.' Mr Bharadia looked around the table. All eyes were on him, but no one spoke. 'Oh, I beg your pardon!' He started flicking through the papers before him, whilst muttering to himself. 'Ah! Here it is. As of the close of the stock market yesterday, the portfolio is worth . . . two million. That's it. Two million pounds, give or take the odd thousand.'
What was the odd thousand between friends? I stared at Callie. Two million . . . Callie was super rich. She turned to me, shock written large on her face.
'Congratulations,' I said softly.
Someone had taken an acetylene torch to my insides. Callie was rich. I wasn't. And that was the end of that. I hung my head, trying to come to terms with the fact that I was going to lose the one person I cared most about in this world. What was I thinking? I'd lost her long before today, and ironically money had had nothing to do w
ith it.
'To Tobey Durbridge, I say this,' Mr Bharadia continued.
My head shot up. Jasmine Hadley had left me a message?
'Tobey, I know you'll think me an interfering old woman, but age brings certain busybody benefits. In fact, that's about the only positive thing that age does bring. I've decided to stick my nose into your life for my own selfish reasons. Call it my way of atoning for past mistakes if you will. Years ago I had the chance to help someone like you, and to my shame I stood back and did nothing. I'm determined not to let that happen again. Tobey, I want you to finish school and go to university. I want you to make something of your life. Never take no for an answer. Never let doors slammed in your face stop you from moving forward. Grasp life and every opportunity presented to you with both hands. I've watched you over the years and I know how much my granddaughter means to you. So I'll make you a deal. I've set up a savings account in your name. You will be allowed to withdraw up to twenty-five thousand pounds each year whilst you are at school and university. On satisfactory completion of your education, any monies left in the savings account will be yours to save or spend as you wish.'
I stared at Mr Bharadia, convinced his monotone voice had put me to sleep and I was now dreaming.
'Would you like to know the total amount in the savings account?' asked the solicitor.
I nodded, still stunned. Mr Bharadia flicked through some papers underneath the will he was reading. 'Let's see. Three hundred thousand pounds, plus interest.'
'Mum left Tobey three hundred thousand . . . ?' Minerva couldn't believe it. She wasn't the only one.
'Plus interest,' Mr Bharadia added.
Jasmine Hadley had left me all that money? All the things I'd been through in the last few weeks, all the things I'd done . . . And I had that kind of money waiting for me all this time.
'I don't want it. Any of it,' I said furiously. 'Give it to Callie. Split it between the lot of you. I don't want a penny.'
'Don't be silly, Tobey. That's your money,' said Callie. 'Nana Jasmine wanted you to have it.'
'Not interested. Excuse me.' I got up and headed for the door before anyone could stop me.
Once outside, I kept going. I headed out of the office and along the corridor towards the lift. I pressed the button.
'Tobey . . . Tobey, wait.' Callie came running after me.
Where the hell was the frickin' lift?
'Tobey, what's wrong?' Callie asked, laying her hand on my arm. The warmth of her hand singed my skin.
I drew away from her. 'You should get back in there,' I said.
'Not without you.'
'You belong in there with your family.'
'You're my family too.'
I couldn't take much more. The lift was taking for ever to arrive.
'Callie, go back where you belong,' I told her, heading for the stairs without looking back.
Even though we were fifteen storeys up, I just wanted to run down the stairs and out of the building and to keep going. I wanted to run and run until I left myself somewhere far behind.
'Tobey, wait,' Callie called out, coming down the stairs after me.
'Godsake, Callie. Can't you take a hint? I don't want you with me.'
'I don't believe you.'
I grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her hard towards me, her face only centimetres away from mine. 'I've got what I wanted from you and your family,' I said, adding viciously, 'You were an OK lay and your grandmother has left me a great deal of money. I don't need you or anyone else any more. So do me a favour and get lost. Or better still, run back to your mum and aunt and get them to contest the will.'
I released her and she stumbled backwards, rubbing at her arms where my fingers had bitten into her flesh. Her eyes were shimmering with tears, but none of them fell. I forced myself to look straight at her so she'd get the message. I clenched my fists, despising myself for hurting her. Just despising myself. And even though my insides were churning, even though my throat was so swollen I could hardly breathe and my heart was being squeezed by a merciless hand, I was careful to make sure that none of that showed on my face.
Callie took a halting step towards me, then another. My whole body froze with a wary stillness. What was she doing?
'You're trying to make me hate you,' she said softly. 'But it won't work, Tobey. I think you hate yourself enough for both of us.'
'Just go away, Callie.'
'D'you really mean that?'
'Yes.'
'Would you like me to go away for good?'
'Yes!' I shouted. I started down the stairs again.
'D'you wish I'd been killed?' Callie called after me. 'Is that what you're trying to say?'
Her words tripped me up so badly, I had to grab hold of the banister to stop myself from pitching forward. The breath caught in my throat. I couldn't move. My brain kept telling my feet to keep going. Go down the stairs, one step at a time. Run. But all signals seemed to stop at my heart. I heard Callie descending the stairs behind me. She moved to the step below mine so she could look up into my face.
'And if you really hate me so much, then why did you come to see me almost every day in the hospital – even if it was only for a few minutes?'
'How did you know that?' I whispered.
'You just confirmed what Mum told me,' said Callie.
I didn't answer. I watched her, unable to take my eyes off her face.
'Tobey, you may be my mender of broken things, but now it's my turn.'
'Callie Rose, you don't know who I am any more,' I whispered. 'You don't know the things I've done since you got shot.'
'So tell me,' said Callie.
'You'll hate me.'
'Never happen.'
But I couldn't take that chance. Maybe one day, but not today. I started to shake my head.
'Tobey, just tell me this,' said Callie. 'All the things you think I'll loathe you for, you did them for me, didn't you?'
I didn't reply. I sat down on the hard, cold concrete stair, too tired to even stand any more. Callie sat beside me, just as close as she could get.
'How was your date last night?' she asked.
'Fine.'
'Liar. You walked round the block and went back home.'
'How d'you know that?' I asked, stunned.
'I was in Mum's bedroom. I was looking up at the nearest star and wishing. And when I looked down you were just going back inside your house,' said Callie. 'So I got my wish.'
I closed my eyes. It didn't make any difference. I had to make her see that. I forced myself to look at her, bracing myself for her reaction to what I was about to say.
'Callie, because of me five people are dead, Dan is facing the rest of his life on the run or in prison, and you almost died.'
'But I didn't.' Callie took my face in her hands, her expression now sombre. But she hadn't looked away. Not once. 'Tobey, I didn't die. I'm right next to you. And as for the rest, we'll face that together.'
'No way. I'm in Hell and I'm not dragging you down with me. I have to do this alone.'
'No, you don't—'
'Five people, Callie Rose. Five people are dead because of my actions.' I pulled away from her. 'How do I get past that? How do I even try?'
'Tobey, look at me.'
But I wouldn't. I couldn't.
'Because of me, Nana Jasmine and Uncle Jude died,' said Callie softly. 'D'you hate me for that?'
My head snapped up. I shook my head. I could no more hate Callie than I could sprout wings and fly. Callie and I regarded each other, sharing something deeper and wider than the silence around us. She leaned forward to kiss me. Her lips were warm on mine, but I didn't respond.
'If you tell me to go away, I will,' she said, pulling back slightly. 'If you really don't want me any more, I'll leave. But if you do dump me, I'll just spend the rest of my life wishing that I hadn't come out of my coma.'
Callie's words ripped straight through me.
'Don't say that,' I said furiously. 'Don't eve
r say that again.'
'It's the truth. I couldn't bear to think that we'll never be together again,' she said, adding with a faint teasing note to her voice, 'Besides, you're my sexbot, no one else's. I saw you first.'
I stared at her. 'You remember? The two of us together, you remember?'
'I remembered the day after I woke up out of my coma. I still don't remember the day of the shooting. My doctor said that may never come back,' said Callie. 'But I remember the night before. I remember every detail. I remember you.'
There was a time when that was all I longed for.
'It's not enough. Not any more.' I started to turn away, but Callie's hand pulled my face back towards hers.
'Tobey, tell me the truth. D'you want me to go?'
Slowly, I shook my head.
'Why not?' asked Callie gently.
Somehow my hand found its way to her face. My fingers stroked against her cheek.
'Because I love you,' I whispered at last.
Everything else I'd known or believed in lay in ruins at my feet. Except for that. That was the only thing that hadn't changed. Callie hugged me, her arms tight around me like she'd never let me go.
She said softly, 'You and me, Tobey, against the world.'
My head on her shoulder, I did something I hadn't done in years and years. The one thing I thought I'd never do again.
I cried.
Epilogue
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