Leticia (17 page)

“Thanks, but I don’t think that would be
a good
idea
.
”

“Nonsense
,
” Tristan added
.

“Guys, I appreciate it, I really do, but....”

“Leticia you are welcome to stay
,
” Jackson interrupted
.
“You need to get cleaned up, you
’
r
e
covered in soot and bits of blood by the looks of it.
You’re
lucky it’s so dark out here, I don’t think the police would have been too happy if they’d seen that. So do you really want to risk drawing attention to yourself at a hotel?”

“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable or start being off....”

“I won’t, I promise, come on
,
” he said as he walked towards his car
.
“I’ll take you
.
”

I threw the contents of the safe on his back seat before getting into the car. Tristan and Nancy set off a few minutes before us and had told us they would make us a cup of tea for when we got in. I expected Jackson to set off straight after them, but instead, he turned to face me.

“I’m sorry about all of this
,
” he told me
.
“You don’t deserve this
.
”

“It’s not your fault, you didn't cause it
.
”

“
No
I know, but still...”

“I think I’m definitely going to have to move again
,
” I sighed
.

“What! Where?”

“I don’t know, I might go abroad, maybe I should have done that in the first place
.
”

“You
can’t
do that
,
” he said quickly
.

“Why
?
”

“
Well
what about
...
I mean, you have friends here now, and...you have your job...”

“Stuff the job I can do something else, and I care about you guys don’t get me wrong, but we haven’t known each other very long and so...”

“You care do you? Well if that’s true, then stay
,
” he interrupted
.

“Wow, I certainly didn't expect to be having a conversation like this with
you
.
”

“Fine, I’ll shut up then I won
’
t bother...”

“I didn't mean it like that Jackson
.
You
take things the wrong way a lot don’t you? You take things so personally
.
W
hat I meant was, we haven’t exactly seen eye to eye have we?”

“No
.
”

“So I would have thought it more likely that Nancy would have said these things to me, not you
.
You
never really seemed to care that much
.
”

“I do care
,
” he almost whispered
.

“Do you?”

“Well
of
course I do, your one of us, we look after our own
.
”

“Oh,
OK
,
” I sighed, turning away from him and looking out of the window
.

“Leticia I
...
.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter,
let’s
just go and you can get cleaned up
.
”

“
OK
.
”

We didn't speak again until we arrived at his house
.
It
wasn’t an awkward silence or
anything;
we just didn't seem to have anything else to say to each other. He hadn’t raced across the moors this time either, he actually stuck to the speed limit and so it had taken us around fifteen minutes to get from my burnt ruin to his place. The lights were on downstairs and I could see Nancy
standing
in the kitchen talking to Tristan. I gathered my things off the back seat and followed Jackson inside. Nancy sat me down at the kitchen table and passed me a cup of tea
.
Jackson grabbed his cup and walked out of the room.

“Are you alright
?
” she asked me
.

“I will be, thank you
.
”

“What are friends for?”

“Has Jackson been
alright
with you?” Tristan asked
.

“Yeah, he grabbed me out of the house before
and
stayed with me
while
the police were asking questions.”

“You went
in
the house?”

I explained to them both about my safe, and how I needed the contents.

“Jackson was right
,
” Nancy told me
.
“You w
ere
stupid to go inside
.
”

“Yeah well I did, anyway, I thought you’d all gone home
.
”

“
We
were
going too, but Jackson decided he was going to get you and bring you here, he didn't want you being alone. I did tell him you would be shocked to see
him
there, and not us, but he didn't care, he wanted to make sure you w
ere
OK
.
”

“
Oh
.
”

“Do you want me to show you to your room
?
It’s
an en-suite so you can get cleaned up
.
I’ll get you some
clothes;
you’re pretty much the same size as me
.
”

“That would be great, thank you
,
” I tried to
smile.

Tristan went looking for Jackson
while
Nancy
led
me upstairs, down the long brightly lit hallway to one of the spare rooms. She left me to get in the shower and told me that she would make sure there
were
some spare clothes left on the bed for when I got out. I stood in the shower for ages just letting the water run over me and trying to clear my head. My mind was racing all over the place, so much so, that at one point I felt dizzy with it. I had to try and calm down, to think clearly.

When I came out of the shower I walked in the bedroom to find a pair of black jeans and a white tank top
lying
on the bed. I put them on, the jeans were a little big around the waist, but they were comfortable and the top fit perfectly. I looked at the
clock;
it was late now, just
after
midnight. I went downstairs just in time to have Nancy tell me she was going to call it a night
.
She
was tired and wanted to be up early tomorrow. Tristan obviously joined her. She told me to help myself to a drink and some food if I was hungry, then hugged me for a moment before heading upstairs.

I walked into the kitchen
and
Jackson was at the table with coffee and a fresh cup of tea next to him.

“Here
,
” he said passing me the cup
.

I thanked him and sat down facing him
.
He
looked deep in
thought;
he was staring into space, not even blinking.

“Are you
alright
?
” I finally asked
.

Nothing.

“Jackson?”

“What? Sorry
.
”

“I said are you
OK
?”

“Yes
.
”

“
Good
.
”

“How are you feeling?” he asked without looking at me
.

“I’ll be
alright
.
”

Both of us went silent
.
It
was one of those awkward moments that made you feel really uncomfortable. Should I talk or not?

“You can stay here as long as you like
,
” he told me
.
“It’s not like we don’t have the room
.
”

“I don’t like putting people
out
, so I’ll be
gone
tomorrow
.
”

“And what exactly are you going to have sorted out by tomorrow?”
T
his time he looked me in the eyes
.
“
You
can’t exactly buy a house and move in the same day
.
”

“I’ll stay at a hotel, or a B&B or something
.”

“Why
?
”

“Why not
?
It
won’t
be for long, I can afford it
.”

“We
’
re offering you a place to stay, for free, and yet you would rather pay for a hotel?”

“I guess
.
”

“Why Leticia?”

I didn't answer him, he was actually being rather friendly with me, which to be honest, as much I was shocked about it, I liked
it
. I didn't want to just turn around and say ‘
Well
it’s because I don’t understand you
.
You’re
arrogant, ignorant, and I don’t fancy fighting with you all the time’
.

“Why
?
” he repeated
.

“I said before, I don’t like putting people
out
and....”

“Tell me the truth
.
”

“That is the...”

“Leticia
,
” he said raising his eyebrow
.

“O
K
fine, because
you’re
an
ass
,
” I blurted out
.
“You act nice when it suits you and the rest of the time you’re horrible
.”

“I know
.
”

That was not the reaction I was expecting. He turned away from me for a few minutes before speaking again.

“Leticia, I’m sorry I’ve been like that with you, you’ve done me no harm
.
I promise you I
won’t
be like that with you anymore
.
”

“Sorry, but I find that hard to believe
.
”

“Let me prove it to you
.
”

“Jackson look...”

“When I’m nice... that’s the real me
. That’s
how I always used to be
.
I promise you I will be like that again, I won’t be off with you
,
” he said sincerely
.

“
Why
do you want me to stay?”

“Honestly?”

“Well yeah
.
”

“
There are
a few reasons
.
Can
we talk
about it
tomorrow
? You
look exhausted and to be honest I’m tired myself, I haven’t slept much lately
.
”

“Why?”

“I’ve been watching your place,
Tristan and I
took turns
.
”

“Oh, you didn't have to do that
.
”

“Well...
get some
sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow
.
”

I must
have
fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. It was light outside now and I could hear the birds cheeping. I glanced at the large old fashioned clock on the wall facing
me;
it was almost 7
:
30a
.
m. I had client
s
booked in for today but couldn’t go
;
all my stock had been destroyed in the fire, so what could I possibly do for them. I’d have to cancel everything
that was
booked in for the foreseeable future. I got up, washed and dressed, then sat on the end of the bed calling each of them, speaking to some and leaving voice mails for others. One of ladies was in tears on the phone
.
She
was so upset for me and told me if I needed anything all I had to do was call her.
The rest of them were so understanding and
all
they cared about was my welfare.