Intrigue

Chapter 112

Sean's POV 

The three of us stared at Cole as he started making his way in. I felt my head spin a little. My hand moved, trying to look for Jeremy's. When it finally located it, I held onto it tightly, and tried pushing him as close to me as possible. He hardly felt my gesture, because he was still staring in shock.

I tried not to make it too obvious that I was looking at him. He looked slightly older than he had the last time I had seen him when I was in jail, but he still looked as smart as ever, typical Cole. He had on a dark grey suit and a white shirt, with no tie, and a long black coat, with black dress shoes. His hair was backcombed and he had a bit of stubble. His eyes moved towards the bar and stopped on me. They widened. I intertwined my fingers with Jeremy's. I wasn't even sure on whom out of the two of us this was going to be the harder on. From what Jeremy had told me, he'd treated him like dirt for years. And now Sophie had cheated with him.

He started making his way to us. My eyes turned back to the bar, where Louis was also looking wary. Jeremy, on the other hand, looked like he was caught in between being pissed off at Cole's presence, and worried about me having to see him again, after all that had happened.

He stopped directly in front of me, so close that I could smell the cologne I had grown to hate so much, and that I could feel the heat emanating from his body.

"Sean," he said, his eyes melting into mine. "What a wonderful surprise after so long."

I blinked and didn't say anything. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Jeremy watch me quietly and in concern.

"I came here looking for one Michigan and found the other." Cole was still looking at me. I realised that he meant that he was at Jeremy's bar to look for Sophie. I saw Jeremy shift in his seat.

"How was jail? You look great," Cole said now. His hand touched my shoulder.

I found myself freeze. "It was okay," I mumbled. I watched as Jeremy's hand came out of nowhere and slapped Cole's away from my shoulder. I thanked him with my eyes silently, whilst Cole just looked amused. He chuckled.

"Glad to see you look like you've learned your lesson," he commented. His gaze dropped towards my hand, holding tightly to Jeremy's for both our reassurance, as if we were little kids. His eyebrows arched. "I told Sophie you'd already be fucking this bastard if you two are living together," he said.

I felt my heart drop. Jeremy's eyes seethed in anger.

Louis intervened. "Excuse me, can I get you anything?" he asked him warily.

"Whiskey on the rocks," Cole answered casually. He turned back to me. "So, how has life been? Have you seen Malcolm ever since you made him relapse and go to rehab?" he asked me.

He was asking me these questions to trigger me. I needed to remind myself of this repeatedly. "Yes," I muttered. I hated how I was still so shaken by Cole, even after all these years. I felt like I was going to throw up.

Louis set a glass in front of us. "Here you go," he said to Cole now. "Careful of the ice cubes, try not to choke on them." He offered a smile. I tried not to laugh at his comment in spite of the way I was feeling.

Cole looked at him in disdain as he dropped a ten euro note on the counter. He turned back to me. "Anyway, I'm sure that you and I will be seeing so much more of each other now that you're out and that I'm back with Sophie." He smirked, and I swallowed the bile in my throat. "Speaking of which. Do either of you know where she is tonight? We were meant to meet but she's not answering her phone and is not at home or the head office." Underneath his cool exterior, I could tell that he was slightly agitated at Sophie's disappearance.

I knew Sophie had been at our house, but I didn't comment. I just shook my head. Jeremy didn't reply. I wanted to be released from this horrendous situation right this instant.

Cole sipped his whiskey. "By the way." He set his glass back on the counter and turned to me again. He'd hardly looked at Jeremy, only making reference to him because of his snarky comment about the two of us. He slid his arm around my back. I jolted at his touch. "I hope you don't mind that Sophie and I are dating. With you it was like an easy game, a stepping stone, whilst working hard to get my prize. And that prize is your sister and now she's crazy about me." He rubbed my back.

I stood up, in shock at the way he'd spoken to me and at the way he'd touched me. I released myself from his grasp, subsequently releasing myself from Jeremy. And the second I let go of Jeremy, he seemed to lose all control he'd had. He pushed Cole away from me. His eyes blazed in anger as he looked around, seemingly to find something to throw at Cole. I saw Louis put the bottle of whiskey which he'd left on the counter away as rapidly as he could, like he wanted to avoid any unnecessary drama. Jeremy's eyes settled on the ten euro bill instead. He grabbed it and threw it at Cole.

"Drink's on the house," he said. "Now get out of my bar."

Cole just laughed. "You're not serious," he taunted him.

"I've never been more serious in my whole life. Get the hell out of here, and don't ever come back." Jeremy glared at him. I stood still, frozen. I watched as Louis emerged from behind the bar now. We were causing a bit of a scene.

"Let's get you out, then," he said to Cole.

"Seriously?" Cole verified, his eyes flitting towards me.

"Boss's orders," Louis said. He grabbed Cole's arm and started leading him out.

I suddenly found my voice. "Maybe you're not able to get in touch with Sophie because she doesn't really want to see you," I almost yelled.

Cole just laughed. "Oh please, you Michigans practically fall at my feet."

I felt my heart sink at his vile comment. Jeremy was almost starting to make his way to Cole again, but Louis hardly let him, because he practically kicked Cole out himself.

I heaved a sigh of relief as he made his way back to us. I shifted back to Jeremy, craving the safety that his presence held.

"Sorry about that," Louis said, stopping in front of us. People were staring.

"Thanks for intervening," I mumbled. "The story is long and complicated."

Louis nodded. "I think I got the gist of it," he said, with a look that said a lot. My heart flipped at the realisation that he also knew what I'd been through. He turned to Jeremy, grabbing his arm. "You okay, Jer?" he asked him.

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah. I bloody hate him. It's bad enough that my girlfriend chose him over me... but that comment about... it was uncalled for." He glanced over at me. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

I nodded. "You?" I asked.

"I'm fine, just pissed off. Thanks Louis." He turned to his bartender and friend.

"Anytime." Louis shot him a smile before his gaze flitted back to me in concern. I didn't react. I just reached for my water.

We stayed there for a little while longer, until it got late and we decided to make our way home. We said our goodbyes and thank you to Louis and made our way to Jeremy's car. Within minutes we'd arrived home.

I grabbed Jeremy's arm as we made our way to the front porch. I could see Sophie's car parked in my peripheral vision. So she hadn't left after all. I don't think Jeremy saw it.

"I'm glad I was with you the first time we saw him again," I said in a low voice.

Jeremy's grim look softened. "I'm glad, too," he said. He pulled me into a quick hug before releasing me. He exhaled. "We'll get through all this."

I nodded, not wanting to tell him that Sophie was inside our house. "Thanks, Jer. You're the best," I said to him.

He smiled at me briefly and opened the front door, and we were met by a ton of boxes all over the place.