In Over His Head

Chapter 22

The familiar landscape sped by in the dusk of the day, and Sharla settled further into the rhythmic sway of the train, her earbud case in her hand. She wanted to listen to music to drown out the laughter and conversation around her, but the music might have keyed her up instead of distracting her. She rolled the case in her hands, the orange of the sunset catching her eye as it peeked out around trees and buildings.

The moment Kevin had stormed off with Renna, she Googled "Periwinkle meaning" and read a search blurb that the flower was fucking poisonous, and set in wreaths on the bodies of dead children in the past. Well if that wasn't a veiled warning that Kevin had obviously picked up on... Sometimes she felt so damned stupid.

It was enough to spur her to book the first train possible to get back to Crewe Station around midnight. Thank God for Mo, who texted it was no issue and she'd be waiting for her when she sent her a hasty email with her ticket confirmation and a subject line of "help".

Shar had held back tears as she organised her luggage, quickly stole out through the back door, and walked to the Tube with her two suitcases piled up and dragging behind her. She hadn't told anyone she was leaving, but she could not stay in that house a moment more, especially after she'd caught Renna's glare. James may have said it was fine, but she knew better. Her presence was a problem.

Fuck, how she felt about Kevin was a problem. What they did was a problem. The pressure he'd put on her in the doorway was a problem. Of which she had no idea what to do.

On one hand, she was falling for him hard, and on the other, she was petrified and second guessing all of it. She desperately wanted to talk to Gretchen, but she wasn't sure she should say anything to anyone; it was intensely bad if it got out in the open. So she was a whole big ball of contradictions and stress. She did know that whatever relationship they had started, it needed to come to a screeching halt before someone got hurt worse.

"Ticket ma'am?"

Sharla startled, and the train attendant was waiting to verify her pass, hand out, impatient twist on her lips. She still had it in her jeans pocket so she handed it over, and the attendant punched it and moved on. Sharla let out a breath and leaned back. She was incredibly jumpy and her nerves were shot. That is not how one should feel coming back from Italy after spending time on a yacht with a sexy man. Not at all.

The train lurched as it changed tracks. Sharla closed her eyes as she pushed in her earbuds. She couldn't change what happened, but hopefully she could figure out how to recover from it.

The moment she did, her phone rang. Glancing down, her brother's name scrolled across the screen, so she hit the button. Someone she could talk to, even if he would say he told her so. He could be discreet.

"Hey Benji."

"Hey, Sharkie. Checking in. Have you pickled your liver with Lemoncello yet? Wait, you sound like you're on a train."

Sharla sighed. "I am headed back to Barleystook, there was—"

"I can hear it in your voice. What happened?" her brother interrupted and she scowled. Benji was stupidly intuitive, and also incredibly observant. Even when they were kids, she couldn't hide her bad moods from him. It was always a welcome annoyance because when he'd discerned her problem, he'd do anything to get her to smile. He was good at listening, and wanted people to be happy, sometimes to his own detriment. Hence why he loved to travel, meeting people, and listening to their stories. He was patient to a fault, and was rather laid back even in stressful situations.

They were so different it wasn't funny. Sharla ran her fingers over the worn fabric of the seat back in front of her, still scowling. She debated on whether to tell him or not.