Leaving at Noon (6 page)

“
You could start with ‘I’m
sorry’. Or, ‘we need to talk’.”

“
Talking hasn’t worked.
Don’t you see? Our conversations degenerate into shouting matches.
It’s easier to just shut up.” Less hurtful too. “It’s gotten to a
point where we say so little, I no longer know Theo. I don’t know
what makes him happy or sad, what motivates him, what frustrates
hi—” She clamped her jaw shut.

Zoey did know that last one:
she
frustrated him.

“
We’ve lost touch with
each other. I’m clueless about what’s going through his head, and
what he’s doing on a daily basis. His life’s become a mystery to
me.”

Theo knew as little about Zoey. She’d
stopped telling him about her days, and he’d stopped asking.

“
I don’t phone him from
the medical practice to say hi.” She hadn’t called in weeks. Not
even to tell him she was on her way home—and Zoey always let Theo
know when she was leaving. At least once a week, he’d try his best
to leave at the same time so they could spend the evening
together.

Now, her nonexistent phone calls went
unacknowledged, as did his. “He doesn’t phone me either.” He no
longer called to celebrate a great deal he’d made on the market, or
to curse a bad one. He didn’t even phone to say he loved her,
something Zoey had once looked forward to at least once on a daily
basis.

“
Apart from Dinner Club,
we haven’t shared a meal in forever. Not breakfast, lunch or
dinner.” They hadn’t cooked one together either. Their mornings or
evenings preparing food and enjoying it at the table they’d chosen
shortly after buying their house were a thing of the
past.

And no matter how busy their days might have
gotten, they’d always managed to unwind together after Theo came
home. But that was before. When things still worked between them.
When they mattered to each other. “We don’t spend time with each
other. Not even on weekends, which used to be our time. I don’t
want to be with him, and he doesn’t want to be with me.”

Fiona looked at her with sad eyes. Her anger
seemed to have drained away. “I’m no expert on marriage, Zo, but
sometimes you don’t have to say anything—at least not to start
with. Sometimes a simple touch is a good beginning.”

Zoey gave a humorless laugh—anything to
cover her need to cry. “There’s nothing simple about touching Theo
anymore.” There’d been a time, a very long time, when she couldn’t
be in the same room as him without touching him. “I can’t remember
when last I reached out to him. It’s not just a matter of not being
able to talk to him, I don’t know how to touch him. We don’t
connect anymore. On any level. We just seem to want different
things now.”

“
Different things, as in
different people? Not each other?”

“
No. It’s not about other
people. I swear. Our problems are ours alone.”

“
Maybe then a third person
can help solve them.” Fiona’s eyes creased with determination. “A
neutral third party. Tell me what I can do.”

“
You’re already doing it.”
Zoey held out her glass. “Distance and booze are a great
combination. Just keep feeding me drinks, and I’ll be fine.”
Eventually.

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

Yeah, probably not.

“
I’ve looked at the
numbers, analyzed the data and come to a conclusion,” Spencer
said.

Theo raised a brow. Trust the accountant to
sum up his crumbling marriage in a math equation. “Yeah?”

“
Yeah.” Spence nodded. “My
conclusion is you’re a fuckwit.”

Levi tipped his Heineken in Spence’s
direction. “Amen to that.”

Irritation coiled in his chest. “Fuck you
both.”

“
And that, right there, is
the reason Spence is right, and you’re a fuckwit,” James said. “You
told Zoey the same thing: fuck them both.”

Theo was surprised he even remembered saying
it. Usually he forgot the shit he threw at her minutes after
voicing it.

But the fight on Sunday night had been
different from their others. First, Zoey had whittled their
problems down to one shocking factor—they no longer liked each
other. And then she’d announced she was leaving.

There was little to no chance Theo would
ever
forget anything about that night.

“
Jesus.” He shoved his
hand through his hair. “I was pissed off. I didn’t mean it.” He’d
meant to hurt her, not encourage her to sleep with Levi and
Spencer.

The irony of his logic didn’t escape him.
There was something pretty damn twisted about wanting to hurt his
wife.

“
Yet you said it anyway.”
Greg shook his glass, twirling the ice in his Black Label. They
were all sitting in his lounge room. Well, all of them except Theo,
who was pacing its length.

Levi sipped his beer. “Can’t say I blame
Bozo for going to Noosa.”

Theo glared at all of them. “What is this? A
Theo roasting? When Ava said I should talk to someone, I bet she
never expected my best mates to haul me over the coals.”

“
If Ava knew what you said
to Zo, she’d drag you over burning coals herself,” Jared assured
him. “And you know what she thinks about violent
behavior.”

“
Yeah.” James flinched. “I
don’t want to be the one who tells Liv.”

Liv probably already knew, considering she’d
dropped Zoey at the airport. And if she knew, Ava knew. Chelsea
too.

Theo gritted his teeth and paced the length
of the floor. “She said some pretty crappy things to me too.”

I don’t particularly like you anymore.

This is not passion. It’s disgust.

We’ve become toxic.

“
You’re defending your
actions now?” Spence asked.

Theo shook his head. “I’m just telling it
like it is. Like it has been for months now.”

“
She insults you?” Jared
asked in surprise.

“
We insult each
other—every time we talk. Vicious shit.”

“
Jesus.” Greg looked
shocked. “That doesn’t sound like you two.”

“
You screwing around on
her, Theo?”

Theo quit pacing long enough to pierce Levi
with an acerbic glare.

Levi didn’t drop his gaze. He just folded
his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side.

The prick still expected an answer. “Fuck
you, Barret”

“
Lev.” James shook his
head. “You know he’s not.”

Levi didn’t back down. “I know my girl is
hurting.”

“
Theo’s girl,” Jared said
quietly. “And she’s not the only one hurting.”

“
True, Jazza.” Greg
frowned, obviously worried.

Theo lifted his chin in the twins’
direction, a silent thank-you for the acknowledgement.

James gave a low whistle. “Things are pretty
mucked up between the two of you.”

Theo was about to toss a
you think?
in James’s direction but pulled short on the sarcasm. If he wasn’t
careful, he’d piss off not only his wife, but his mates too. It
wasn’t their fault his marriage was collapsing.

“
Yeah, mate.” Theo dropped
back onto the couch beside James with a deep sigh. “They’re pretty
mucked up.”

“
And Zo’s with Fiona now?”
Jared asked.

Theo nodded.

“
God help Noosa,” Spencer
muttered.

Even Theo had to laugh at that. When Zoey
and Fiona got together, they created mayhem.
Party on
was
their motto and tequila their drink. If the women went out for a
night on the town, Theo became their designated driver. Neither of
them ever came home early or sober. Or alone, for that matter. Zoey
generally made it back draped over Theo—or being carried by him.
And Fiona took home whichever lucky guy she’d set her sights on
that evening.

“
Here’s what I don’t
get.”

All eyes turned to Levi again.

“
If Bozo’s in Noosa, what
the hell are you still doing in Sydney?”

A question he’d asked himself a million
times since she’d left. Why hadn’t he followed her? He hated his
answer every time. “She’s in Noosa because she doesn’t want to be
near me.”

“
You and she need to work
this out,” Levi persisted. “Right?”

“
Right,” Greg answered
before Theo could.

James did too, slapping the table in front
of him for emphasis. “Hell, yeah.”

“
Absolutely,” Jared
agreed.

“
One hundred percent,”
Spence added.

Theo waved his hand around the room. No need
to answer. His mates had already said it.

“
Well, how the heck do you
expect to work anything out if you’re not together?” Levi
asked.

“
She needs space.” If she
didn’t, she’d still be at home.

“
She’s had space,” Levi
argued. “A week’s worth.”

Yeah. Theo had been aware of every minute of
that week. “I need space?”

“
Do you?” It was Greg who
challenged him this time.

Theo worried the scar on his wrist. Did
he?

The first night without Zoey, he’d slept
better then he had in months. Probably because he hadn’t slept a
wink the night before. He’d sat on the beach until sunrise
contemplating the fucked-up state of his marriage, then headed
straight to work, where he’d achieved all of nothing in the
morning. He’d gone home shortly after noon to find the house
empty.

The first night of Zoey’s absence, he’d
climbed into bed without worrying whether he’d disturb her and
without wondering if tonight would be the night she’d finally roll
over and acknowledge him again. He hadn’t had to deal with her
pretending to sleep, and he hadn’t had to admit that her cold
shoulder pissed him off—and hurt like shit.

Waking up and facing reality again had been
a bitch. Theo preferred the oblivion of unconsciousness.

He’d nodded off quickly the second night
too, but woken up at some obscene hour and had trouble getting back
to sleep. Tossing and turning for hours on end had left him as
exhausted as he’d been after his night on the beach. The
restlessness had come compliments of his obsessive thoughts about
his wife and their relationship.

Nights three and four had been the same, and
the next few a complete waste of time. Sleep had eluded him from
the get-go.

Thanks to Zoey’s unscheduled departure, his
work was now as fucked-up as his marriage. He didn’t have the
capacity to concentrate long enough to grasp the current stock
market, and as a result had cost three of his long-term clients a
shitload of money through careless trading.

Theo was an ace trader. He had a gut feel
for the market that almost never let him down. Over the years, he’d
built up a large client base and had a substantial amount of money
shoved his way to invest.

His commission, combined with his own share
portfolio, had provided him and Zoey with a respectable nest egg.
Decent enough to buy the home they’d both loved in Woollahra. A
house with a small garden that was built to be filled with
kids.

Now work was a mess and the house sat almost
empty. Without Zoey, it felt hollow. The echoes of their vile
insults bounced off the walls, taunting Theo with their ugliness.
The damaged bedroom door mocked him every morning and night.

Did Theo want the space Zoey had given
him?

Hell, no. Not for one second.

Their home was never bought to house just
one of them. It was
theirs
. His and Zoey’s and any kids they
might have. Yeah, he and his wife may not like each other, but that
didn’t mean Theo approved of her decision to leave. Her needing
space didn’t translate to him wishing for the same thing.

“
You’re pretty quiet,”
Jared said.

“
Thinking,” Theo told
him.

“
There’s nothing to think
about,” Levi insisted. “You’re in the wrong city.”

“
Barr-o,” Spence said, and
his voice held a warning.

“
She’s hurting.” Levi
gestured to Theo. “They both are. His being in Sydney is achieving
bugger-all.”

“
Yeah,” Spence agreed,
“but you can’t force him to go.”

“
He’s acting like a
dickhead.”

“
Maybe so,” Spence agreed
again. “It’s still his decision.”

If Theo didn’t feel so wretched, he might
have laughed at the conversation. He raised his hand. “I can hear
you.”

Levi wouldn’t let it go. “Christ, Hughesy.
She’s your life. Your wife. Don’t fuck this up.”

“
What would you have me
do, Lev? Go after her? Demand she come home? Tell her I’m sorry? I
don’t even know what we’re fighting about, so fuck knows what I’d
be apologizing for.”

“
Yes to all of those,”
James answered for Levi.

Ha.
“And you think she’ll want to see
me?” She’d left him. Walked away to get her space. What did Levi
and James think she’d do if he knocked on Fiona’s door—apart from
slam it in his face?

“
What idiotic kind of a
question is that?” Levi jumped up. “Of course she’ll see
you.”

Theo slumped into the couch. “That’s where
you’re wrong. But just for the heck of it, let’s take this one step
further. She opens the door and there I am. What then? What do I
say to her?” Because that, right there, was where Theo failed to
find an answer. He didn’t have a clue what to say to his wife. He
didn’t even have the vaguest idea where to start.

Greg answered. “How about you tell her the
truth? You’re a jackass for letting her go, lost without her and
need her to come home?”