Playing in Shadow (22 page)

“Because he’d obviously built so much on the fact you were finally coming back home that he was damned determined to keep you here this time. He missed you, Scarlet.”

“He’s going to end up pushing me away again. He’s smothering me. I have my own life to live.”

“He obviously didn’t see it like that. Hopefully, he’ll come around.”

“I’m still going to that show on Friday. I need a studio to take me on full-time. If not, then I need to look further afield.”

The implication of those words startled Bryce. “You’d move away again?”

Scarlet nodded against Bryce’s neck. “If the right job came up, then yes. I need to do my art. If I can’t find anywhere here then I need to start looking where there’s an opening.”

The consequences of that and what it meant to Bryce stunned her into silence for a moment. Scarlet could be leaving. Not just her job but
her
.

“Have you…” Bryce forced herself not to reveal her fears. “Have you sent your résumé out to many studios that aren’t close to home?”

“A few,” Scarlet admitted. She lifted her head up to look at Bryce. “I had a horrible feeling this was going to happen when I got back. I was so excited to be coming home that I tried to ignore them. I’ve sent some résumés out to different cities just to test the waters.”

“And if you get offered a job?” Bryce tried not to let the dread in her voice escape.

“Then I’d have to consider it. I’ve worked too hard to give it all up to sit behind a desk because Dad wants me chained to his side.”

Bryce nodded in understanding. “So, what happens now?”

“I work my notice. I’ve already contacted the photographer I’m currently with and asked for any extra hours they can give me.” She rested her forehead against Bryce’s. “Have I just burned all my bridges, Bryce? Did I do something really stupid here?”

Bryce’s head was still reeling at the thought that Scarlet might be leaving more than just the job behind. “No. You were being backed into a corner. Or more accurately a corner office you didn’t want.”

Scarlet pulled back. “If I leave…would you come with me?” Bryce’s jaw dropped. “Do you really think I could just walk away from you, Bryce?”

“I…” Bryce faltered. She didn’t know what she thought. Could she leave? She was in a job where her colleagues could look at her damaged face without flinching. She had a home where she felt reasonably safe so long as she kept the light on. Bryce honestly didn’t know how she would cope having to start over in a new environment. Not when she was only just starting to piece her life back together in this familiar one. To be taken out of her comfort zone? The feeling truly terrified her. Her breath began to escape in quick, short pants as the fear rolled over her and started to make her blind to her surroundings.

“Hey, hey. You come back to me, lover.” Scarlet’s hands ran over Bryce’s face.

The familiar touch brought Bryce slowly back to where she stood. She blinked rapidly at the sudden rush of tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

“I don’t know if I can,” she whispered. She wrapped herself around Scarlet as the silent sobs wrenched through her body and ripped open her soul.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Scarlet said, feathering her fingers through Bryce’s hair to calm her.

No, it’s not. Because you’ll be the loss I won’t ever recover from.

Two weeks’ notice. Two weeks’ notice. Every stroke of paint Scarlet applied to the wall seemed to echo with the mantra. She was equal parts excited and terrified by what she had done. She’d started receiving replies from studios interested in her, so that, at least, was gratifying. It meant she had choices now. Some of the positions were just a few hours’ commute away, others were from much farther afield.

Scarlet hated how Bryce’s already pale complexion whitened even more on the arrival of each envelope in the mail. She understood Bryce’s reluctance to leave. She was still recovering from a trauma, and Scarlet acknowledged that uprooting her would be cruel. Scarlet’s logical mind recognized that fact. But her heart wanted Bryce with her. She knew she was falling in love with Bryce. It wasn’t a passing infatuation; it was something deeper than Scarlet had ever experienced before. Walking away from her job, walking away from the responsibilities expected of her, was hard enough. Scarlet had never wanted any of that anyway. But leaving Bryce behind? That wasn’t something Scarlet wanted to imagine. The pain was a knife plunged into her chest every time she dared even contemplate going alone. The letters arriving were compounding that.

Sooner or later, Scarlet had to make a choice. She didn’t want to
not
choose Bryce.

The atmosphere on the site was oddly cautious. Ever since the very public display between Scarlet and her dad, everyone had taken to walking on eggshells around them both. Her dad rarely came on site now, and if he did, he steered clear of Scarlet’s location.

I just want to leave, Scarlet thought, then everyone can get back to normal. Business as usual, just without the boss’s daughter casting a cloud of discontent over everything.

Alice had been sent in as a go-between to try to talk some sense into Scarlet. Or so her dad had hoped. Instead, Alice had taken Scarlet’s side and wished her well. Along with commissioning a portrait of her grandchildren when Scarlet had the time free for a sitting.

Scarlet knew her dad would eventually come around. She remembered him sulking for weeks when she’d initially moved away. He’d finally forgiven her, but it wasn’t easy for him to let go. She knew that was because of the loss they had suffered. It still didn’t mean he could rule her life now.

Scarlet heard a noise at the open door and looked down from her scaffold. There stood Bryce.
Two weeks’ notice.
Scarlet would sorely miss seeing Bryce’s face every day. They had taken to spending most of their nights together, in one apartment or the other. Bryce was still plagued by the terrible dreams when she succumbed to sleep. Scarlet wanted to be the only one who drew her out of the nightmares and back into the comfort of her open arms.

“Hey, handsome.” She finished up her painting and carefully picked her way down the scaffold. Bryce was ready to meet her at the bottom. She reached for Scarlet’s hand to help her step down.

“Juliet’s here. I thought you might like to come see her.” Bryce pulled Scarlet closer for a lingering kiss. “I’m going to miss being able to sneak to whatever room you’re working in and steal a kiss from you.”

“I’d better not hear about you substituting Gregor instead.” Scarlet grinned at the horrified face Bryce made.

“He’d need to at least shave first.” She ran her fingers along Scarlet’s cheek. “I prefer less stubble when I’m making out.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Scarlet said, pressing a kiss into Bryce’s palm. “I didn’t know Juliet was coming today. I thought she was sticking closer to home because her due date is so close.”

“I think she was going stir crazy staring at the four walls so she staged a jail break and caught a cab here.”

“Trent is going to kill her.”

“Trent has no power against those sparkly blue eyes of hers.”

“Do I wield that kind of power over you yet?” Scarlet playfully batted her eyelashes at her.

“You know you do and have from the start. Not to mention you bewitched me with your singing.”

Scarlet laughed and wrapped her arms around Bryce’s neck, hugging her close. “You’ll miss my warbling.”

“I know.”

Her heart clenched at the despondent lilt in Bryce’s voice. All Scarlet could do was hold Bryce closer, stealing a few more precious moments in her arms.

*

The soft silky length of Scarlet’s legs, draped over Bryce’s shoulders, muffled the sounds of Scarlet’s pleasure from Bryce’s ears. Bryce’s attention was centered on dragging her tongue through Scarlet’s arousal. She teased unmercifully as Scarlet shuddered and moaned beneath her. With the tip of her tongue, she licked around Scarlet’s now overly sensitive clit. A directing hand in Bryce’s hair tightened and pushed her closer still to where Scarlet wanted her attentions. Bryce smiled against the soft flesh she had her face pressed into and deliberately hummed. Scarlet answered with a high-pitched wail as she writhed against Bryce’s hold.

“You’re driving me crazy.” Her hips bucking, Scarlet panted, “Fuck me, please.”

Bryce entered Scarlet with her fingers with little preamble. The hoarse scream that ripped from Scarlet’s throat made Bryce thankful Monica was sleeping over at Elton’s that night. Scarlet’s warmth clutched Bryce’s fingers tightly, making her work to penetrate her deeper. She knew it wouldn’t be much longer before Scarlet would come. She’d been teasing her for much longer than Scarlet could usually take. Bryce sucked Scarlet’s clit roughly in a rhythm she knew by heart now. She kneaded at Scarlet’s breast in counter point, alternating between flicking her nipple and thumbing the peak. Bryce composed a love theme as her hands played across Scarlet’s flushed skin. Scarlet calling her name out as she peaked was all the music Bryce ever needed to hear.

Sated and blissfully boneless, Scarlet let Bryce draw her into her arms to sleep. With a drowsy kiss of thanks, Scarlet was out like a light in seconds. Bryce laid her cheek against Scarlet’s hair and breathed her in. Her eyes fell on the envelope lying open on the bedside table. It held a letter offering Scarlet a very prestigious position at a photography studio that would foster her talents and give her the room to explore her creativity. It was a dream job that was perfect for Scarlet.

It was back in Chicago.

Bryce didn’t want to hold Scarlet back from pursuing her dreams. She knew Scarlet was so much more than a decorating job would allow her to be. Chicago wasn’t home though. It wasn’t
here
where Bryce was. Heartsick, Bryce stared blindly around the bedroom. Scarlet always made sure it was bright enough not to trigger Bryce’s fear of the dark. She’d grown to feel safe there. If Bryce did manage to fall asleep, only to wake up in the grips of a nightmare, she was comforted by the now familiar sights. She was safe with Scarlet. This apartment felt like home.

Her eyes strayed to the envelope once more. She couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that losing Scarlet would bring. Once again, she’d be left hanging in the darkness, with no one there to bring her out of the nightmare.

She placed a soft kiss on Scarlet’s forehead. Scarlet deserved a life full of love and light. She didn’t deserve the shadows that Bryce had blanketing her world. As she lay forcibly keeping sleep at bay, Bryce cursed her own insecurities and fears for coming between them. Eventually, she drifted off into a restless sleep. As always, she went back to that night, back to being suspended in the wreck of the car, left alone with the dead and dying. When she woke herself screaming, Scarlet was once again drawing her back to the living.

Held in Scarlet’s arms, Bryce wanted desperately to confess her feelings for her. All the time that envelope mocked her with its presence. She wouldn’t use her love as a means to guilt Scarlet into staying. Maybe it was for the best if Scarlet chose Chicago. She didn’t deserve a life of what Bryce had to offer here.

So she clung a little harder to Scarlet, not daring to let go, because this time in her dream, no one had come to her rescue.

The atmosphere at Scarlet’s impromptu going away party was more somber than a cause for celebration. Her father was still keeping his distance, and most of the workmen didn’t know whether being happy for Scarlet was something they should express. Gregor had been uncharacteristically quiet on the subject. Scarlet had a feeling that was due to Juliet having a word with him about the situation not long after it had blown up. The general consensus was they were all sorry to see her go, that the new guy wouldn’t be as attractive to be around, and that they wouldn’t miss her music playing.

Bryce had been noticeably quiet while they’d tucked into the Subway sandwiches Scarlet had treated them all to as a going-away gift. Scarlet knew Bryce was desperately trying not to influence her choice in what jobs were coming her way. Bryce was supportive, attentive, and honestly interested in what each studio had to offer her. Scarlet hadn’t missed the flash of pain that clouded her eyes when the locations were discussed. It tore at her heart to know that Bryce didn’t want her to leave but was respectful of whatever she decided to do. She couldn’t help but wish her dad had been the same. If he had, she wouldn’t have found herself having to make another life-changing decision so soon after moving back home.

Scarlet packed the last of her tools together and wiped off her hands on a rag. She’d finished off the last room for the day. Her two-week period was up; she was done.

“Can I take you home, pretty lady?” Bryce asked from the doorway, her messenger bag over her shoulder and her cap in place ready to face the public.

Scarlet took one last look around the room. “Let’s go. I’m done here.”

*

The early evening air was warm on their faces when they stepped out of the house. Bryce had barely taken a few steps before she heard an odd whimpering noise coming from the garden behind the house she’d been working in. She tugged Scarlet to a halt.

“Did you hear something?”

Scarlet listened but shook her head.

The sound appeared again and Bryce headed off to investigate. She easily spotted its source.

“Juliet?” Bryce rushed over to her.

Juliet was sitting on the small fold up chair that was designated for her alone in the work area. She was doubled over, clutching at her belly.

“What are you doing here?” Bryce dropped to her knees beside her. Scarlet took her other side, brushing Juliet’s hair back from her face.

“I came to check on some inventory. I can’t do that from home, and Monica had already left so I thought I’d just come do it myself.” She grimaced. “Probably not the smartest decision I’ve made today.”

“How did you get here? Tell me you didn’t drive?” Scarlet asked.

“I got a ride from a neighbor and I was going to call for a taxi to get back.” The gasp that escaped her lips was pain filled.