Twelve Days: The Beginning Part 5

She laughed at the seriousness of his expression. "Alright, keep your hair on! I was only joking! I'm going to meet Celeste at the precinct to go shopping. She wants to get a killer dress for clubbing tonight and she seems to think that I'm the perfect person to help her."

"Are you going?" Cole asked.

"Going where? To the precinct? I just said I was."

"No. Are you going clubbing?"

"No, not that I know of. Hadn't thought about it to be honest. Dale would never let me go so it's not really worth thinking about."

"I thought Dale was in the hospital 'til tomorrow," Cole said, "If you didn't tell him, how would he know that you'd been out? You should go, you deserve a bit of a break and a chance to let your hair down. I would offer to come with you but, what with the state of my face and my recent personal revelation, I'm feeling just a tiny bit fragile." He looked saddened for a moment and Elise reached over to brush her hand against his cheek.

"That's OK, baby. I appreciate the thought but I won't be going anyway. I'm thirty-one now Cole. A bit too old for nightclubs!"

"Hardly." he said but he dropped the subject anyway and finished his coffee.

Ten minutes later she had managed to shoo him out of the house, promising to call him when she got back. She needed to have a shower but first she needed to phone the hospital to check on Dale.

The nurse that answered the call a.s.sured Elise that he'd had a good night and that they were hoping to complete all their tests today so that he could come home in the morning. She said that they had been concerned about the level of alcohol in his bloodstream but that he didn't seem to be fighting too many withdrawal symptoms today so they were hopeful that he would have a calm and quiet day. Couldn't be any worse than yesterday, Elise reflected as she thanked the nurse and hung up. She had promised to go and see him later as soon as visitors were permitted and so she found herself in the strange position of having a day completely to herself. No Dale to worry about, moaning and groaning and telling her what she could and couldn't do. She felt her heart lift and almost skipped around, as she got ready to go and meet Celeste.

Celeste was waiting at the monument at 9.30am as promised and they fell into an easy banter as they ambled around the precinct. Accustomed to spending as little time as possible shopping so as to keep Dale happy, Elise found the whole experience odd but really rather enjoyable and it wasn't long before she was getting into the spirit of the day.

After leaving yet another dress shop, still without a killer dress, they decided to stop for a coffee and take a well earned break. As they sat watching other customers bustling about, Elise's eyes fell on a mother and young baby, which reminded her about Bobby and Helen's news.

"Hey 'Leste" she said "We should see if we can find something for Bobby and Helen. Cole said they had a girl, isn't that great?"

"Yeah, I know." said Celeste "It was buzzing round the office yesterday but I think that with all your dramas, you kind of missed it."

Elise rolled her eyes, "Don't remind me!"

Celeste laughed and they continued with their drinks and m.u.f.fins in silent contemplation.

After a while, Elise spoke again. "So, you definitely going clubbing tonight then, 'Leste?"

"Abso freaking lutely" she said. "Now that I know that none of the hotties in the office are interested in me then I need to tout my wares elsewhere."

"Ha ha, very funny. You know that you only have to say the word and Stephen will come running!"

"Hotties, Elise I said HOTTIES!" Celeste snorted indignantly, causing Elise to burst into fits of laughter and almost choke on the rest of her coffee.

"Which club are you going to anyway?" she asked when she could finally breathe again. "Cole reckoned that I should go with you but I told him that I am waaaaaay too old for that! Honestly, I wonder about that boy sometimes."

"Maybe he's got a point." Celeste said and Elise found herself rolling her eyes again. This was getting to be a seriously bad habit. She needed to have words with the eye-rolling part of her brain.

"We're going to Indigo," Celeste continued, "just outside Eastwood on the coast road. It's new; not long opened and they are doing free entry for ladies tonight. You should come, it'll be a laugh! And don't worry about the age thing; it's an over-25's night."

"I don't know, 'Leste," Elise said hesitantly, "it's not really my thing. I don't tend to go out other than to work functions. I would feel totally out of place."

"How can you possibly know you'll feel out of place when you've never been before? Look, I've asked Annabel and Amelia and I think Olivia said she would come too so that's already four people that you know..."

Elise refrained from pointing out that she didn't consider any of those girls to be her friend. Instead, she asked something else as another thought struck her.

"Hang on....Aren't they too young if it's an over-25's night?"

Celeste shrugged "Amelia is 25, I think, and Annabel and Olivia reckon they'll have no trouble. I think they are planning on finding themselves some older men. So, are you coming or not?"

That sounded about right. Amelia was still trying to make Cole jealous despite her performance with Stephen the other night and, from what Elise knew of Annabel and Olivia, getting their claws into an older man would fit right into their style. Did she really want to go and witness that?

Elise thought for a moment and suddenly realised that she hadn't done anything even remotely reckless for a very long time. As annoying as the others could be, it would be entertaining watching them and the thought of losing herself completely in the music was really starting to appeal. She was a free agent tonight so she supposed that she could go. Dale would still be in the hospital and need never know. Perhaps a girlie night out would be just what was needed. She could have some fun, have a few drinks and forget all about the men in her life for one whole evening. Particularly one man with a killer body and the darkest eyes she had ever seen. She had a feeling though that forgetting about him, would take a h.e.l.l of a lot more than a nightclub and a few drinks. Suddenly though, going out tonight seemed like the perfect plan and smiling her acceptance, she turned to Celeste.

"'Leste, we are now looking for two killer dresses. Count me in!"

Chapter Ten.

It had taken them another two hours to find the dresses, so consequently Elise found herself running late for visiting hours at the hospital. Throwing her car into the first available s.p.a.ce, she ran into the building and took the stairs two at a time, arriving only a very commendable ten minutes late.

She checked in with the nurse at the ward station and was surprised when she was informed that Dale already had a visitor. Wondering who on earth that could be as Dale had no family locally, she rounded the corner and headed to his bed only to stop short in her tracks, disbelief pouring from every fibre as she took in the appearance of Dale's other visitor.

It was Vaughn. Of course it was.

Vaughn had come to visit Dale in the hospital. What the h.e.l.l was he playing at? For a brief second, panic flooded her as she thought about Vaughn telling Dale about all of the events of yesterday. Everything - every minute detail. How would she ever convince Dale that it was untrue and harmless? She knew that he would see right through her and there'd be h.e.l.l to pay if he realised that she had actually been kissing someone else. And not just kissing either. Although they had been interrupted, Elise knew that she would have struggled to stop.

This was bad. Really bad.

Nervously, she approached the bed as quietly as she could, hoping to catch some of the conversation before they became aware of her presence. Unaccustomed to seeing Dale look so helpless, she took a moment to consider his appearance in the traditional hospital gown and bed, surrounded by monitors and other typical paraphernalia.

The alcohol had by now well and truly worn off and she could begin to see glimmers of the old Dale again. His dark blond hair was in desperate need of a wash but it was falling in its usual wavy and slightly-unkempt manner and his face appeared more rested and less lined. There were obvious signs from his fight; bruises and cuts marring his face and one particularly ugly cut just under his jaw which was where she presumed Vaughn had landed the final blow. Seeing her husband vulnerable like this tugged at her heartstrings and, not for the first time, she felt saddened at what he had let himself become.

His unusual sandy coloured eyes - almost tiger like - had been what had first attracted Elise to him but over recent months and years, they had lost some of their humour and sparkle. At times when she looked at him, it was like no one was there at all.

But with the alcohol gone, there was life back in his eyes and as she watched him conversing with Vaughn, she saw glimpses of the lost little boy that he had once been. Dale's childhood had been difficult and was not something that he really talked about although Elise knew the story and had seen photographs of him at an early age. His expression then was one of vulnerability and the parallel between the child of years gone by and the man today scared her. She was sure that his behaviour was linked to more than just their personal issues, but Dale refused to open up to her and so she was left to draw her own conclusions, however inaccurate they might be.

Finally sensing her presence, Dale looked up and his eyes connected with hers.

"Elise! We were wondering what kept you. Vaughn has just been telling me all about his new role in your company. Sounds very exciting!"

Elise moved forward, every nerve ending humming in fear at what else he may have said but also feeling aching awareness of being in such close proximity to Vaughn again. He was wearing casual clothes today, jeans and a relatively tight fitting dark t-s.h.i.+rt which did nothing to hide the body that she knew was under there. He was devastating and she began to feel the effect of just looking at this man bubbling away at her core. She swallowed over a suddenly dry throat and almost stopped breathing when he turned to face her and the full force of those eyes fixed onto her face - his now trademark half smile gracing his lips. Her fingers itched to touch that mouth and smooth out that smile and her heart rate picked up as she imagined how he would react if she did just that. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l she was in big trouble. And all of this was playing out right in front of her husband.

The world s.h.i.+fted and she began to feel as if she in an alternate universe as she finally registered that Dale was not yelling at her and was continuing to converse easily with Vaughn, who had turned back to the man in the bed - seemingly unaffected by her presence. Dale and Vaughn had apparently gone straight from one knockout punch to new best friends and Elise wondered how the h.e.l.l that had happened. Was there nothing or no-one that this man couldn't influence?

"Hey. You look much better! How are you feeling today?" She decided to go with addressing Dale in the bed and ignore the imposing presence to her right.

"Yes, much better. I can't wait to get home although they said I have to stay in 'til tomorrow. Something about extra tests. You would have thought I'd got enough pin holes in me already." He grumbled and then extended his arm to indicate the man to his left. "So, how come you've never mentioned Vaughn to me before? I'm sure I would have remembered if you had?"

Elise searched for an underlying tone or a threat in his words but did not find any and took comfort in whatever calming influence Vaughn appeared to have on her husband.

"Vaughn is new to the company." she said, "I only met him myself yesterday so I didn't really have time to tell you about him. He's my new boss." she added, to clarify their working relations.h.i.+p.

"I know," Dale said, "he was just telling me. Rather him than that pretty-boy you insist on calling your friend. Why the h.e.l.l you have anything to do with that guy, I don't know. He's completely insane."

Elise decided to ignore that comment; out of the two of them she was fairly certain that Cole was the least insane.

"I was worried about you yesterday" she continued, all the while aware of Vaughn absorbing every word. "You tied it on fairly heavy what on earth is going on with you these days?"

That, she knew, was a rhetorical question. They both knew what was going on but until Dale was willing to face up to his demons, nothing would change.

"I don't really remember much," he said, "I remember you leaving for work but from then, up until I got here, it's all a bit of a blur." Dale shook his head as if to encourage his memory cells to respond. "Vaughn has been telling me that he was the one that gave me the knock-out punch he came to apologise."

At her husband's easy reference to Vaughn, Elise stiffened a little. It was clear that Dale was still in the dark about everything that had happened yesterday and she was grateful to Vaughn for his silence. Whilst she was feeling uncomfortable with the pa.s.sion that had flared between the two of them, she was scared to realise that she didn't actually regret it, and coming to that realisation whilst at her husband's hospital bedside, was not something she was particularly proud of.

She could feel Vaughn's eyes watching her as she continued to look at her husband and a telltale heat began to course through her.

"That was good of him." she said, addressing Dale and continuing to ignore Vaughn in the hope of desperately trying to calm his effect on her.

"I know," Dale replied, "Sounds weird but I'm actually grateful to him."

Grateful?

"If it hadn't been for him, I don't know when I would have stopped. Seems like I was pretty wild and, as much as I dislike pretty-boy, I don't want his murder on my hands!" He laughed humourlessly.

That was one way of looking at it she supposed, but if he hadn't been so over the top in the first place then Cole would never have jumped in to defend her. Even though Dale was showing some remorse, she knew that he would never fully acknowledge his issues and admit that ultimately, he was the one at fault. He would still rather blame Cole for some nonexistent crime that he had long since decided that Cole had committed, than accept responsibility for his own actions.

Elise blew out a frustrated breath. This conversation would just go round and round in circles so she decided to change the subject and summoning her resolve, turned to address Vaughn.

"Mr Granger it really is very kind of you to visit my husband and offer your apologies. We both appreciate your er.. part.. in this situation but I think Dale and I both agree that no apology is really necessary."

For the first time since she had arrived, she risked looking at him properly and instantly regretted it. His eyes were studying her, scrutinising her and following her lips as they moved over the words when she spoke, tracing the outlines of her face and then dipping lower, roaming over her casual jeans and t-s.h.i.+rt and finally lingering on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. As his eyes came back up to meet hers, she couldn't miss the unmistakable heat in them and s.h.i.+vers began to form somewhere in the base of her spine and travel throughout her body. She repressed a shudder and crossed her arms over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to prevent Vaughn from seeing the pointed evidence of her arousal brought about by his brief inspection. It was a fruitless gesture. Vaughn was well aware of the effect that he was having on her. That infuriating half smile when she looked back up at him indicated that he knew all too well what she was trying to cover up. The way this man made her feel was just insane, and Elise knew that she was way out of her depth.

Nervously she darted her eyes to the bed if she was aware that Vaughn was mentally undressing her then surely so must Dale be. Thankfully, he was lying back with his eyes closed and she realised that Vaughn must have already known that. He seriously didn't miss a thing.

She turned back to Vaughn, realising that he had not responded to her statement. This situation with him was becoming too close for comfort and she had an overwhelming urge to get him to leave right now. She had no idea what game he was playing; all she knew was that by him being here, it was getting increasingly dangerous and she needed to get him to leave. He had no right to look at her like that. Maybe if she could convince herself that she felt no reciprocal attraction then she would stand a chance of getting away from this madness unscathed. She needed time alone with Dale, time to begin to help him to mend and heal, and to deal with whatever the future held for them. She couldn't do that whilst her brain was scrambled by six-feet of scorching testosterone.

"I think you should leave now," she tried again "Dale is tired, he needs his rest."

She wondered absently if he was in the habit of making hospital calls or had he made an exception for her? It didn't matter, but oddly, she found that it did.

"Elise..." it was the first time he had spoken since she had arrived, his smoky voice rolling over her name.

"I am pleased to see your husband recovering." he said, a glint of mischief visible in his too dark eyes. "It was quite a knock he took to his head."

"Why are you here Vaughn? What the h.e.l.l do you want?" Elise began to panic as she registered his expression and went straight into panic mode, convinced that this was it - he was going to mention what had happened between them yesterday.

"I needed to see him sober." Placing his fingers gently under her chin, he lifted her face up allowing their eyes to lock. "I needed to see what I was up against."

Elise s.h.i.+vered involuntarily as their eyes continued to hold. Gathering every ounce of strength she removed his fingers and looked away.

"I don't know what you think this is, Vaughn." She glanced back to the bed and, hearing Dale lightly snoring, she took a few paces away and lowered her voice.

"We shared a 'moment'. That was all. We were overwrought, emotions were running high it was a release. It was nothing. A brief coming together in a time of need."

Vaughn had also moved slightly away from the bed and reached over to lightly grasp her upper arm as she finished speaking.

"Look at me, Elise," he commanded, shaking her gently when she refused to comply. "Look at me, dammit."

Hesitantly she raised her eyes, unprepared for the hardness she saw on his face.

"Don't you ever refer to what happened between us as nothing. It was a h.e.l.l of a lot more than just a 'moment' and you and I both know that. You can deny it all you want but this is real and this is going to happen. If you cared anything for your marriage then you would never have let me touch you, let alone kiss you like I did." He paused and shook his head.

"Your marriage is over, Elise, and you need to wake up to that fact."

Shocked, she stood speechless at the simplicity with which this man had summed up her life. She had no reply or at least nothing that made any sense and so she stood waiting, feeling increasingly out of control.

He leaned closer into her and brushed his lips against her ear, re-igniting the s.h.i.+vers. His hand drifted down her arm and came to rest on her left hand, his fingers seeking and finding her ring finger which he lightly touched, before bringing his hand back up to cup the side of her face. His breath was hot and heavy in her ear.

"I am going to f.u.c.k you, Elise, soon. And you are going to love every minute of it."

With a final lingering kiss on her neck, he collected his jacket from the chair and walked out of the hospital ward without a backward glance.

Dale snoozed much of the afternoon away, which was completely normal in cases of concussion, according to the nurses. At least it meant that he behaved and they were able to complete all of their tests without any of the dramas of yesterday.

The doctor had been round and rea.s.sured Elise that he would be absolutely fine after another good night and that she should probably leave him to rest. They would call her in the morning to confirm but she should be able to collect him around 11am.

Taking their advice, she decided to head home to give herself enough time to grab some food and a shower before she was due to meet Celeste and the others for their night out at Indigo.

Now that the evening was approaching, Elise was beginning to feel nervous and started thinking about changing her mind pleading a headache or something similar. Caught up in the moment this morning with Celeste, it had seemed like a great idea. She knew that it would do her good to get out there and have some quality girly time, but this morning's runin with Vaughn had unsettled her. The main problem was that she was shattered; mentally and physically and wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a good book. Anything to escape from the reality of her life.

Dale had been on much better form today and she had started to see the man that she had fallen in love with coming back to her. Although the abstinence from alcohol was forced, it was much needed and Elise now hoped that he had the strength to continue with the treatment and give them a proper chance when he got out of hospital.

She hadn't mentioned her plans for the evening to him as that would have only caused a scene. She hated lying to him but she rea.s.sured herself that she was doing it with the best of intentions. He was mentally fragile enough without the added stress of knowing that she was going out without him. She also knew that if she had told him, then he would have forbidden her from going and she hated that he had that much of the balance of power in their relations.h.i.+p.

Arriving home, Elise was still trying to summon up the energy to get herself ready to go out. Although she had managed to square the evening out in her head, she still had to contend with her lack of enthusiasm. She was fairly certain that one of more of her counterparts would be completely wasted by the end of the night and she really wasn't sure if she was up to witnessing that. Christ, why did everything in her life always seem to come back to alcohol?

Plodding up the stairs to her bedroom, she was immediately met by the sight of her new 'killer' dress hanging on her wardrobe and suddenly some of her earlier enthusiasm returned. The dress was simple, a deep navy coloured sheath which set off her eyes. The front had a light cowl neck, which scooped just above her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with the back dropping to halfway down her back before flaring out over her backside to rest just above her knees. The skirt was fitted and Elise had fallen in love with the dress on sight. Whilst she was relatively slender, she did had curves and sometimes found it hard to buy clothes that flattered, particularly when most of them these days seemed to be manufactured for stick insects. This dress however, fitted her perfectly and she knew that she looked good. The plan was to wear it with sheer tights and her favourite pair of navy heeled sandals.

Lightly fingering the material, she made her decision she would go out tonight and she would have a good time. Celeste was always a good laugh and, as long as she knew some of the music, she would be able to dance the night and maybe some of her worries away.

Glancing at the clock, she opted for a quick shower and shave before dressing and applying her make-up. She very rarely used make-up but, now and again, she treated herself to a bit of pampering. She had decided to tie her hair up in a loose bun in deference to the openness of the back of her dress and added some fairly heavy eyeliner to complement the look.

After slipping on her heels, she took a final look in the mirror, pleased with what she saw. She didn't scrub up too bad for someone in their thirties and she was surprised to find herself looking forward to the evening ahead.

Before heading out the door, she grabbed her jacket and keys and made a quick call to the hospital to make sure that Dale was still alright and that they had her mobile number in case. All was well and they promised to call her should there be any changes so she locked up and walked to her car, a state of almost nervous excitement encompa.s.sing her. It felt a bit like playing hooky and she had to train herself to stop keep looking over her shoulder for someone to pop out, just ready to burst her new found bubble of independence.

Elise had offered to drive as she knew that she would be picking Dale up in the morning and given what alcohol did to her husband, it wasn't high on her list of priorities anyway. Celeste had arranged to meet the others there so she only had one stop to collect Celeste before getting on the main coast road and heading out to Indigo.