Tell me how you feel about Leo after this...
Chapter Ten
Assumpta sat in the armchair, head in hands, in much the same position as Leo had the day before. Guilt and shame hang with the smell of whiskey in the air, and – just for something different – Assumpta cried. Bitterly, she wondered how her life had become this way, how she had become this person – this person who was engaged to one man, but sleeping with another; pregnant to one man, but in love with another. It was like something out of a trashy English soap opera. With a fresh wave of shame, she wondered what her God-fearing parents would think of it all. And suddenly, she realised that maybe God was onto something when He made the rule about no sex outside of marriage. And vaguely she wondered what else He was right about...
She thought of calling Peter to warn him, but she was holding onto a vain hope that Leo would calm down and come home... That's if he didn't crash first; she wasn't sure how much drink he'd taken. She shuddered at the thought.
Leaning back in the chair, Assumpta placed her hands tentatively on her belly.
'I'm sorry, pet,' she whispered. 'I'm so, so sorry...'
Hearing the persistent, thundering bangs on his front door, Peter was left in no doubt as to who was on the other side. He opened the door fully expecting to be greeted by a fist to the face, and he was not disappointed. Leo's right hook knocked Peter sideways into the wall, and he barged through the doorway to deliver a few good blows to the ex-priest's abdomen before standing back and glaring at him expectantly.
'Well?!' he shouted.
'I'm sorry, Leo,' said Peter calmly as he used his hand to stem the blood flow from his nose.
Incensed, Leo threw yet another punch.
'I don't want your pathetic apology, you English bastard! I want you to fight me like a man!'
'I don't want to fight you, Leo.'
'Oh, what? It's all meek and mild now, is it?' spat Leo, his face mere millimetres from Peter's own. 'You weren't so righteous last night, were you?! When you were screwing my girl?!'
At this, Peter finally lost it. If Leo wanted a fight, he could have a fight. Peter matched his rival blow for blow, channelling all his anger at their whole miserable situation. Within a couple of minutes, the two men were slouched - exhausted, bruised and bleeding - on opposite sides of Peter's hallway.
'I swear, I didn't plan this, Leo,' said Peter, panting. 'I didn't ask her to come. I didn't even tell her where I live. She just showed up.'
Leo glared loathingly at Peter through swollen eyes.
'Oh, and I bet you loved that, didn't you?' he seethed, 'Took her straight upstairs to show her what she's been missing.'
'It wasn't like that.'
'Bull.'
'She was so upset, Leo. She said she needed me. What was I supposed to do? Turn her out on her own in the middle of the night, in a strange city in the freezing cold?'
'Yes.'
'I love her, Leo.'
'I love her!'
'Yes,' said Peter meaningfully, 'And, if the tables were turned, and she came to you, could you have turned her away?'
Leo didn't have to think about his answer. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd ever said no to Assumpta. He knew very well that he wouldn't have given a moment's thought to Peter if their situations were reversed. He'd have taken her in and, what's more, he'd have done everything in his power to persuade her not to leave again.
'No,' he conceded.
Assumpta Fitzgerald's two most ardent lovers stared across the hall at one another in sympathetic silence, until Leo let out a mirthless laugh.
'Honestly, that woman... She could break us and burn us until the end of the world, and we'd still just fall at her feet.'
Mirroring Leo's laugh in agreement, Peter added, 'And we'd be fighting each other over who gets to shine her shoes.'
Leo snorted as they both got to their feet. 'I really hate you, Peter Clifford,' he said with a wry smile.
'Not half as much as I hate you, Leo MacGarvey.'
And, with one last shove, Leo was out the door.
Assumpta didn't realise she was asleep until she was woken by the soft brush of Leo's hand against her cheek. She opened her eyes and gasped as she took in the sight of her fiancé. Leo's lip was split and swollen; dried blood stained his chin and the collar of his shirt; his left eye was black and blue; and he was hunched over, holding his ribs, which Assumpta assumed were badly bruised themselves.
'Oh, Leo...' she breathed, sitting up to make room for him on the sofa.
Leo took the seat gratefully.
'You should have seen the other guy,' he said, smiling weakly.
Assumpta ran a hand through Leo's curls, glad that he no longer seemed angry with her. She decided not to ask what happened in Limerick, and went instead to fetch the first aid kit. When she came back, he let her clean him up in silence.
Leo went upstairs to change his clothes, and, when he came back down, he merely stood in the doorway and stared pensively at Assumpta. He was very quiet. It worried her. When he finally did speak, it was only softly.
'Come here, Assumpta,' he said, opening his arms to her.
She walked over to him, and he enveloped her in an extremely tight hug. Now she was both confused and worried. Why wasn't he sulking? Why wasn't he making bitter, pointed comments? Why wasn't he punching walls and slamming doors?
'You really do love that English prat, don't you?' Leo asked, his voice gentle, his arms still caressing her.
Assumpta gave a very small laugh.
'Yes, I really do love that English prat,' she answered honestly.
She felt Leo take a deep breath before next he spoke.
'Then go back to him.'
Stunned, Assumpta pulled back enough to look into Leo's face.
'What?' she breathed.
'Go back to him.'
'Leo, wh...?'
'I love you, Assumpta,' Leo said as tears glistened in his eyes, 'I want you to be happy.'
'But, Leo... The baby...'
He brushed the hair away from her face, and explained, 'Assumpta, I know what it's like to grow up in a house with parents who don't love one another. My mother and father only stayed together because of Caitlin, because she was born sick... and they made it so much harder for the poor little thing. She was only small, but she knew, Assumpta. When she wasn't in hospital, she'd come and crawl into my bed almost every night, just trying to escape the sound of Mum and Dad screaming... I don't want our child to have a life like that.'
'Leo, your parents were...' Horrible. Crazy. Nasty. 'We're not like them.'
'Yeah, I know,' Leo assured her. 'I just want you and Little Bear to have the best life possible. And he can give you that.'
Assumpta could tell that every word was tearing at his heart. Her own eyes filled with tears as she moved back into him, holding him just as tightly as he was holding her. She was so overcome with affection for Leo in that moment. She wished with all her heart that he could be the one she loved... this incredible man who cared enough to let them go.
'I'm so sorry, Leo,' she said as her tears began to wet his shirt.
'It's okay,' Leo whispered, stroking her hair. 'It's okay, love. It's not your fault.'
Assumpta spent that final night in Leo's arms, laughing and joking with him as they both pretended that nothing was wrong. Assumpta fell asleep first, and Leo lay beside her, studying her face. She looked peaceful, he thought. With a smile, he leaned over to kiss her forehead. She stirred, and he took the opportunity to pull her close to him. It was painful – so, so painful – but he knew he'd made the right decision.
Leaning against the loaded van, Assumpta squinted against the mid-morning sun.
'Is that everything, then?' she asked Leo.
'Yep, that's the last of it,' he answered, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
Assumpta nodded slowly. The air around them grew thick with tension and anxiety as the time for her to leave drew nearer. Never one to dwell in sorrowful moments, Leo stepped forward to give Assumpta one last hug.
'I will always love you, Assumpta Fitzgerald.'
'I'll always love you too, Leo.'
Leo rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, like a brother, right?' he said in exaggerated disappointment.
'No,' Assumpta smiled, 'not like a brother.' Once again, she pulled back to look him in the eyes. 'I love you like my best friend, the father of my child, and someone who will always be a part of my life.'
'Always?'
'And forever.'
'You promise?'
'I promise.'
Smiling sadly, Leo placed one kiss on Assumpta's lips, and one on her belly. And he watched her drive away.