Chapter 20

Paige's phone started to ring in the bedroom for the second time in under a minute. She rushed through the apartment to get it, almost slipping and breaking her neck when she skidded on the polished hardwood bedroom floor in her socks.

She didn't have time to check the screen. "Hello?"

"Have you seen the news?"

Ah. It was Henry. "No. Why?"

"Hang on. I'll send the link over." Paige heard traffic in the background, then Henry muttering something. Chances were, he didn't know what he was doing. "I think I've sent it."

Paige's phone vibrated. "Yep. Got it. One sec."

She brought up the news article, her heart free falling into her stomach the moment she read the headline.

Ex-defence lawyer gutted in exclusive bar.

Paige's stomach churned, tears stinging her eyes as she read the headline again. How could people be so heartless with their reporting? How could a paper print absolute shit? Paige didn't want to read any further. She'd seen enough already.

"I was hoping the papers wouldn't report it," Paige spoke quietly into the phone as she lowered herself to the bed. "And when they did…be a little less brutal." She understood that not everyone liked Juliet based on her previous career, Paige sometimes found it hard to understand how she could represent the people she had, but this? Gutted . God, she felt sick.

"It's a rag of a paper. I wouldn't worry about it. But I did want to give you a heads-up. You know, if people start getting in touch with you."

"Like who?" Paige stared down at the floor, frowning. There was nobody to contact her. Neither of them had any family. None they kept in touch with, anyway.

"Reporters. Friends. Anyone really." Henry cleared his throat. "Don't forget that you're now a face in the music industry, Paige. People will want you to say something about it all."

Paige may be seen as a face in the music industry, but she had done the right thing in mostly keeping Juliet out of the spotlight. A lot of people likely didn't know they were together unless they'd followed the tour heavily. "Yeah, well, they can have two words from me. Fuck off. That should give them an idea of what I think."

Henry laughed. "Perfect. And likely what Juliet would expect you to say."

"Well, thanks for letting me know. If I hear anything from the hospital, I'll give you a quick call." Paige ended the call and sighed. This was the last thing Juliet would need once she was awake and on the road to recovery. Fucking journalists wanting answers. Nobody had the right to answers, nobody at all. "This is fucked."

Paige dragged herself back out into the living room and threw her phone onto the couch. She had only been home from the hospital for two hours—on the advice of Juliet's nurse so she could rest—but she didn't seem to have a minute to sit and process. Something was always going on in some corner of her life.

A sudden hammering on the door had Paige backing up against the nearest wall. Nobody had access to this building, and those neighbours that did…well, they certainly wouldn't dream of banging the door down. She crept towards the door and looked through the peephole.

Huh. It was Rachel.

Paige unlocked the three bolts on the back of the apartment door and opened it slowly. "Um, hi."

Tears streamed down Rachel's face. "I just heard what happened. What the fuck is going on?"

Oh, no. Paige had enough going on without Rachel showing up and demanding answers. Another one who had no right to them. "First of all, calm down. I don't have the energy for sobbing and panicking." Paige opened the door wider. "And secondly, come in, and I'll explain what I can. I need to be ready to go immediately if they wake Juliet up."

Rachel wiped at her face as she stepped through the door.

"How did you get into the building?" Paige felt on edge lately, and rightfully so. Then she reminded herself of exactly how Rachel got into the building. At one time, she was sharing Juliet's bed with her. Not right now . "Never mind. I forgot."

"Paige, is it true?" Rachel held up her phone, that same headline staring back at her once again.

Paige ran a hand down her face. "Yeah. It's true. I mean, the headline is bullshit, but, yeah, Juliet was attacked at the bar while I was on tour. Well, the day I was coming home from the tour."

"Who the fuck would do that to her?" Rachel threw her handbag to the floor and flopped down on the couch. Seemed she was about to make herself comfortable. "I know she always had that guy with her. Henry. Is that something to do with it?"

Paige snorted. "Henry is security."

"Paige, I'm not stupid. I know something was going on when she used to book me. He'd sit outside this place all hours of the day and night. Part of me wondered if he was going to let himself in here sometimes to find us in bed together." Rachel closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you shouldn't." Paige didn't need to reminisce right now. "And if you want the truth, I'm surprised you're even here. Juliet has been trying to bring you and Andi into the friendship group for a while now, and most of the time, you don't even get back to her when she texts."

"I know. It felt…weird."

Paige lifted a brow. She would continue this simply to divert the conversation from Henry. "For who?"

"Me." Rachel smiled weakly. "I didn't exactly leave things on good terms with you two. It felt weird being welcomed into the group so suddenly and so easily."

"Well, we like to forget the past and move forward. What's the point in always looking back? You used to fuck her, so what?"

"We're…getting off track here," Rachel said, reading over the news article again. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I hope so. She's in intensive care. Medically induced coma."

"Fuck." Rachel lowered her head to her hands. "I'm so sorry, Paige. If I'd known, I'd have called before now."

"I couldn't get in touch with you. I've been too busy to worry about who knew and who didn't. When I'm not with her, I'm here trying to look after myself." Paige wasn't doing very well when it came to looking after herself, but she was trying. "I just…I need her to wake up so we can start the healing process."

"What happened, Paige?" Rachel reached out a hand and pulled Paige down beside her. "I know we've had our differences, but please, talk to me and tell me what happened."

"Someone attacked her. At the bar. Stabbed her twice in the stomach." Paige took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through her nose. "I-I found her. She was just lying there…dying."

Tears slid down Rachel's face, her bottom lip quivering. God, Paige hated seeing people upset. But it just showed how fond of Juliet people were.

"But the main thing is that she's alive, and she's going to wake up soon. I just know she is." It was Paige's turn to comfort Rachel, a hand placed on her knee. "You know what she's like. She hates missing anything, so she won't be asleep for long."

That brought a laugh out of Rachel, but it was true. Juliet knew everything that went on in this city. "You're right. She does. She gets terrible FOMO."

"I guess when you've been a high-profile lawyer for so long, you tend to know everything about everyone."

Rachel turned to Paige suddenly, searching her eyes. "Are you okay, Paige?"

Oh. She hadn't expected that. Or the sympathetic look Rachel gave her. "Y-yeah."

"Are you sure?" Rachel dipped her head when Paige tried to lower her gaze. "I know you want to be strong for everyone around you, but this is me. I have no ties to any of you. Not anymore. If you need to vent, get angry or upset, you can do that with me."

Paige appreciated that, she really did. Still… "I'm just…numb at the minute. I'm trying to make sense of everything in my head, but I just can't."

"I think that's going to take some time." Rachel shifted on the couch, moving closer to Paige. "But when you're ready to make sense of it, you will. Maybe once Juliet is awake. I'm not sure you'll be able to do much until then. You surely can't focus on anything else."

"You're right. I can't." Paige laughed. "I almost forgot to brush my teeth this morning. That's how out of it I am. And I forgot to have dinner last night. By the time I realised, it was just easier to curl up in the chair next to Juliet's bed and sleep."

"You need to take care of yourself, Paige." Rachel looked back at Paige, her eyes soft. Red and puffy, but still soft. "Is there anything we can do for you? Maybe batch cook some food and bring it over?"

"I really appreciate that, but I'll be okay. Everyone has lives to get on with." Paige relaxed a little, truly thankful that Rachel had shown up here. As she was about to offer her a cup of coffee, Paige's phone started to ring in her hand. It was Henry again.

"Hey, H. Can I call you back?"

"That's okay. I know Rachel is there. I just wanted to let you know that there's a delivery guy downstairs with flowers. I tried to take them from him, but he seems very dedicated to his job. He looks okay, though. Legit, you know?"

"Right. Okay."

"He's on his way up. Put the chain on and ask him to leave them in the corridor," Henry said. "Just to be on the safe side."

"Thanks, Henry. I'll text you later." Paige locked her phone and got to her feet. She spied through the peephole again, putting the chain on the back of the door, when a guy approached with a huge arrangement of flowers.

Paige opened the door a little, smiling back at him. "Hi. Could you just leave them out in the corridor? I'll collect them when you've gone. I'm…sick at the minute."

"Of course, love." He placed them down, took a picture of them to confirm delivery, and then smiled back at Paige. "Lovely flowers. Feel better soon."

Paige watched him leave, the ding of the lift letting her know he had gone back down to the main lobby. She unhooked the chain, took them inside, and slammed the door shut quickly. Rachel stared back at her with her brows raised, likely wondering what the hell was going on.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. We're all just a bit on edge at the minute. Whoever attacked Juliet is still on the run." Whoever , Paige wanted to laugh out loud. But she wouldn't dare risk the investigation by giving Cara's name away. No chance. "I'm sure they'll catch them soon. They can't hide forever."

Rachel stared back at Paige in disbelief. "Do you want to come and stay with us at the loft? Maybe you'll feel safer there."

"That's really kind, but I'll be okay. Henry is outside for me."

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "And where was he when Juliet was bleeding out on the floor?"

"I…she…Juliet told him to take a few hours off. She was locked inside the bar and didn't think she needed him there." Paige had to be very careful with what she said here. "Trust me, he's done nothing but beat himself up about it."

"She was locked inside the bar, but someone got her?"

Fuck . Paige really didn't need Rachel to turn detective today. "Yeah. Somehow."

"You and I both know that The Hideout is a fortress." Rachel looked pointedly at Paige. "And I know that you know more than you're letting on."

Paige swallowed, glaring back at Rachel. "We know who it was, okay?"

"Who?"

Paige shook her head. "I can't say. I don't want to do anything to risk the investigation."

"Do I know them?"

"Rachel, I'm not saying anything else. You'll find out when everyone else does." Paige didn't want to discuss this anymore. She took the card from the flowers and smiled. They were from Soraya and the band. "People are so kind." Paige stroked the petals on the white roses, smiling as she inspected the arrangement. "Don't you think?"

"They are gorgeous flowers."

"From Soraya."

Rachel's brows rose. "Soraya…Soraya?"

"Yeah. I was on tour with her before all of this happened." Paige lowered the flowers to the kitchen island and brought up a new message.

Thanks for the flowers. They're gorgeous. I'm sure Juliet will love them!

The tour seemed like a distant memory now. It hadn't even been a week since Paige had finished and travelled back up from London, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

"Could I…visit?" Rachel visibly swallowed when Paige looked up from her phone. "At the hospital?"

Paige had no issues with Rachel visiting Juliet. She was secure enough in her relationship to know that what she had with Juliet was unbreakable. And from what Paige knew, Rachel was madly in love with Andi. She just wasn't sure the ICU was the best place for that visit. "I'm sure Juliet would love to see you, but…maybe once she's awake and we're sure she's doing better, okay?"

"Of course. Maybe waiting until she's home and back on her feet would be for the best." Rachel took her handbag and rose to her feet. "But if you need anything at all, you know you can call me."

"Yeah. Thanks, Rachel." Paige hesitated as Rachel stepped towards her, ultimately deciding to accept a hug. "I'll let Juliet know you came here once she wakes up."

"I'd appreciate that." Rachel left the apartment far more calmly than she'd arrived, the door closing softly behind her.

Paige stood in the middle of the room, the silence almost deafening, feeling overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the last twenty minutes or so. Honestly, she felt as though she was close to breaking down. She couldn't do this. She couldn't sit here with her thoughts.

She quickly typed out a message to Hannah.

Can you come over? I think I'm going to go insane soon!

And then the pacing began.

Pacing seemed to be the only thing that took her mind off everything lately.

We're on our way. Put the kettle on.

Paige smiled down at her phone. She didn't know what she would have done without Hannah and Caz lately. They really were amazing friends.

Thanks so much.