Frozen(74)

"Is he here?" I asked Justin.

Justin leaned in and said, "He's around here somewhere. He went somewhere else in the room when you arrived so he didn't upset you."

I nodded my head.

I knew I'd have to speak to Darcy eventually, I just hoped it wouldn't go badly because I honestly couldn't handle any more bullshit between us. I made small talk with everyone in the booth and chit chatted with them for an hour or so. It was late when we arrived and the pub was packed, but now that it was close to midnight, the place was overflowing with people.

"Neala!" Sean called out my name.

I looked at him and stood up from my seat and walked over to him at edge of the seating area when he called my name. I had to squeeze by a few people to get to Sean.

"What?" I asked him.

He sighed, "You need to speak to Darcy. He wants to go home because he feels out of place. I know you'll probably blow up at me, but he is just as much a part of our family as you are and he shouldn't feel like he has to leave out of awkwardness."

I blinked at Sean. "Where is he?" I asked.

Sean looked around then looked back to me. "I don't know, he was meant to message me when he wanted me to bring you-"

"Bring me where?" I asked then narrowed my eyes. "You had better not arranged for me to come here, Sean."

Sean didn't say a word.

Oh, my God.

I couldn't believe it.

"You said you'd never trick me again. You bloody promised, Sean!" I shouted and stepped away from my brother.

Sean sighed, "I'm not tricking you. I was going to try and persuade you to come here tonight to clear the air between yourself and Darcy, but you came here of your own accord. The only place I'm bringing you is outside for some fresh air. Having you here is no evil scheme. This time, I'm letting everything pan out on it's own."

I looked around once more in search for Darcy. "Did he know I'd be here?"

He nodded his head. "Yes, he did... he misses you, Neala. He just wants to talk, but if you really don't want too, I'll bring you home. No questions asked."

I looked at my brother and swallowed. "Do you believe him?" I asked.

"Do I believe that he misses you?" Sean asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," I said. "Do you believe that he misses me?"

"Without a fucking doubt," Sean stated. "The lad is a wreck after what happened between you both. He was in here trying to drink himself silly earlier just to escape from his own head for a little while. He ended things with Laura Stokes, too. I witnessed it with me own eyes. He doesn't want anyone but you."

I blinked my eyes at my brother, unsure of what to feel or believe.

"I can see you're hesitant so let's go outside and get some air. We can come back in or go home when you sort your head out."

I looked around the room once more and nodded my head. "You're right, I need some air, but I wanna go on me own. It's already ten to twelve - go find Jess and be with her for the countdown."

Sean shook his head. "What about you?"

I smiled. "I'll be fine. I just need a few minutes to meself. Okay?"

"Okay," Sean said slowly, "but if you decide to go home, come back in here and I'll drive you - I'm not drinking tonight. Okay?"

I nodded my head. "Okay."

He opened his arms and I stepped into them. "I love you, Neala."

"I love you, too," I said and gave my brother a tight squeeze before I turned and walked through the crowd of drunken locals.

I took a deep breath when I stepped outside.

I folded my arms across my chest and rubbed my hand over my upper arms to generate some heat. It hadn't snowed since this morning, there was a slight breeze though and it was bloody cold one.

I snorted to myself.

Why did I come out here?

Why didn't I just go to the ladies bathhrom like every other female did when they wanted some alone time?

"Neala?"

I froze when his voice sounded from behind me.

"How did you know I was out here?" I asked.

Please don't say Sean told you.

"I saw you come out here after your talk with your brother... I wasn't sure if you were going to attempt to hike home or not. You haven't got a very good record of tracking through the snow in high heels so I came out here to see if you needed any assistance," Darcy said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I found myself smiling too.

"I'm not leaving... I just came out here to think about a few things."

Darcy walked up beside me. "Do I happen to be one of those things?"

I kept my gaze straight ahead.

"Yeah," I replied.

We were silent for a few moments before Darcy sighed and turned to me.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I have no excuse for the hurtful things I said. I've been sick with myself for days knowing that I've upset you so much."