What My Best Friend Did by Lucy Dawson

Author:Lucy Dawson [Dawson, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Atlantic Books Ltd

I don’t remember who told her to go. I think he did.

After the sound of her feet running down the stairs and the bang of the front door, when it was just us standing at opposite ends of the room, facing each other, Tom finally said, ‘Whatever happens next, don’t lie to me, Alice.’

I heard a low whimper and realised it had come from me.

‘What the hell is going on? What’s she talking about, you and her brother going out?’

I shook my head desperately. ‘I don’t know! I met him for coffee, that’s all! What did she say to you?’

‘You met him for coffee?’ With all the precision of a business hotshot in training, he leapt on that. ‘When?’

‘Two days ago.’

‘You didn’t tell me!’

‘I’ve hardly seen you!’ I said truthfully. ‘I was going to tell you tonight but Vic rang – you and I have barely had a chance to say hello!’

I saw him look at me hesitantly, worried and wanting to believe me. Suddenly understanding Vic’s little white lie theory and thinking I saw a chance to claw the situation back, I said, ‘I promise, Tom, whatever she told you, she’s got the wrong end of the stick. I told her brother I’d see him to discuss Gretchen. She’s not well, I’ve just found out she’s—’

But he ignored me. ‘So it was just an innocent coffee?’

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a wisp of smoke drift through the top of the oven. Whatever Tom was cooking was starting to burn.

‘The oven, Tom.’

‘It’s only a pizza, leave it.’ He looked at me steadily. ‘It was just an innocent coffee?’

My eyes started to swim with tears. He was asking me outright. ‘Yes,’ I said. Which was true – that had certainly been my intention.

‘Absolutely nothing happened?’

I just stood there, like a rabbit frozen in the headlights. I didn’t know whether to dash towards a lie and protect both of us or face the truth and take the hit. I hesitated just a fraction too long.

He looked at me in disbelief. ‘Something did happen, didn’t it?’

I nodded slowly, whispered ‘Yes’, and the tea towel slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.

I saw his chest rising and falling as he stood there, looking at me. ‘Tell me.’

‘I kissed him.’

He flinched like I had physically struck him, and a look of surprised pain flashed across his face. Walking over to the small rickety table his mum and dad gave us when they got their new one, he leant on it for support, not looking at me. ‘I was going to tell you I’d met up with him, Tom!’ I burst, ‘I promise – ask Vic!’

The minute the words were out of my mouth I knew I’d made a huge mistake. His head snapped up. ‘You’ve discussed this with other people?’

‘Only Vic,’ I said pleadingly as he put his head in his hands.

Smoke was more determinedly escaping from the oven. ‘Tom, the pizza—’ I said timidly.

‘FUCK the pizza!’ he shouted suddenly, making me jump.

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