Anna laughed. ‘Lawrence is probably loading up the lightning bolts for you right now. He was so competitive at university. He always had to be the best.’
That was how it started with Anna. We’d go drinking after work and then on for a meal, talking nonstop about her memories of Lawrence from university. Anna had this knack of bringing Lawrence back to life. The more time I spent with her and the more stories she told me about Lawrence’s first year university antics, the easier the pain became.
CHAPTER30
EMILY
Aslam of the flat door makes me sit bolt upright in Rory’s bed. Curled up to the right of me and hugging his new black ballet shoes, Felix murmurs and falls back asleep. My phone says it’s nearly two in the morning. Baxter is on a cushion from the lounge and hasn’t stirred, which is a miracle. Footsteps are outside the bedroom door. Rory is back. It must be him. My heart has broken into a mad gallop. I wonder what he’ll say when he sees us all camped in his bed. Felix will go berserk when he sees Rory and so too will Baxter who was also a loyal member of the Rory fan club.
My hopes sink when I hear Tom muttering to himself. His footsteps pass Rory’s bedroom and drift into the living area. It wasn’t Rory. Tom must have gone out when Felix, Baxter and I crept to bed. The slurry tone of Tom’s voice drifts into our room. Craning my neck, I try to make out what he’s saying, but it’s difficult to hear what he’s saying to himself. I have picked up on one word –challenge.Maybe he’s been doing a drinking challenge with some mates? Maybe he’s spent the night in search of Rory?
I leave the bedroom in a pair of Rory’s shorts and one of his T-shirts. Tom is sat on the sofa with his head in his hands. On the coffee table is a piece of paper and a glass tumbler filled with what looks like Scotch.
‘Are you feeling all right, Tom?’ I whisper, walking past him and settling myself down on the chair.
He lifts his head and throws me a wobbly, drunken smile. ‘Never felt better. Is he back?’
‘Rory? No, he isn’t.’
Tom rubs his eyes. ‘Seriously – he’s still out?’
‘Yes.’
After a burp and a glug of his Scotch, Tom leans back on the sofa. ‘I didn’t like to say earlier but Beth looked A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.’
I didn’t think my heart could sink any lower in my chest, but it has just reached a new depth. ‘Oh, good for Beth,’ I say, with an air of disappointment.
Tom nods and holds up the piece of paper. ‘Rory’s probably doing his part of our challenge.’
‘Oh, I see. What sort of challenge is it?’
A drunken grin slides across Tom’s round face. ‘If you complete the challenge you’re guaranteed to forget about your ex-girlfriend.’
‘Sounds interesting, Tom.’
He drains his tumbler and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘My brother came up with the challenge after he went through hell following his break up with Marie from Huddersfield.’
‘Was Marie from Huddersfield special to him?’
Tom’s eyes widen. ‘Marie from Huddersfield was very special to my brother. Anyway, she dumped him, and he got sad. We’d never seen him so down.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Looking around I question why I am sat here with this drunken fool. I could be back in bed snuggled up to Felix and thinking about how things are going to change when we get home. Nothing good will come from sitting here listening to Tom.
Tom shakes the sheet of paper in my direction. ‘This challenge saved my brother. You must sleep with ten women and once you’ve done all that you will be over your ex-girlfriend. After sleeping with ten different women my brother is back on form and hasn’t thought about Marie from Huddersfield for weeks.’ Sliding the piece of paper towards me he grins. ‘Rory and I took up the challenge a few weeks ago.’
My entire body tenses. ‘Really?’
He nods. ‘Check out the performance table.’
With a trembling hand I pull the paper towards me. It had a pen drawn table on it. I can see faint rows for both their names and across the top columns for ten women. Shutting my eyes before I can see how they’re both performing on their challenge, I push it away. ‘I don’t want to read it,’ I say, shooting out my seat. This is the proof I needed; Rory has moved on.
Tom’s grin fades to my surprise. He lets out a heavy sigh and scratches his head. ‘It’s so hard missing your ex-girlfriend. I have been in agony for weeks over Suzie.’
‘Is she your ex-girlfriend?’
He rubs his cheeks with both hands. ‘I was an idiot, Emily. It was my fault Suzie broke up with me and I’ve been in a form of hell ever since. She goes to the same clubs and bars as me so every time I go out, I bump into her. It’s torture to see her looking so beautiful. There’s no escape for me at work either as she works in the law firm across the road. I can’t get her out of my head. The challenge is my only hope.’
‘What about Rory?’ I say through gritted teeth, preparing myself for the worst, which is for Tom to say that Rory has outperformed on the challenge and Beth is number ten.
