I nodded back in agreement; it wasn’t worth asking about the multiverse part. I could see everyone else was thinking the same thing.
“So what are you going to do?” Annie asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Hide here for a few days. Then fly back home, sell my house so I never have to see him again. Change name and identity, go into the witness protection program and move to a small town in an alligator-infested swamp somewhere.”
“Dramatic,” Lilly said.
“Hey, well wasn’t it you who told me to tell him how I felt?” I asked pointedly.
“Look,” Lilly said, “you had to tell him how you felt. You had to finally get an answer, good or bad. It’s a pity it happened so publicly. But now that you have the answer, you can work with it.”
I nodded. “I wish I didn’t have the answer. What did he say, he’s never thought about me like that, he sees me as family . . .”
“Ouch,” Jane said.
“I think it’s good you finally know,” Stormy jumped in. “You can’t spend another three years hoping for something that will never come. You’ve wasted enough time on him already.”
“I say enjoy yourself,” Annie said. “Lie on the beach. Drink cocktails. Take some time for yourself. You deserve it.”
“And knowing our history, you’ll probably meet the man of your dreams,” Lilly added.
I laughed. “Not likely.”
“There are other birds in the bush,” Stormy said.
“Fish in the sea,” Jane corrected.
“What do fish have to do with it?” Stormy asked, looking genuinely confused.
“Never mind,” Jane said. “I have to go. But, Val, have some fun, seriously. Take a few days off and try and relax.”
Annie, Lilly and Stormy nodded together.
“Okay. I’ll try,” I said. Truthfully, I needed rest. These last three years had been so emotionally draining and chaotic that I actually felt totally depleted.
“Matt is not it,” Lilly added. “And if he doesn’t love you he’s an idiot.” All my friends agreed loudly with this statement. And I wished more than anything that I agreed too.
“Bye, guys.” I waved at them all and closed my laptop. And then, because I couldn’t help it, I went to Byron’s Twitter account and tortured myself some more.
@Byron : OMG. Overheard girl confessing love to her best friend . . . at his engagement party! His fiancée can hear it too #awkward
@Byron : Suddenly worried for his fiancée that he might say he loves her back. Fiancée looking a little worried too. Everyone is holding their breath #waitingwithanticipation
@Byron : BAM! Crash and burn. He doesn’t love her back! #extraawkward
@Byron : OMG. She’s just realized that everyone can hear her. And when I say everyone, I mean all 80 people at the engagement party #fiancéelookspissed
@Byron : #crashandburn The look on her face is everything. Damn, feel so bad for her right now.
I tried to bite back the tears, but couldn’t. I needed to get out of here, I’d been cramped in this room all day and earlier I’d seen a really nice-looking bar on the beach. I could do with a drink. Or ten! Fucking hell, I needed the whole damn bottle at this stage.
15 Feb.
Dear Diary,
Sam. Sam. Sam.
It’s been 24 hours since learning about her. And my brain is still not processing the information. Nothing makes sense anymore. 1+1 is not 2. 2+2 is not 4. Matt+Sam is NOT how this was meant to play out.
