Page 55 of Last Christmas in London

‘Yeah. Look, I—’ he hesitated. ‘I got home late last night and… Megan and Alfie weren’t there.’

‘She’s in Kent,’ I said stiffly. ‘With her parents.’

There was a long pause. ‘I thought so. I tried calling but no one answered.’ His voice was quiet, hesitant. Denise and Bob probably didn’t want to chat to him, not unkindly but for fear of setting Megan off. ‘Did she tell you every-thing?’

I frowned. ‘Honestly… no. She didn’t tell me anything. Just that you left her.’

He let out a long, shaky sigh. ‘I didn’t mean for this to happen, Evie, really I didn’t.’

‘Alex,’ I began unsteadily, feeling suddenly dirty, like I was the one cheating rather than Alex, or even Josh. How did Josh stand it? I wasn’t even the other woman, but having this conversation without Megan’s awareness or permission felt wrong. ‘You know what, I can’t talk to you, Alex. You need to talk to Megan.’

‘Are they okay?’ His voice wavered. ‘Is she okay?’

I exhaled sharply. ‘She’s… coping. As well as can be expected.’

He let out a long, shaky sigh. ‘Evie, I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. I didn’t plan on walking out.’

I swallowed. ‘Alex, I can’t do this. She’s my best friend.’

‘I know,’ he said quickly. ‘I’m not asking you to take my side. I just—’ He cut himself off. ‘I feel… relieved, and I hate that I feel that way.’

I said nothing. There was nothing to say.

‘It wasn’t just the last fight,’ he continued, his voice thick with regret. ‘You know that, right? We’ve been going in circles for years. I work from home, she’s always in the city, and when we are together, it’s like we’re on different planets. We both feel it. We just don’t say it.’

I shut my eyes. ‘Alex, you should be saying this to Megan, not me.’

‘I know.’ He sniffed. ‘I just… I don’t know if she ever told you, but last year, she almost left me.’

My eyes snapped open. ‘What?’

There was silence. ‘She didn’t tell you, did she?’

I hesitated. ‘I was abroad.’

‘She didn’t tell you when you got back?’ His bitter laugh was quiet. ‘Jesus!’

‘That’s not—’ I faltered. I didn’t know what to say. Megan had kept that from me? Pot, meet kettle.

‘Evie, I love her. I always have. But we were breaking long before I walked out that door.’

I felt my grip on the phone tighten, feeling a rage against Megan and then a shift to feeling suddenly calm. I knew my place in this situation and I wasn’t risking it. ‘I’m not being pulled any further into this Alex.’

‘I know. And I’m not asking that. Just… please know she’s not the only one hurting here.’

My throat tightened. Megan had never told me. Not once. I thought she and I shared everything, even when I was abroad. We texted and FaceTimed, I sent presents and postcards. We always made time for each other and swore that we’d never keep anything like this from each other, and yet we had. Both of us.

‘Are you going to Kent?’ I asked after a beat.

‘Yeah,’ he murmured. ‘She probably didn’t take any of her things. She’ll be missing her skincare routine, and she hasn’t got her charger.’

The fact that he was listing off her essentials made my heart ache a little. He knew her. He loved her. But love didn’t always stay the same.

‘Okay.’ I cleared my throat. ‘If you see her, tell her I love her. And I’m always here for a chat.’

‘I will.’

I hesitated. ‘And maybe… don’t tell her we spoke. Not yet.’