Page 78 of Never Gonna Happen

Jamie looked at her for a few seconds, visibly worried and uncertain of her mood. ‘I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice to see you.’

Emily forced a smile. ‘I just wanted to let you know that I’m heading home tomorrow morning to see my mum and dad.’

‘Oh,’ said Jamie, grabbing his crutches and standing up. ‘Are you upset with me?’

‘Why would I be?’

‘Well, just with Louisa being here and everything,’ he said. ‘I really wasn’t expecting her to come.’

Emily looked at him, wondering if this was true and deciding it probably was; Anna obviously had a hand in this whole plot. But whilst Jamie hadn’t overtly lied about chatting to Louisa in Mauritius, he hadn’t been entirely honest with her either. It made the ground under her feel uncertain.

‘It’s fine,’ she lied. ‘It’s great that you have a physio on hand, you’ll recover more quickly.’

‘Well, yes,’ he said. ‘That’s the idea.’

‘But I figured since you’ve got someone looking after you, I can get home for a few days without worrying.’

Jamie looked at the floor. ‘I’m sure that’s a good idea,’ he said quietly, then looked back at Emily. ‘I’ll miss you.’

‘I’ll be back on Monday,’ she said. She walked over to kiss him and caught a whiff of an unfamiliar perfume in the air. Something soft and floral and expensive. Tears and anger bubbled up inside her, and she knew she had to get out before Louisa returned.

‘See you soon,’ she said, giving him a half-hearted smile from the doorway.

‘OK,’ said Jamie as she walked away. She didn’t look back, but she could hear the sadness in his voice.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

‘We’re going to the pub,’ said Carol on Saturday evening. ‘You and me, right now. Get yourself ready.’

Emily rolled over from her recumbent position on the single bed in her old bedroom. She’d been looking at the paper stars on the ceiling, thinking about Jamie and picking at the peeling suntan on her arms. Bowford Manor felt like it was on the moon, but Mauritius felt like another planet entirely. Maybe the one over by the wardrobe, being nudged through the universe by a rogue spaceship.

‘I really don’t fancy it, Mum,’ she said with an exaggerated yawn. ‘I’m absolutely knackered.’

‘Bollocks,’ said Carol, her lips pursed so tight they’d practically disappeared. ‘Get up, put your coat on, we’re leaving in five minutes.’ She closed the door with no-nonsense force and stomped down the stairs. Emily had seen her mum in this kind of mood before, and resistance was futile. Her dad would be hiding behind his newspaper somewhere, but there was no point begging him for help. Nobody messed with Carol Wilkinson when she was a mum on a mission.

Emily yawned again and sat up, glancing at her phone. Nothing from Jamie since a WhatsApp this morning saying he hoped she had a nice day. They’d exchanged a few messages about his cast coming off and his first session in the pool yesterday, and he’d asked her to pass on his regards to her parents and Kelly. She’d had three missed calls from her best friend today and hadn’t yet called her back. Kelly asked too many questions, and Emily didn’t have nearly enough answers. She’d go and see her tomorrow before she headed back to Norfolk on Monday.

She dragged herself over to the mirror and ran a brush through her hair, wondering what Jamie was doing now, whether Louisa was with him, and whether her healing hands had eased her way back into his bed. Emily hated how things between them had gone sour so quickly, with them both feeling wronged and angry and unable to see each other’s point of view. She’d assumed that two hundred miles might give her more perspective, but right now she just felt worse. Obviously her claim of being exhausted and jetlagged wasn’t cutting it with her mum any more, so maybe it was time to drink gin and offload.

Emily shouldn’t have been surprised to find Kelly sitting at their usual table in the White Lion, but somehow it still managed to give her a jolt. Clearly this was by previous arrangement, and a drink with her mum had now been upgraded to a two-pronged ambush. She hadn’t really wanted to do the former, and the latter was definitely more than her fragile state could handle. But there was no escaping now.

Carol went to get drinks while Kelly stared silently at Emily, her arms folded over her yellow dungarees. They clashed horribly with her bright red hair, making her look like Ronald McDonald. Emily avoided her gaze, worrying away at a section of dry skin on her forearm with her fingernail until it peeled off in a satisfying strip.

Carol came back from the bar with a round of drinks, then sat next to Kelly. The silence continued as they both glared at Emily, like any minute Carol would shine a spotlight in her eyes while Kelly administered electrodes to sensitive parts of her body. Emily sweated it out, knowing that she could stay silent far longer than her mum could.

‘So, what’s the deal?’ asked Kelly.

‘About what?’ replied Emily, folding her arms.

‘I told you,’ said Carol. ‘She’s been like this ever since she got home. Moping around, saying she’s tired, face like a dog’s arse.’

‘I can hear you both, you know,’ said Emily, unable to stop herself from smiling.

‘What’s happened with Jamie?’ asked Kelly. ‘You sounded like you were super loved-up while you were away, even after the accident. So what’s happened since you got home?’

Emily’s eyes unexpectedly filled with tears. There was no point pretending; these two weren’t going anywhere and they had ways of making you talk. ‘His ex-girlfriend has turned up.’

‘WHAT?’ yelled Carol. ‘The little shit. I knew this would happen.’