AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She hadn’t seen Holly, though. She was focused on what Holly assumed was her phone.
Could she sneak past without her noticing? Was it worth a shot? What was the etiquette when the person you’ve been avoiding all week camps out in your driveway?
Holly closed the door slowly, as if keeping her movement to a minimum might make her invisible.
When she turned, Jen was still on her phone.
She looked as bad as Holly. Worse, even.
Even from a distance Holly could see her sparkle was missing. Her posture was slumped, her hair scraped back in a knot. Not the cool, calm Jen that was spinning circles in Holly’s head.
Holly’s heart thumped against her ribs, taken aback by Jen’s arrival. What to do?
She’d lingered too long and Jen’s eyes met hers.
The person in the driving seat of Jen’s car was a husk of the woman she’d grown to love. Her smile was unsure, her eyes sullen.
Holly’s heart stuttered.
Jen was halfway out of the car before Holly had even moved.
‘Holly, please. Can we talk?’
A dimension didn’t exist where Holly had the willpower to say no.
Just seeing Jen made Holly want to lean into her and be hugged until there were no more tears to cry. Which was stupid, because she was the one causing the heartache.
Holly nodded, sucking on her bottom lip as she got her thoughts in order. She opened the passenger door of Jen’s car.
‘You not going to invite me in?’
‘I’m heading out.’
Jen slumped back into the car and waited for Holly to join her.
The car’s interior became ten times smaller when Holly closed the door. The air disappeared, the mounting pressure like a submarine sinking to unknown depths.
Up close, Jen’s eyes were red, her skin blotchy. Had she been at work?
‘It’s the middle of the afternoon. Why are you here? Saturday’s your busiest day.’
Jen fiddled with her jacket, repositioning it unnecessarily. ‘I couldn’t stand being there any more. Talking to you is more important than money.’ She shifted in her seat, turning to face Holly. ‘I feel like I’m going out of my head. Tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it – just tell me, Hols. I need you to forgive me.’
‘Unless you’ve got a time machine you’re kind of sunk.’
Jen chewed on her cheek as she looked out the windscreen. ‘You got my texts?’
‘And your voicemails.’
‘And the duck?’
Holly nodded. The duck had almost cracked her. She’d had to shove it in a drawer. Every time she looked at it she wanted to cry.
‘You still don’t believe me?’
Holly considered her response. She wanted to reach over and kiss Jen, tell her everything was fine, but the logical part of her brain told her she’d been here once before.You really want to be the third wheel again?
‘I believe that Alison kissed you, but it’s not changed how I feel.’
