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A girl appears through the door the boy came through, and heads toward the nurses’ desk along the corridor. Her long, Scandinavian blonde hair tucked behind her ears catches my attention. I’ve only met her once, but the memory of this girl’s face is seared on my mind, so when she turns to head in this direction, I know who she is.
Every muscle in my body stiffens, and I fight down the desire to walk across and shake Lily, and scream at her ‘why?’ Why is she trying to fuck up my life with Dylan? The girl doesn’t see me, and when I step out from my hidden corner, she halts in surprise.
“I bet you’re not here to visit Tara,” I say in a low voice.
Her face pales, which is no mean feat considering how light-skinned she is, then her cheeks redden. And the day becomes more surreal.
“Sky?”
“Lily. What are you doing here?”
“What happened to Dylan?” Her breathing and tone of panic matches mine. What a bloody nerve.
“I’m not talking to you about Dylan.” I cut her attempt at conversation dead as I walk past, legs trembling.
Predictably, she calls out after me. “Sky, please. Tell me he’s okay? I need to know—that’s why I came after you.”
Ignoring the fear of exactlyhowshe knows my movements, I pause and turn back. “Why the hell do you care? You hate him!”
“I didn’t think he’d do something like this.…” The tiny voice reminds me of the day we met in the cafe—the day she tried to ruin Dylan’s life for the first time.
Lily thinks his overdose was deliberate.
I pause and squeeze my eyes closed, considering whether to say the next words.Yes. She can suffer too. “This is your fault,” I hiss. “You made Dylan do this.”
“I didn’t mean to. I never realised he felt… Sky, I’m sorry. Is he okay? Please tell me he’s okay.” Lily’s hands goes to her mouth when I don’t answer. A young couple walks by, the woman with puffy red eyes half-hidden behind her curly brown hair, and I sidestep to the wall. The last thing I need is Lily pursuing me through the hospital and drawing more attention to us.
This girl isn’t normal—this isn’t just revenge. Why seek me out and ask how he is when she behaved like she hates Dylan and wants him in prison?
“I don’t know. I’m flying out to the States this afternoon. Should I send him your best wishes?”
“I didn’t think he’d…” she repeats, half-talking to herself.
“He’s not in a good state of mind currently,” I say. “Didn’t you realise that when Dylan disappeared in the summer? Haven’t you seen pictures of him and the press speculating he’s using drugs? So you telling lies to the police hasn’t helped!”
Lily sits on the orange plastic chair I recently vacated. “The Dylan I knew used people and threw them away. I didn’t want this to happen to you.”
“Bullshit!” I snap and Lily’s eyes widen. “You want revenge for a broken heart! Or money? Is all this about money?”
The wide eyes tear up and she shakes her head in response.
“Tell me he didn’t rape you.” I believe Dylan with my heart, but a small part of me needs to hear the words from her.
Lily continues to shake her head, but I can’t tell if that’s an admission or if she’s not listening. Suddenly, she leans over, drags her fingers through her hair and rests her arms on her knees.
“He hurt me,” she whispers. “I felt dirty when Jem told me what he’d done—how he tricked me. Dylan was my first and I wanted everything to be special, but he stole that from me. He shouldn’t treat me like that.”
Alarmed by her sudden decision to tell me details I don’t want to know, I glance around to make sure no one else is in earshot. “Lily, this all happened three years ago.”
“I thought there was something wrong with me, that I wasn’t good enough or famous enough for him. Then I saw him with you and it isn’t fair because you’re nothing special.” She twists her head to look at me, hair spilling across her legs.
I make a sound of disgust. “Way to win me over, Lily.”
“I don’t mean… I mean you’re like me. I could’ve been you!”
“No. If I’d met the Dylan you knew, I wouldn’t be with him. He was an arsehole, and what he did to you disgusts me. But that isn’t who Dylan is today.” I pause. Can I make her see reason? “Which is why you have to drop the charges.”
“He shouldn’t have sex with me if he didn’t love me!”
