you do.’
‘Look at the state of us,’ Chantal says. ‘What a sorry bunch. It’s a good job they’ve got decent chocolate-chip muffins here or we’d have fallen to pieces. Anyway, enough of my woes.’ She turns to Nadia. ‘How are you feeling, sweetheart? What a bloody awful thing to happen.’
Nadia touches her lip, gingerly. There’s shadowy bruising round her mouth and even though she’s drinking her coffee through a straw, it’s clearly painful. She looks up self-consciously. ‘I know. And so close to my own home. My front door was literally in sight. I think that’s what’s so scary.’
‘It must have been terrifying,’ Autumn agrees. ‘I remember when one of my brother’s dodgy friends threatened me outside my flat. I was a wreck for weeks.’
‘Thankfully, the locksmith came and changed the locks this morning. It was an expense I could have done without but I hated the thought of someone out there with a set of my keys. He didn’t seem to follow me, but I was in so much of a hurry to get indoors that I’m not sure if I checked properly. You begin to doubt yourself.’
‘You did the right thing,’ Autumn says. ‘You can’t be too careful. There’s no price on peace of mind.’
‘I’ve had to cancel all my credit cards,’ Nadia continues. ‘I was just about to book a ticket to go up to see James, too.’
‘I’ll pay for it,’ I volunteer. My credit card might protest, but I don’t want Nadia to miss out on this chance.
‘I was wavering,’ Nadia admits, wincing as she takes another sip of her drink. ‘But after this, I just want to get away for a few days. I think it will do us good.’
‘We’ll book it on my phone before you go.’
‘Thanks, Lucy. I feel a bit shaky but I’m going to go into work later. I think it will take my mind off things. If I stay at home, I’m sure I’ll just dwell on it.’
‘It’s probably a good idea, but be kind to yourself, too.’ I pick at the cake in front of me. ‘You’ve had a shock. Don’t underestimate how that can make you feel. If you take a turn for the worse, come home. Ring me and I’ll be right round.’
‘Thanks, Lucy.’ Nadia manages a smile and then winces as it splits the cut on her lip again.
‘I went to the agency this morning,’ I tell them. ‘I think they were quite annoyed that I’d been sacked from the last job.’ Bit of an understatement, really. The woman rolled her eyes and tutted a lot. She told me it was a wonderful job and that they’d struggle to place me elsewhere. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and tut back. It wasn’t a ‘wonderful job’, it was really boring and, if I hadn’t been sacked, I’d have left anyway. Probably. ‘They gave me the details of three jobs to think about, but none of them really float my boat.’
‘You need the money for the wedding,’ Nadia reminds me. ‘Just think of that.’
‘I know. I’ll ring them and get some interviews fixed up. I can’t stay at home with my dad under my feet. He’s driving me potty.’
‘No sign of him moving out yet?’ Autumn asks.
‘He’s looking far too comfortable on my sofa,’ I say. ‘It’s worrying. He keeps assuring me he’s heartbroken, but he’s looking way too perky for my liking. He’s on the phone to my mother every ten minutes. I could kill her for telling him he could stay with me. What was she thinking? The place is barely big enough for two.’
‘Fingers crossed that it won’t be for long,’ Autumn says. ‘How’s Aiden coping with having him there?’
‘They’re sharing a couple of beers every night, watching football on telly. It doesn’t seem to be wearing thin for Crush, despite the fact that we can’t have any . . . erm . . . conjugal relations due to the fact that my old man is in the next room and the walls of the flat are like tissue paper. You can’t have sex when one of your parents is in the next room, can you? It’s wrong on every level. He’ll have to go soon.’
Chantal laughs. ‘Oh,
‘Look at the state of us,’ Chantal says. ‘What a sorry bunch. It’s a good job they’ve got decent chocolate-chip muffins here or we’d have fallen to pieces. Anyway, enough of my woes.’ She turns to Nadia. ‘How are you feeling, sweetheart? What a bloody awful thing to happen.’
Nadia touches her lip, gingerly. There’s shadowy bruising round her mouth and even though she’s drinking her coffee through a straw, it’s clearly painful. She looks up self-consciously. ‘I know. And so close to my own home. My front door was literally in sight. I think that’s what’s so scary.’
‘It must have been terrifying,’ Autumn agrees. ‘I remember when one of my brother’s dodgy friends threatened me outside my flat. I was a wreck for weeks.’
‘Thankfully, the locksmith came and changed the locks this morning. It was an expense I could have done without but I hated the thought of someone out there with a set of my keys. He didn’t seem to follow me, but I was in so much of a hurry to get indoors that I’m not sure if I checked properly. You begin to doubt yourself.’
‘You did the right thing,’ Autumn says. ‘You can’t be too careful. There’s no price on peace of mind.’
‘I’ve had to cancel all my credit cards,’ Nadia continues. ‘I was just about to book a ticket to go up to see James, too.’
‘I’ll pay for it,’ I volunteer. My credit card might protest, but I don’t want Nadia to miss out on this chance.
‘I was wavering,’ Nadia admits, wincing as she takes another sip of her drink. ‘But after this, I just want to get away for a few days. I think it will do us good.’
‘We’ll book it on my phone before you go.’
‘Thanks, Lucy. I feel a bit shaky but I’m going to go into work later. I think it will take my mind off things. If I stay at home, I’m sure I’ll just dwell on it.’
‘It’s probably a good idea, but be kind to yourself, too.’ I pick at the cake in front of me. ‘You’ve had a shock. Don’t underestimate how that can make you feel. If you take a turn for the worse, come home. Ring me and I’ll be right round.’
‘Thanks, Lucy.’ Nadia manages a smile and then winces as it splits the cut on her lip again.
‘I went to the agency this morning,’ I tell them. ‘I think they were quite annoyed that I’d been sacked from the last job.’ Bit of an understatement, really. The woman rolled her eyes and tutted a lot. She told me it was a wonderful job and that they’d struggle to place me elsewhere. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and tut back. It wasn’t a ‘wonderful job’, it was really boring and, if I hadn’t been sacked, I’d have left anyway. Probably. ‘They gave me the details of three jobs to think about, but none of them really float my boat.’
‘You need the money for the wedding,’ Nadia reminds me. ‘Just think of that.’
‘I know. I’ll ring them and get some interviews fixed up. I can’t stay at home with my dad under my feet. He’s driving me potty.’
‘No sign of him moving out yet?’ Autumn asks.
‘He’s looking far too comfortable on my sofa,’ I say. ‘It’s worrying. He keeps assuring me he’s heartbroken, but he’s looking way too perky for my liking. He’s on the phone to my mother every ten minutes. I could kill her for telling him he could stay with me. What was she thinking? The place is barely big enough for two.’
‘Fingers crossed that it won’t be for long,’ Autumn says. ‘How’s Aiden coping with having him there?’
‘They’re sharing a couple of beers every night, watching football on telly. It doesn’t seem to be wearing thin for Crush, despite the fact that we can’t have any . . . erm . . . conjugal relations due to the fact that my old man is in the next room and the walls of the flat are like tissue paper. You can’t have sex when one of your parents is in the next room, can you? It’s wrong on every level. He’ll have to go soon.’
Chantal laughs. ‘Oh,
Similar Books
