While I admired her dedication, I wondered sometimes why she lived that way and documented it all. Was it for her enjoyment? Or everyone else’s?
“Like I could forget how crazy you are,” Andy told her, but he couldn’t hide the tension in his voice.
“Can you believe this storm we’re having in the middle of summer?”
Andy leaned forward and glanced up at the dark, grey skies as the rain beat down on his car like an ASMR lover’s dream. “It’s England. What else should we expect?”
“Please be careful driving in this.”
“I’m always careful.”
Jace cleared his throat in the background.
“Oh,” Lillie said. “You still got the guys with you?” She knew damn well we’d be here.
“Yeah. Jace and… Cohen.”
“Hey, Cohen,” she said sweetly.
I glanced Andy’s way cautiously, seeing the way his hands tightened around the wheel again. “What’s up, Lillie?”
“Oh. You know. Just… living my best life.” She paused, expecting a response, I guessed, but I had none to give. “You had a good time in Mykonos?”
Wasn’t that a loaded question? The tension inside the car elevated even more than before, and Jace’s “You could say that” didn’t go unnoticed.
“Yeah,” I answered anyway. “A real good time actually.”
Andy’s head swivelled my way, his eyes narrowing at me in warning. Of what, I had no idea. It wasn’t like I was going to blurt out to my ex-girlfriend, whose heart I’d unwillingly broken,that I’d found someone who could well be my one and only soulmate now, was it?
“That’s… good,” she said. “I’m, ya know… pleased for you.”
“Awkwardness level eleven achieved,” mumbled Jace in the background.
“Shut it, dickhead,” Andy snapped, glancing over his shoulder into the back seat, making the car swerve slightly in the road.
“Christ, Andy.” I reached for the wheel, forcing him to straighten up the vehicle. “Get your shit together, man.”
“What’s happening? Is everything okay?” Lillie asked. “Cohen?”
“All good, Lillie. Nothing to worry about.” I glared at Andy’s profile, barely recognising the man I’d once been so close to, I’d have taken a bullet for him. Hell, I’d still take a bullet for him, but that didn’t mean I liked what I saw when I looked at him right now.
“Sorry, sis,” Andy said with a sigh. “We’re all tired, that’s all. We’ve been travelling through the night. I’ll catch up with you later, yeah? See you at Mum and Dad’s?”
“O-okay,” she said, her voice wavering. “Drive safely. If you’re tired, stop at the services to grab a coffee.”
“Sure thing.”
The call ended, and no one said a word as I leaned back in my seat and stared straight out at the road, waiting for Andy to finally get it off his chest, whatever he kept trying to hold back. I knew the man well enough to see it coming, and when the time finally arrived, he slapped his hands on the wheel and let out a frustrated growl.
“I fucking hate this, Cohen! Can’t you see that? This is not who we are, you and me. It’s not whoIam.”
“Then, stop being it,” I said calmly.
“Like it’s that easy. Like I can just switch off to the fact that my best friend screwed around with my little sister, then expects everything to go back to normal now he’s done with her.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed into my hand, the headache arriving quickly. “I’m so tired of this conversation, Andy.”
“You are? How do you think I feel?”
