‘Bitches,’ Rex slash Ryan hissed under his breath.
Tress caught it, but just smiled and shook her head.
Keli was still back on Tress’s previous comment. ‘Pretty much sums him up. This is Laurie, his girlfriend of three years. I had no idea about her, so that’s why I dated him for three months, until just after New Year.’
Tress’s chin dropped. ‘This was the secret guy? Noah and I drove ourselves crazy trying to work it out. We thought it was someone at the hospital.’
‘You two know each other?’ Rex slash Ryan was visibly confused, but he didn’t wait for an answer. He had obviously decided to pick the person who meant the most to him to try to salvage at least one relationship. ‘Laurie, babe, I thought you were…’
‘Away this weekend so you could do whatever you liked? I see that. I hear it’s a common occurrence.’
‘No! Don’t listen to them.’ He nodded to Keli. ‘She was just infatuated, and tonight, with this one, that was just work.’
Tress stepped back, unable to listen to his drivel any longer. There were a whole load of dynamics at play here and she didn’t want or need to be part of it. ‘Keli, I’m going to leave you to it. I’ve got a friend next door and she needs my phone to call someone… it’s a long story.’ Tress hugged Keli, gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Thank you for trying to save me. I’ll call you tomo—’
She didn’t get any further because right then she heard something that sounded like a low, desperate scream and then everything happened in a heartbeat.
Calvin appeared in the doorway, ashen, shaking. ‘Someone call an ambulance,’ he shouted, panic raising his voice. ‘It’s Odette. She’s collapsed.’
Tress, Keli and Yvie began to run.
31
NOAH
As Noah hit the motorway, it began to rain in that ‘zero to torrential’ way that it often did in the West of Scotland. There could be a sudden heavy shower, but a kilometre down the road it would be dry as a desert. Wipers activated, he switched the radio on and then turned it up so that he could hear it over the clatter of the hailstones bouncing off the windscreen. He immediately recognised the voice of Chris Stapleton and realised the radio was still on a country music station. On his way back from work last night, he’d picked up Nancy and Val from their Zumba class. Nancy had been in charge of the tunes, so, of course, she’d immediately gone for this channel and a few minutes later her and Val had been raucously joining Carrie Underwood in threatening to take a baseball bat to some bloke’s headlights. The memory made him smile, and Chris Stapleton was singing one of his favourite songs, so he let the music play. If ever he needed good vibes and tunes about love, it was right now.
Was he doing this? Was he really going to see Tress? And what was he going to say? Nancy had told him that Tress hadtexted to say she was in the Oyster Lounge in Glasgow, so he’d just jumped in the car and decided to go there.
Shit, this wasn’t his wheelhouse. He didn’t do spontaneous. That was Max. He didn’t do rash and impulsive. That was Max too. But he did do faithful and that was something his mate hadn’t managed. Noah wanted to ask him why. He wanted to hear Max explain everything to him, but that could never happen. Max had left a million loose ends of questions and pain when he’d gone, and Noah still thought about that every day of his life. No closure.
Without thinking, he hit a button on his phone and then heard it ring once. Twice. Then the answering machine clicked in…
‘Hi, this is Cheska. Sorry I can’t take your call…’
He waited for the beep.
‘Cheska, it’s me. There were loads of things I didn’t say today, and I need to do it now before you leave. First, I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m not in a place where I can choose anyone over Tress and Buddy, but that’s not because I didn’t love you, it’s just because they’re my family. It’s non-negotiable. And I know that made me a shit boyfriend and I’m sorry because you deserve so much more than that. And the other thing… thank you. Thank you for being with me for the last few months. Everything I want to say sounds like a cheesy song lyric and I know you’ll be rolling your eyes because you hate that soppy shit, but we’ve been mates for twenty years and I don’t want to lose that. So if you want to… if you could find a way… Ah fuck it, Cheska, don’t throw away our friendship. I’m always here. And if you want to spend the next twenty years calling me to remind me that I’m the tit that let you go, then I’m good with that. Start as soon as you like…’
Another beep cut him off and the line went dead. He didn’t mind. He’d said all he had to say to her and he just hoped now that she’d keep in touch.
Just one more loose end.
He used the buttons on the steering wheel to scroll to her name on the dashboard screen, then pressed ‘call’.
It was answered on the first ring.
‘Hello?’ Her voice still stabbed something inside him.
‘Anya, it’s me.’
‘Have you changed your mind?’ she blurted. ‘Tell me you have.’
‘I’m sorry.’
It went so quiet he thought for a moment that she’d hung up.
‘Are you still there?’ he asked, and he heard a sob at the other end, before she spoke.
