I stifle a sigh.
Leo scrubs his face, and not for the first time I see the ripple effect this fallout is having on the people we love. It’s not their circus, yet they’ve all been dragged into it like performing monkeys while Miles avoids me. ‘I’m honestly fine.’
‘She’s not, you know!’
Rox! ‘But it would be good to chat to Miles at some stage, put the whole sorry situation to bed once and for all.’ I mean, I don’t want to have to beg for common decency but here we are.
‘Right. Yeah, hopefully he’ll do that at some point.’
I clamp my lips closed so my anger at the situation doesn’t spill out and I scare the poor man further.
Leo continues. ‘The night before the wedding he didn’t get a wink of sleep and he hasn’t eaten much since, and you know what he’s like if he doesn’t have?—’
‘—a hundred and thirty grams of protein,’ I finish for him and roll my eyes. God, how did I get swept away with a guy who cares more about his protein intake than me?
Leo’s eyes fill with anguish. ‘He does love you, Aubrey. I’m sure this is just a blip. But honestly, at the church he suffered a full-blown panic attack. He lost it in front of everyone. I don’t want to make excuses, but it really knocked his confidence and I think he reacted in the moment.’
‘Boo hoo!’ Rox spits. ‘He could have shared that with his bride-to-be. In sickness and health, isn’t that part of it?’
A full-blown panic attack? Still, Rox is right. That doesn’t excuse the radio silence.
‘A few hours later, he finally calmed down and then suddenly he got violently ill.’ Leo gives Rox the side-eye.
I take a second to process it. Miles is all about appearances, but he didn’t care for me enough to worry about how I’d feel by forsaking me and leaving me to arrive at a church jam-packed with guests, a church that he’d absconded from. ‘He could have called. Text. Sent a carrier pigeon. He still ought to. It’s been three days now.’
‘Yes, yes, he should have and I’d tell him that if I could.’ Leo has dark circles under his eyes, as if he too hasn’t slept. It’s not fair on him, being bullied by Rox to field video calls from me. It’s not his battle, and the fight goes out of me. ‘That’s the thing though, Aubrey. Miles is… missing.’
‘Missing?’
‘Missing. He left a note to say he needed time.’
My stomach turns. ‘Time for what exactly?’
Leo gives a helpless shrug.
‘I thought he was of the opinion he’d rushed into things and wanted to end it?’ Which is it? Am I supposed to wait and see, like some dumbstruck idiot?
‘He’s just confused.’
‘He’s just a horrible troll with a bad haircut! Now he pulls a stunt like this,’ Rox spits. ‘Another attempt at garnering sympathy while my poor sister had to take her freaking honeymoon alone!’ Her face appears on screen. ‘I wanted to tell you so many times he was a dud. You can always tell when a guy ends his sentences with “Do you feel me?” Like, gross, but did you listen? No. Urgh.’
Now that she mentions it, that did always irk me. ‘I’m not sure I have the capacity to worry about where he’s gone missing to.’ Am I supposed to worry about him? Does he deserve that?
Leo continues. ‘Things got a little heated at the wedding reception, and word got back to Miles.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, a few people were none too happy with his actions. I rather think he’s missing to hide from the worst of the fallout.’
‘Ah!’ Rox yells in the background. ‘He’s not missing, he’s hiding. That’s Miles to a T.’
Leo’s face is a mess of warring emotions, but he stays silent. Probably for the best. What else can he say? Miles has run away. Again.
‘Thanks for everything, Leo,’ I say. ‘We’ll leave it there for now and I promise you won’t get any more visits from Rox.’
He nods, gives me a thankful smile. ‘Chin up, eh?’
Rox snatches the phone from him and soon she’s whizzing down the street, houses a blur in the background.
