‘But knowing it and proving it are two different things,’ he continued. ‘And he can’t prove anything.’ Eli picked up his cutlery and began cutting so roughly into his steak that it looked like he was trying to saw through cement. He placed a huge chunk in his mouth and chewed with a clenched jaw and burning eyes.
‘So you just want me to lie to his face?’
Eli took a long swig of wine to wash the steak down his throat. His voice was hoarse when he responded. ‘If you don’t lie to him, you ruin both our careers.’
Kelly was stung. ‘I would never drag you into this.’
‘You already have.’
‘What are you talking about? This was your idea. Why are you turning on me?’
Eli rested his elbows on the table and leaned forwards. His voice was a little softer now, and his eyes more desperate than angry. ‘I’m not turning on you, Kelly. But I just can’t afford for anything to go wrong in the lead up to this exam.’
‘I know. Neither can I.’
‘Which is exactly why you have to lie to Michael.’
‘What if they ask you about me?’
‘You or Georgia the medical student?’
‘Georgia.’
Eli took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘You were on the ward and then you weren’t. We have medical students coming through all the time. It’s not my job to keep track of them. If they follow it up with hospital admin or the uni, which they won’t, Georgia won’t exist. Who knows, maybe I got her name wrong? But at the end of the day, nobody cares about some mystery medical student. That’s just unnecessary paperwork.’
‘I’m sorry I got you into this.’
Eli reached over the table and clasped her hand, warm, smooth, reassuring. ‘I knew what I was doing.’
Kelly raised an eyebrow. ‘And what was that, exactly?’
‘Anything it took to get into your good books.’
Kelly chuckled.
‘Just make sure you lie to Michael tomorrow so you can stay in mine. Okay?’
Kelly nodded. ‘Okay.’
Chapter Thirty-three
Finn finished the last of his strong, black coffee. Ashley sat opposite him at the dining table, drinking herbal tea and scrolling on her phone. Finn stood up, put his mug in the dishwasher and went into the bathroom. He opened the bottom drawer and took out a bag of white powder. He measured and cut it into two lines with the ease and confidence of a seasoned user. The rolled-up money he used to snort with had been replaced by a metal straw weeks ago. He sucked the lines into his system before he had time to consider whether this was a good idea.
That’s how it had been for the past month now. Snort the coke, take the benzo, stay medicated consistently enough to keep the questions away. To shut down the internal voice. To finally live free.
Ashley entered the bathroom as he finished his second line. She watched him pack away the gear with a face that looked like she was sucking on a lemon.
‘I think you’re using too much, Finn.’
Finn felt the courage and the confidence and the power flow into him like air rushing into a balloon. It inflated him to his full potential. Made him walk taller, live stronger, and see more clearly than ever before. He looked into her deep brown eyes. His salvation. The beautiful Ashley who had delivered him from the very chains of his own existence. Fuck, she was hot.
He placed his hands on her shoulder. ‘I’m fine. Actually, never been better.’
‘Coke’s for partying, Finn. For an extra kick. It’s not for real life.’
Finn drew her close and held her in his arms. ‘My life has never been this real.’
She ran her hands along his ribs. ‘You’re so skinny. You’re not eating enough. You can’t live on coffee and cocaine.’
