The table spun. Finn gripped it hard.
The man leaned in. Finn recoiled.
‘Here’s the message. “Dear Kelly, I’m sorry I’m a complete fuck-up and you can’t rely on me anymore. But I’m going to make it right and you’re going to sit your exam tomorrow because I’m going to make it happen for you.”’
The penny dropped with Finn’s stomach. ‘Wait, are you Eli?’
The man didn’t look surprised.
‘Is everything all right?’ a woman said.
Finn felt a soft hand on his own. It was Monica. She’d dispatched her latest fan and had either heard the exchange or sensed something wasn’t right.
Finn tried to reassure her with a smile. ‘Yeah, yeah, fine. I just need a short break.’
Monica signalled the promo team and they arranged security around Finn.
‘My friend and I need a quick word,’ he told them. Then he led Eli through a service corridor where they stood outside in the cold beside giant garbage bins.
‘Are you high now?’ were Eli’s first words.
‘None of your fucking business,’ Finn said.
‘I thought so.’
‘What do you want?’
‘Kelly needs your help.’
Finn’s heart hardened, by necessity more than resentment. ‘Kelly hates me and never wants to see me again.’
Eli scoffed. ‘How fucking thick are you, mate? Kelly fucking loves you. Though I can’t for the life of me work out why.’
The solid ground of Finn’s conviction suddenly felt like melting ice on a frozen lake, shifting and cracking and ready to give way at any moment. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Somebody took a video of you two at the cafe the other day. They didn’t get the part where you abused the staff, but they’ve got Kelly storming through the place and trashing people’s phones to protect you.’
Finn thought about what that meant for him. Nothing if they hadn’t caught him on the video. Nothing they could prove anyway, though the cafe owner would likely be interviewed. ‘How do you know this?’
‘Evan Banbury called Kelly.’
‘The journalist?’
‘He tried to kill the story but it’s going live this week.’
‘Well, that’s fucked, mate, but I’m not sure what you want me to do about it.’
‘I don’t want you to do anything about the video. I want you to do something about Kelly.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She’s convinced that her career will be over when the video comes out. She had her Society membership suspended until her exam and she did some other shit that landed her in trouble with the hospital.’
‘What sort of other shit?’
Eli looked away. Bit his lip. Turned back. ‘Don’t worry about that.’
Finn narrowed his eyes. It was clear this guy was not the boy scout he pretended to be. But that would have to wait. His stone heart began to transform back to flesh. Despite, or perhaps because of the drugs, it felt like his lifeblood was returning. Kelly was again pumping through his veins.
