Page 77 of The Love Hack

Nush: It’s been cool for ages. Do keep up. So long as you’re not actually ghosting him after he asked you to marry him, you’re all good AFAIAC.

Rosa: Do it now. Quick and relatively painless.

Bryony: I would, but we’re just pulling into fucking Swindon. Love you guys, feel better.

My relief was so overwhelming I forgot all about telling them where I was. I barely knew where I was myself. Okay, I’d acted like an idiot over Ross. But at least he wasn’t Bryony’s boyfriend any more; at least the only person I’d betrayed and let down had been myself. My head felt as light as a balloon, as if it was going to float right off my body and out of the window into the bright morning.

TWENTY-NINE

For a few minutes, I just sat there on my bed, staring blankly at my phone. I felt as if the whole landscape of my life had shifted seismically since I’d woken up that morning – like I was standing on my head, or like I was some flat-earther who’d arrived in Australia and to my consternation I wasn’t standing on my head.

I’d thought I’d be able to go charging to Amelie’s rescue and be greeted with gratitude and relief for my revelations about Zack. Instead, my sister was furious with me – and it mattered even more than I could have imagined, because now I was going to be an aunt. I’d thought I could finally abandon my crush – there, I said it – on Ross, because I’d forced myself to accept that it would only ever be a one-way street.

But now Ross wasn’t taken any more. Bryony had seen to that; she’d simply, independently realised that not only was he not that into her, but she wasn’t that into him, and had taken decisive action to check out.

As for how I’d messed things up with him well. Unfortunately there was no squaring that circle, or not quite. I still felt totally cringey about what I’d done, but just enough time had passed for me to realise that he might not see it quite the same way. For him, it might just have been a bit of fun – a joking way to play up the fact that I was in an iconic New York location, one that just about anyone would associate with that cheesy old movie scene. He wasn’t to know that I’d been used and humiliated by a man I’d worked with before, and how violently and instantly I’d regretted what I'd done, once the initial impulsive urge to show off to him had passed.

Perhaps he?—

But my thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of my phone in my hand. Even though I’d been staring fixedly at it, I was so startled I almost dropped the thing, like it had turned into a wasp and was about to sting the hell out of me. And when I saw Ross’s name on the screen, I did drop it.

‘Shit!’ On hands and knees, I scrabbled on the ground, my hands suddenly slippery with sweat and clumsy with surprise. I’d been ignoring Ross’s messages since the day before, but I was desperate not to miss his call now.

‘Hello?’ I gasped, my phone at last securely in my hand, although I was still on all fours on the walkway.

‘Lucy? Are you okay?’ His voice sounded just the same as usual, relaxed and friendly.

‘Yes. Yes, I’m fine.’

‘Where are you?’

‘I’m still in New York, obviously. I – things with Amelie – I’ll explain another time. Is Astro okay?’

‘He’s fine.’ Ross’s voice didn’t sound quite so relaxed any more, but uncertain, almost nervous. ‘Uh… where in New York, exactly?’

‘Brooklyn. The Air BnB we found – I’ve only just woken up. Why?’

‘Because… Lucy, please don’t be mad at me. But I’m here, too. Can we meet up?’

‘You what?’ Ross was here? How? Why? What about work? And what about my cat?

‘I’ll explain everything,’ he said. ‘I know it’s a bit of a surprise. Please don’t worry about Astro. But I’d like to see you, if you’re free?’

Well, I was certainly nothing other than free. I had no Zack to stalk any longer; there was no hanging out with Amelie to do. Apart from maybe making it into the Met instead of just sitting on the steps outside, checking out of my AirBnB and catching a flight home, I was pretty much done with my visit here.

‘I guess.’ My own voice sounded just as uncertain as his had done.

‘Can you meet me downtown? At the 9/11 memorial glade, in maybe an hour?’

I looked at my watch. It was just coming up to eleven; I’d been so lost in thought I’d barely realised that sun was high overhead, beating down on the city like a grill element. I wouldn’t have time to put on make-up or even wash my hair if I was to get to downtown Manhattan in an hour.

But why did that even matter? It was only Ross. Although apparently some new version of Ross who could bend the space-time continuum and be in two places at once – the place where he was meant to be and that where he apparently was.

‘Lucy? You still there?’

‘Yes. Yes, I’m here. The memorial glade at noon? Sure. I can be there.’

‘Great. I’ll see you there. Don’t worry, okay? Everything’s cool.’

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