Page 64 of The Reunion

‘That, um. That’s. Yeah. Thank you. That’d be …’

I think, for a minute, Hayden’s going to push it. He’s going to drag it out, make me say it and suffer. But he just nods, ducks his head, and goes back into the school to fix what I broke.

I turn back to the crowd of people who, less than an hour ago, thought so much of me. They were hanging off my every word, looking up to me, admiring me, exactly as I expected them to. I was the belle of the ball; now, in a stunning plot twist, I’ve just undergone a magical transformation before their very eyes into the beast instead.

Which is, you know. Great. Super fantastic stuff.

Exactly the kind of gossip I want them to take away about me.

I carry on with the rest of my list from the guestbook, double-checking the pages with their little Biro ticks next to each name. I tick off Morgan and Thea and Priya and their spouses, and I tick off Steph’s new beau, Curtis, and my heart stutters to a halt.

Because – she’s not here. And now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her in ages.

And …

I flip a few pages ahead in the guestbook, where I know I ticked off Josh and Hassan and whatsherface with the long legs and good makeup, Aisha. And he’s not here either.

I look up at everybody, eyes scanning frantically, and they’re all silent, waiting.

And shit, shit, shit. This is like last year’s trip to the West End all over again; I’ve lost a kid.

Not just one, this time.

Dread thick in my throat, I call out, ‘Has anybody seen Steph and Shaun?’

Chapter Thirty-Two

Steph

‘Most Likely to End Up Together’

Sweet. I can almost taste the sweetness and warmth of his breath as the two of us lean imperceptibly ever closer, neither one of us seeming to move, and yet, inextricably drawn together, as if this is all – fate. Some greater force in the universe bringing us both together, as if we’d never been apart in the first place.

Is this a bad idea? No, that’s a trick question; it’s a horrible idea and I know that. This isn’t me, I’m not a cheat, and Shaun’s not a cheat, either, except – maybe he is, if he’s so willing to kiss me? Maybe he is, and I don’t know because I don’t actually know everything he’s been up to in the last ten years. Maybe he thinks I am the type to cheat, because he doesn’t know me, either, not really.

We shouldn’t be doing this.

But … all those what-ifs. The years of being apart, of wondering, of knowing where our lives would have ended up, had we stayed together. The thousand minuscule decisions that led me to picking up that exact memory stick so many weeks ago, only to discover our old yearbook; all the things that had to go right in order for Bryony to arrange this reunion and for tonight to pan out the way it has … Everything that brought us back together tonight …

It’s too much to ignore, isn’t it? Far too much to be merely chance, or coincidence.

This is all … it’s a sign. A big, flashing neon sign that I’m wrong about everything, about myself and my feelings and Curtis, because why else would I be here now? Why else would Shaun’s hand be so warm, so heavy, on mine, or my hand be on his knee, and our breaths mingling in the ever-narrowing space between our mouths?

It’s Shaun. It always has been Shaun. Always will be.

Right?

I inhale sharply, quietly, and see Shaun’s eyes darken in the instant before they close.

And this is it, I realise, in such a cold, stark moment of clarity that it feels as though this entire moment is an out-of-body experience, one I’m watching from the sidelines after the fact. This is the moment my life changes forever, erases the ten years of distance and heartache and puts us both right back where we were always meant to be. This is the moment I decide, Shaun Michaels is truly the one—

BEEEEEEEP!

BOOOOOOP!

BEEEEEEEP!

Shaun practically falls backwards into the railing. I hurtle to my feet and stumble down a step, covering my ears.

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