Page 146 of When The Night Falls

A row of curses streamed through my mind as I tried to think of how to solve this. I knew I could still refuse Aaron to spend the night at mine, but it seemed ridiculous when considering the implications. On the one hand, I desperately wanted to see William later, but on the other, Aaron, Tyler and Valentina had made plans that I would inevitably ruin if I didn’t take him in. And it wasn’t like I had to sleep in the same bed as him. If I brought him home with me, I would take Jason’s bed. Besides, if Aaron stayed at mine, we could talk things through in the morning, and I liked the idea of that. He was already intoxicated, as was I, so I couldn’t imagine that having the conversation with him tonight would be optimal.

But I want to see William, I thought with a pout. But I could see William tomorrow maybe, if he was free and wanted to.

‘Of course,’ I replied to Valentina. ‘I like to think of it as a second birthday present to Tyler.’

‘That’s definitely how he sees it too.’

‘Babe, come here! You have got to see this,’ Tyler suddenly called, beckoning to his girlfriend. The lads around him were laughing, staring at the phone in his hand.

‘I’ll be back in a sec,’ Valentina said and went over to them.

Sighing, I reached into my purse for my phone. I needed to tell William that we couldn’t meet later after all, but I didn’t want him to know that it was because Aaron would be sleeping at mine, as I was certain it would make him worry unnecessarily. At the same time, I knew I had to give him some kind of excuse, or else he would most likely get the wrong impression and assume it was because I intended to sleep with Aaron tonight. I wanted to avoid that, but how?

A white lie, I thought, grimacing. I didn’t like it but, in this situation, telling a lie such as ‘I’m too tired to meet up’ seemed like the best option to spare William from worrying. It wasn’t sufficient on its own, however. I would also have to reassure him that I was still interested in seeing him.

Shaking my head, I started typing. While it was a white lie, I would make sure to tell him the truth the next time I saw him. By then, I would already have disclosed things to Aaron and our arrangement would be over, which should help allay William’s concerns.

Hi, I’m really sorry, but I’m too tired to meet up tonight. Are you free tmrw? x

I blinked when William instantly marked it as read. He must have been on his phone already. Feeling nervous, I locked my screen. My palms were clammy; I was so uncomfortable with how this evening was panning out.

I kept glancing at my phone, waiting for a reply from William, but it didn’t seem to be coming anytime soon.

Fuck. Was he angry? Disappointed? What was running through his mind? Maybe he was just busy.

I was just about to send him another text when Aaron arrived in front of me.

‘Look at you, sitting here all alone. Sad scene.’

I put my phone in my purse. ‘You know I don’t mind being alone.’

‘True.’ He smiled lopsidedly. ‘Anyway, we’re heading off.’

‘To the pub?’

‘Yeah.’ He took my hand and dragged me up.

24 | to what end?

Though by a slim margin, Valentina and I beat Tyler and Aaron at shuffleboard. After the match, Aaron proposed to take me home since I was exhausted after going out two nights in a row. I expressed concern about ruining his night, but he convinced me that I wouldn’t.

‘I’ve never been much of a party person,’ he reminded me.

As we walked along the pavement toward my flat, Aaron wrapped his arm around my waist. It unsettled me, but I concealed it with a smile as I looked up at him. He smiled back, and I savoured the shape of it, knowing I had news to share that would probably make it disappear. I dreaded the moment we would enter my flat and I would have to tell him that I would be sleeping in Jason’s bed. He would inevitably ask me why. What would I say then? That I would explain tomorrow? Or should I just tell him straight away? We were both a bit drunk, so I wasn’t sure what was best.

Just go with the flow, I thought. I could say that I would explain things tomorrow, but if he asked me to do it tonight instead, I would.

It was nearly two o’clock when I opened the front door and heard music coming from the living room. Was Jason home already?

‘Hello?’ I called and stepped aside to let Aaron in. That was when I noticed five pairs of shoes on the floor that did not belong to Jason or myself, and one pair looked particularly familiar. They were formal brown leather shoes. An alarm went off in my head.

‘Home already?’ Jason yelled back.

‘Hi, Cara!’ Stephen greeted.

My heart faltered. Immobile, I stood next to Aaron while he kicked off his shoes. Panic swallowed me whole as I feared the worst: had their plans changed? Had poker night been moved to ours instead? The likelihood made me gulp with horror. I had Aaron with me, and if poker night was being hosted here, it would mean William was here as well.

I looked back at the brown leather shoes. They had to be his. Shit!

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