Page 83 of When The Night Falls

‘Not at the weekends – I hope.’

‘We’ll see. Either way, I’d love that. Speaking of, how’s that going? Have you met William lately?’

‘Not since he helped me assemble my wardrobe and since dinner with his parents, but I’ve already told you about that.’

‘He’s not made any other advances?’

I could tell her that he had started messaging me on Instagram, but I hesitated. I worried it would make everything real to me. If I told her, he would inevitably become a recurring subject, and I didn’t want that. I was struggling enough as it was with putting him out of my mind, so I couldn’t see what good it would do. The constant reminder would only worsen the headache he was giving me.

‘No.’

‘Hm. Well, I hope you’re pleased. I still think you made a mistake.’

‘Whatever.’

As we walked along the pavement toward my flat, Olivia was busy messaging one of her other friends, presumably about Colin, so I took the opportunity to reply to William.

I wasn’t all that frustrated tbh ;)

Should work out fine (I hope). Anyway, how’s your Friday?

Spending it with this knob

He sent a photo of Jason. I chuckled at first, but my amusement subsided when it occurred to me that he was currently hanging out with my best friend, who had no idea at all that we were chatting under his nose. What had my life come to? All this secrecy wasn’t something I was used to. I had always been one to favour transparency in my friendships, but now I had lied to Olivia and continued to withhold information from both her and Jason, not to mention Aaron.

Yes, he told me you’re playing chess. Who’s winning?

I am ofc. Always

But he’d never admit that

So I can expect to find him licking his wounds tmrw?

Probably

Have you played chess?

Only once or twice with my dad. Not my forte

I could teach you

Imagine his surprise when you suddenly defeat him

Haha that’d be something

Sold, then?

Enjoy your evening, Will. Glad you’re having fun. Don’t destroy your brother completely tho. I like him

Left on read. Again.

13 | liverpool’s in the lead

William was strangely quiet. He hadn’t sent me any messages since Friday last week, and it was Thursday now. As I sat on the train on my way to the exam in Company Law, I wondered what the reason was. Was it something I had done? Or perhaps not done?

I fixed my gaze on the floor, staring absentmindedly at the tiny black dots. I knew William was a busy man, so I tried not to take it personally. He probably had a lot on his plate at work.

Or maybe he’s just bored with me, I thought, sighing. Whatever the reason, I appreciated that he hadn’t distracted me while I was revising for my exam. Aaron and I had spent almost the entire week together preparing for it, but I was still nervous.

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