Page 174 of When The Night Falls

‘Of course it isn’t. But I’ve got a few things I need to finish first. Will you be okay in the meantime? It’ll take me two hours tops.’

‘That’s fine.’

‘Is Jason at home?’

‘No, he’s with Stephen and Jon.’

‘Right. I’ll work as fast as I can.’

A vague smile flickered across my lips. ‘Thank you.’

‘Anything for you, love. I’ll see you later, then.’

‘Yes.’

He rang off.

Sighing, I resumed walking and opened my front camera to check my make-up. As expected, it was a whole mess. I did my best to remove the lines of mascara that had stained my cheeks, but I still looked as if somebody close to me had just died. In a way, it kind of felt like it, too.

§ § §

Olivia kept me company via FaceTime as I waited for William to arrive. For the most part, we didn’t really talk; she watched TV while I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Now and then I would repeat myself, asking her how I could have been so blind, but she always gave the same answer: I couldn’t put the blame on myself when Aaron had intentionally misled me.

It was nearly eight o’clock when I heard somebody unlock the front door. I thought it was Jason at first, but then I remembered that William had a key.

‘Cara?’ William called, and the sound of his voice made my chest tingle with relief.

‘I’m in my room,’ I said as I sat up and grabbed my phone. ‘William’s here,’ I told Olivia.

‘All right, good.’

‘Thanks for keeping me company in the meantime.’

‘Of course, love. I hope you’ll feel better soon.’

‘Me too.’

William arrived in the doorway just as I rang off. When he saw how puffy my face was, his eyebrows curved with compassion, and the corners of his mouth dipped downward.

‘Tell me, what happened?’ He moved over and sat down on the bed.

His question triggered a new chain of tears to surface in my eyes, as it forced me to remember the painful details of my conversation with Aaron.

‘Basically, he gave me an ultimatum,’ I said, my voice brittle.

William raised his hand to my face and wiped a fallen tear away. ‘What sort of ultimatum?’

‘He said we either had to try a romantic relationship, or we couldn’t be friends for a while.’

William grimaced. ‘Did he?’

‘Yes.’ I started sobbing again. ‘I just don’t understand – I was so sure he didn’t want me that way.’

William’s eyes darted around the room, and I could tell from his expression that something was on his mind.

‘What is it?’ I asked, sniffing.

He shook his head. ‘It’s nothing.’

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