Page 51 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Aye, she’s nice.’

He’s referring to the member of Haven who seemed to spend most of the night in his lap. I know that because the footage is black and the soundtrack mostly involves them kissing, with added interference caused by her rubbing up against the equipment.

‘And was there an after-after-party after the after-party?’ I hum, trying to make a joke.

He shakes his head, blushing. ‘I wasn’t exactly in a good state for anything like that. And anyway, we’re leaving soon. Why’d you leave so early last night?’

I think about Aidan holding onto my hands, Ravi in the corridor with Tun, and I shake my head. ‘I was tired, that’s all.’

‘Didn’t fancy letting your hair down?’

‘Sometimes, believe it or not, I do let myself have some fun.’

He raises his eyebrows, like he doesn’t believe me. ‘Right,’ he announces, getting up off the bed. ‘They’re serving a late lunch upstairs. You coming?’

I look to Meredith. ‘We’ll be there in a minute.’

‘Fine. Gonna get me some scran.’

When he’s gone, I watch the drone footage over Meredith’s shoulder. The same squelchy feeling has returned to my stomach, and I don’t feel hungry. Mostly because the footage I’ve seen from last night’s party shows Aidan passionately kissing the dark-haired member of Haven.

I’ve looked her up. Her name is Taylor Wetherill. She’s twenty-two and gorgeous, from a big family in Melbourne. And though it was just a glimpse in the dim light as Duncan walked past them, the blurry footage is enough to make me feel sick.

It’s not the only thing I saw on the footage either.

‘That drone footage is amazing,’ Meredith says as she removes the headphones.

I force a smile. She must realise it’s fake because she says, ‘What’s up?’

I don’t have siblings, and I’ve never been anyone’s manager, so I don’t quite know how to broach the subject.

‘Mer, you know I think you’re brilliant. And I don’t want to sound like your big sister when I say this, but… Miller? Really?’

Meredith turns a shade of puce. ‘Oh. How did you—?’

‘Duncan caught it on camera. I watched the footage an hour ago.’

‘Oh,’ she says, clasping her fingers together. ‘I should have thought.’

‘I’m sorry. It’s not my business, I just know that Miller is… I don’t want you to think that he’s suddenly going to make you his girlfriend.’

I immediately regret the words that come out of my mouth, because the look on her face says she’s interpreted my statement as saying she isn’t good enough for him.

‘That’s not what I meant,’ I blurt. ‘I just that meant that… someone like Duncan would be much better suited to you.’

‘Duncan?’ she blurts. ‘I’m hardly his type. I’m half his size, and he had one of those Haven girls all over him.’

I feel awful, like I’m her mother or something. Meredith looks like she might cry. ‘I’m sorry if I did something wrong, Lexi. It was just a kiss. That was all. We’d both had too much to drink. I don’t expect anything from him. I know Miller would never be into me. Not really.’

My heart swells and I suddenly feel sad for her. ‘Mer, that’s not what I—’

‘I’m gonna go,’ she says, getting up out of the chair, embarrassed. ‘You should go to lunch.’

‘Mer, please—’

‘I’ll see you later,’ she says, and before I know it, she’s fled the room.

Chapter Fifteen

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