Page 67 of Going Solo

“He said he wants us to heal.”

I told Nick everything Cole had said, including Felicity’s trick with the text messages.

“Cole says a lot was stolen from us and he wants the friend back that he lost. He said he wants to make up for lost time.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“He ruined my life, Nick. He can’t smile and flirt and sing songs to adorable toddlers and expect that all is forgiven. I’ve gottrauma.”

“You have trauma?” Nick said. “Toby, a garbage lorry slammed into my bicycle and snapped my spine like a KitKat, but I still have to take the bins out every Tuesday night.”

“Wow. Feel free to bring a gun to a knife fight, Nick.”

“My point is, life goes on. OK? You got hurt. You’re still alive. Look at you. You’re thriving. If you’ve got unresolved issues, then healing is exactly what you need. And that’s what Cole wants too. So far, I don’t see the problem.”

“I can’t switch off everything I feel.”

“I know,” Nick said. “But we choose how we react to situations in life. You can choose to start to forgive.”

I stood up, walked around the glass partition, and put my arms around Nick’s shoulders. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get aggie with you, babes.”

“I know, you daft bawbag.”

The clock said half an hour until showtime.

“I need to pee,” I said.

“Go for me, too, will you?”

I laughed at the vintage dad joke, but then Nick slipped a water bottle into my hand. It was warm and filled with yellow liquid.

“Is this?”

“Yeah.”

“When did you?—”

“While you were blethering on back there like Meryl Streep. Drop it in the bin for us, will you?”

“You’re disgusting, babes, you know that?”

As I grabbed the van’s door handle, Nick reached out to stop me.

“Hey, have you listened to Cole’s album?”

“You know I have. What are you on about?”

“But have you actuallylistenedto it?”

“Nick, I need to pee.”

“I was talking to Fiona on the plane. When you interview Cole next week, I think you should ask him why he named the tourThe Flame.”

I shrugged. “It’s the name of the album. What else would he call it?”

“ButRebornwould be a much better name for the album and the tour, don’t you think?”

I pushed down on the door handle, and a rush of cool air and street noise flooded in. “Haven’t thought about it.”

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