Page 127 of When We Were Young

‘That’s it?’ I ask Scott. ‘That’s all I get?’

He shrugs. ‘It’s better than nothing.’

Neither of us eats much more, and he clears away the dishes while I work on the last sketch.

His phone rings, and he goes out to the garden to take the call. Whenever I look up, he’s pacing and gesticulating, and by the time he comes back in, I’ve finished the sketches.

‘Wow, Em, they look great. You’re a lifesaver. This’ll look fantastic.’

I’m pleased with how they came out. ‘Anytime.’

‘Do you want a coffee?’

‘No thanks, I’d better get going.’

He follows me out to the hall.

I call up to Liv. She shouts ‘bye’ but doesn’t come down the stairs.

‘I hope the meeting goes well,’ I say.

‘Thanks, I’ll let you know.’

He opens the door for me. I step out, then turn back. ‘Scott?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You’re great with her. She loves you.’

He gives me a lopsided smile. ‘She loves you too, you know.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ I lie.

Chapter 57

June 1999

Emily opened the door to the flat as quietly as she could, but before she’d even taken off her coat, Scott was in the hall wearing just his boxers.

‘Shit, you scared me!’ he said. ‘What are you doing back? I thought you were away until Monday.’

‘I was. It just… it didn’t go very well…’ Her voice splintered.

‘Hey.’ He was there in an instant, arms around her even though she was soaking wet, and he was half naked. ‘What happened?’

It was hard to get the words out. ‘We broke up.’

He pulled away, his hands on her shoulders. ‘Oh shit,’ he said simply.

She sniffed. ‘Yeah.’

‘Come on, let’s get you out of this wet coat.’ He helped her shrug it off and looked at his watch. ‘It’s 3:30 a.m., do we want alcohol or tea?’

Behind him, a scantily clad girl dashed across the hall from Scott’s room to the bathroom.

‘Oh no,’ Emily waved a hand. ‘You have a guest. I’ll be all right. Just need to pull myself together.’

Scott glanced over his shoulder. ‘Flatmate in crisis trumps that.’ He flicked on the kitchen lights and ushered her to a seat at the table.