Page 24 of A Flash of Neon
I run through everyone I know, trying to find someone who might be able to help us. Hannah is one of four siblings – there’s never any room at her house. Caitlin just lives with her mum now her sister’s moved out, but their place is tiny. My grandparents on Mutti’s side are back in Germany, my granny on Mum’s side is in a care home, and none of my aunts or uncles live within a hundred miles of us. Gio has a spare room at his place, but he’d definitely tell my parents if I asked.
Then it comes to me. “I know! Tilly’s house!”
Tilly’s mum and dad are artists but they live on an old farm and have lots of animals – as well as Tilly’s dog, Bella, there are chickens and rabbits and even a goat. There are a few barns and outhouses on their land, and most of them aren’t used any more. If Neon was careful, he could hide in there for a week or so without anyone ever noticing.
“You wouldn’t mind living in a barn for a while until we sort something out? We’ll get you a really thick sleeping bag and some blankets. And there aren’t any cows or sheep in there – don’t worry.”
“It’ll be like camping!” Neon says excitedly. “I love camping! Well, I’ve actually never done it, but I bet I’d love it.”
It’s a temporary solution, but the best one I’ve got. Now we need to hope that Tilly doesn’t hate me too much to say yes.
I know better than to turn up at Tilly’s unannounced on Saturday morning. Her parents would insist that I come in, and then they’d bombard me with questions about how things in the bookshop are going, and what Joel’s studying, and if Mutti has another novel coming out soon. They’d get all excited at the thought of me and Tilly being friends again, and then it would be sad and awkward when Tilly had to explain that we aren’t.
Instead, I send her a message and ask if she can meet Neon and me at the bench by the loch. She always walks her dog after breakfast, so she’ll be out anyway. The loch is miles long, and there are probably hundreds of benches parked along it, but Tilly will know which one I mean.
OK, she writes back.Be there in half an hour.
Neon and I only have to wait a few minutes before she turns up with Bella, her gorgeous cocker spaniel with the cutest floppy ears. My heart leaps when I see the dog straining on her leash, half dragging Tilly behind her.
“Hi. Hey, Bella!”
I kneel down to pet her. I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed this dog. We once looked after her when Tilly and her family went to Hong Kong for a month, and, by the end of her stay, Bella would fall asleep by my feet every night.
Tilly lets me fuss over Bella for a few minutes, then takes the dog off the leash to have a wander around. She looks from me to Neon, her eyes wary. “So, what’s this about?”
“We have a favour to ask,” I say. “It’s a really, really big one, and I don’t even expect you to say yes. But right now it’s our only option.”
“I’ve decided to stay here a little longer,” Neon says, smiling. “I don’t want to go back to – to the place that I came from. I want to stay with Laurie instead.”
“But our house is too small,” I add. “And you know my mums. There’s no way they would agree to having him there.”
“They’re coming back from London today so I need somewhere to sleep for a few nights,” Neon says. “Just until I can work out what to do long-term.”
“So I thought maybe…” My voice is getting squeaky with nerves. “Maybe he could camp out in one of the barns on the farm for a while? Your parents wouldn’t even need to know.”
Tilly’s face goes through a whole rollercoaster of emotions while we’re speaking: first she looks confused, then shocked, even angry, and finally her eyes narrow in suspicion.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” she says, crossing her arms. “Why don’t you want to go back to New York? And what about your family?”
Neon says something about being happier here, feeling more like himself, but it’s all too vague and wishy-washy, and Tilly obviously isn’t convinced. It occurs to me that if we’re asking this of Tilly, something that could get her into big trouble, she deserves to know the truth about what’s going on. She might not accept it, but I should at least offer it to her.
“You’re not going to believe this. I mean, you actually won’t believe me.” I fish around for the right words. “But Neon… He comes from… He isn’t exactly…”
“Real,” Neon finishes. “Laurie made me up.”
We tell her the whole story: how I invented Neon, then started to really believe him, and the realm of fictitious creations that he comes from. Tilly listens with wide eyes. She’s always been so easy to read, at least to me – she’s one of those people whose face always shows what they’re feeling – but I’m not prepared for the next words out of her mouth.
“Iknewyou made him up!”
“You did?” I glance at Neon, baffled. “How?”
Tilly sits down on the bench with a bump. “Well, the fact that Neon never posted any videos of himself online was suspicious. He liked all the same music as you, and one time he shared a photo of a cake on a plate that’s in your house, one that your mums bought in Greece.” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t believe it when he turned up at school. It was so obviously you running those accounts.”
I don’t know what to feel. On one hand, I’m embarrassed that someone was able to see through my lies so clearly. But, on the other, I’m so relieved Tilly believes me. It’s also sort of nice to know that she still looks at my profiles, and even the profiles of people I’m friends with. I do the same with hers sometimes.
“Why didn’t you tell Caitlin and Hannah if you knew?” I ask her.
Tilly makes a face like I’ve whipped a particularly stinky cheese out of my bag. “I didn’t want to give them more ammunition against you. The way they talk to you is really horrible sometimes.”
