Page 37 of The Retreat
‘Yeah. That one’s on me, actually,’ she said, throwing on a rueful smile. ‘Thought I was being clever, trying to take a shortcut. Turns out I was a little cockier than I should’ve been. We ended up going in a very scenic circle. Poor Tally didn’t even know she was being led astray.’
A few people chuckled. Even Rhona’s frown seemed to soften a little.
Talia stared at her, wide-eyed, for a moment. And then added, ‘Not the first time I’ve been led astray by a hot blonde,’ she managed to quip.
Jade appreciated that one and laughed very loudly. ‘Same.’
Celeste gave Imogen a thin-lipped smile. ‘I suppose that’s what you get for trying to cheat, Alex.’ She looked at Talia. ‘You’ve got yourself a naughty one.’
Talia lowered her eyes, unsure of what to say.
‘There’s not long till dinner. Let’s go back and get ready now, shall we?’ Rebecca said.
There was a collective noise of agreement, and everyone began to move in the direction of the lodge.
‘I’ll follow your lead this time, shall I?’ Imogen said, and there were some chuckles.
‘Ha, yeah,’ Talia said. And then mouthed silently, ‘Thank you.’
Imogen shrugged like it was no big deal. But Talia realised that Imogen was really helping her. All day, all the way, she was going above and beyond. Even after Talia had been rude to her in the room.
Talia didn’t know what to make of that. Or anything else that had happened that day.
Twenty-Four
As they walked back to the room, it was quiet. Heavily so.
Of course, that was often the case with Talia. But there was a different quality to this tension.
Imogen thought about trying a joke to break it up. She could make a crack about Rhona looking like she was about to set up a search party with a flare gun and a clipboard. Or about Celeste’s voice, how it always managed to make warmth sound like judgment.
But Talia’s shoulders were high and tight, and the shape of her silence wasn’t one Imogen wanted to press against.
Inside the room, it was no different. Talia took her coat off slowly, like she was trying to keep herself busy. And when she’d done that, she began to fold it very carefully, straightening out every crease.
Imogen sat down on the edge of her bed. She was still picking twigs from her jumper, trying not to think too hard about how strange things had gotten when Talia took that blindfold off.
‘I’m sorry if I overstepped, telling everyone it was my fault. You didn’t ask me to do that,’ she said quietly, eyes fixed on a stray leaf she rolled between her thumb and forefinger.
Talia’s voice was soft. ‘You didn’t overstep.’
Imogen looked up. Talia was watching her, arms still crossed like she was holding something in. There was colour high in her cheeks. She didn’t look angry. Just… what?
‘But—’ Talia pushed away from the door and took a step forward stiffly. ‘You didn’thaveto do that. Coming in last place was on me. I would have taken my lumps.’
‘I know.’
Talia sat beside her. Not close enough to brush arms. But closer than expected.
‘You’ve helped me out today.’
‘That’s what I’m supposed to do, isn’t it?’ Imogen replied quietly.
‘Yes, but…’ Talia began and then seemed to lose her train of thought. Or maybe she just didn’t know what she wanted to say. Or maybe shedid,but couldn’t bring herself to say it. Maybe she just didn’t know how to say something nice to Imogen.
The moment went quiet again. Imogen could feel Talia’s weight on the mattress, the way it shifted under them both. She wanted to reach out. Just place a hand over Talia’s and leave it there. The impulse was disturbing and obviously not one to act on, so she didn’t.
Instead, she said, ‘I didn’t want you to feel embarrassed in front of your colleagues for one little mistake.’
