Page 66 of Choose Us
There was a bin in the corner by the door. I made a beeline for it.
“Holly?”
Gulp.
I ignored my name being called and told myself, just keep walking.
“Holly.” This time it was a lot louder and more desperate.
Ignore it.
I was a stone’s throw from the exit. On the other side of the steel door was my safe haven and my escape from the carpark of mynightmares.
Just keep walking.
A man tapped my arm as I passed by. “Excuse me, I think that lady is calling you.”
“Yep, got that,” I whispered.“Thank you.”
He walked off pleased with himself. He probably thought he was doing a nice thing. Little did he know he’d just single-handedly blown what was left of my cover and forced me to face probably the most awkward conversation of my entire existence.
I could’ve kept walking.
I didn’t owe Brooke. If anything, she owed me an explanation, and if I chose to walk away and not hear it that was up to me.
My legs edged forward. Step by step. They wanted to keep going, but the resistance was too strong. I couldn’tturn around.
What if I just pretended it wasn’t me?
I’m sure there’s plenty of women in Japan with brown hair and a similar body shape. I could pretend, run away, escape to Beth’s apartment and text Brooke on my flight back to London in a few days’ time saying,Thank you for the memories, but I think we should cut ties, and no I wasn’t stalking you in a carpark with a bunch of flowers. That would beabsurd.
When I heard her voice call out again, she wasmuch closer.
“Holly, I know it’s you.”She sighed.
There was no getting out of it now.
I spun around in one fluid motion, adjusting the flowers in the process and holding them tight to my backand hidden.
“What are you doing here?” Brooke asked.
I looked over her shoulder. I could see Takara leant against the boot of her car, arms folded. All she needed was a toothpick and a packet of cigarettes rolled in her sleeve to finish off thebadass look.
She wasn’t what I’d expected, but now that I knew she was gay it made sense. The short boyish cut swept across her face like a Justin Bieber hairstyle from 2010. She was skinny and probably the same height as me. She wore a grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up and some skinny black jeans. I wasn’t close enough to admire her features, but she looked like she had great bone structure.
“I came to get some food.” I bowed my head, kicking at the small pebbles on the concrete floor.
“Did Beth drive you here?”
“No, I got the train. I just got lost looking for the toilets.”I shrugged.
“Huh, so you came here alone?” Brooke brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She wouldn’t hold my gaze.
“Yes, I like to eat alone.” It wasn’t a complete lie.
“Seriously, Holly? Are we really doing this?” She clasped her own arm with her hand.
“Okay, so I came to see you.” I sighed.
