Page 35 of Be With Us: An Urban Foursome Love Story

‘You’re so good at this,’ said Emilia.

Alice shrugged. ’Mum always told us to play the field. I just listened.’

’She said the field, not the football team.’

‘Oh, you bitch.’

‘So what should I do now?’

’Leave it. Cassian is right. If there’s something there, then they will text you back. If not, they will earmark you as the swinging weirdos and give you a wide berth at every function you both attend from now on.’

Emilia nodded and drank some more of her tea.

‘Listen, I know I’m always running off, but I really do have to go,’ said Alice. ‘I’ve got to finish a clients annual report and I’m probably going to have to pull an all-nighter to do it, so I want to get started if that’s okay?’

‘Of course,’ said Emilia, standing up. She walked Alice to the front door and they hugged farewell.

‘Don’t text her,’ said Alice. ‘Promise?’

Emilia sneered at her sister and laughed guardedly.

‘Or do, because you’re an adult and you can do what you like,’ she said, as she walked away towards her car.

Emilia stood in the doorway watching as her sister pulled out of the driveway and waved as she dipped down onto the main road. Then she turned around, closed the door and headed back to the kitchen, picking up her phone.

She sat back down in the conservatory and tapped on Amy’s name.

Hi Amy, can we meet? I really want to talk to you x

Honest and to the point, she thought to herself.

She pressed send and put the phone down on the glass coffee table, then she closed her eyes and slowly exhaled.

The little table vibrated so loudly she thought the glass might break.

Panic rose in her chest. Was it Amy, already? If so, it probably wasn’t good. Something heartbreaking like Lose my number. Or was it Alice or Cass? Just a coincidental text to say Thanks or On my way home x.

She stared at her phone for a long time, paralysed, too scared to look, but eventually she rationalised and settled herself down, reached forward for it, and saw Amy’s name.

Hinksey Park? 3pm? X

*

Emilia had thrown on the best outfit she could find at short notice and bundled her hair up into a messy ponytail. Hinksey Park was six stops away on the number thirty five and by running she’d managed to make it just in time for the next departure.

Now she was sat down near the front, phone in hand and half an hour to spare before Amy would be there. She decided that the first thing she would do, would be to make a custom text message alert for Amy. Every time her phone buzzed, she would become instantly anxious, wondering if it was her. This way, she would know straight away and could take things a little more easily throughout the day. She selected one called Bird Song, and put away her phone.

She looked out of the window as they passed over the railway bridge on Old Abingdon Road, watching as a train shot by beneath her.

What were they doing? What were they going to talk about? Was Amy going to tell her to leave them alone? To lose her number and stop contacting her?

She wasn’t sure if she could take that.

A few minutes later the bus started to slow down and she stood up and pressed the stop button. She held on tight as it came to a sharp halt next to the small shelter, and looked around nervously, suddenly afraid that Amy might be on the same bus, or just about to walk past outside. She needed a bit more time to prepare before she saw her again, she wasn’t quite ready yet.

‘You getting off, love?’ said the driver.

‘Oh, sorry,’ she said. She made her way forward, feeling the stares of some of the other passengers, and then stepped down onto the curb. She turned to say thank you, but the bus was already driving away.

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