Page 88 of Two Wrongs
‘Really?’
‘She didn’t have to. I’ve seen the video; I can show you if you like.’
‘No—just no!’
‘I’m gonna delete it!’
The pair goes quiet, and for a moment, I’m convinced they’re listening to the sound of my beating heart through the wood.
‘He’s going to want to see her.’ Fin sounds worried.
‘Aye.’ One word, but so hard, Nat’s earlier devotion to the man she knows as a movie star melting away. Yeah, it’s only one word, but it sounds so resolute like she’d protect me from the devil, if I had a need.But Dylan isn’t a devil. He’s just a man who has made some mistakes. Big mistakes, but mistakes all the same. And he’s not alone in this. Only, some mistakes can’t be soothed or made better, no matter how sincere the balm. But maybe they can be moved past.For the sake of an unborn child.
See, you have more important things going on in your life. You survived leaving the love of your life; you’ll survive this.
I step away from the door, Fin’s answer barely registering—something about Rory’s aims at getting Dylan shit-faced drunk. As though recognising my inner turmoil, Vlad begins to move along with my steps; a flip or a turn, followed by a heel poking through my thinned and veined skin. I pull the cotton tank I’m wearing to the top of the bump, rubbing the full roundness as I make my way silently back to the bed.
Almost silently.
‘Ooof!You wee bugger, what are you doing in there?’
I turn as the door creaks open, and Nat’s head pokes through.
‘What are you up to in here?’
‘Vlad’s awake, so that means I am,’ I reply, climbing onto the bed.
‘Are you hungry?’
I pause for a second, considering those most magic of words. ‘Does a pope poop in the woods?’
‘Aye,’ she responds immediately, stepping into the room. ‘I expect he would if he were caught short. His cassock would give him plenty privacy, I suppose.’ Flopping against the snowy white pillows, I frown, playing back what I’ve just said. ‘It’s bear, daft arse,’ Nat corrects. ‘Does abearshit in the woods.’
‘I swear this baby’s stealing my brain cells.’
‘Let’s get him fed then. Fin’s just popped along to my room to ask June if she’s ready for a cuppa and a bite to eat. We’ll get it delivered to the room.’
The look that passes between us says all the words. I’m not ready to step into the real world, and I’m not ready to see Dylan, drunk or not.
‘Tea and toast.’
‘You’re staying in a five-star boutique hotel, and you want tea and toast?’ she asks incredulously.
‘With lashings of butter.’ I think I must be drooling because Nat looks at me like I’m a loon as she picks up the phone from the nightstand.
‘Bampot.’ She shakes her head ruefully, unable to hide the smile on her face.
‘I want half a loaf.’
‘Ivy, why didn’t you tell us?’
My gaze falls away, my fingers toying with the hem of my shirt.
‘I couldn’t—not until I’d told my mum. And I couldn’t tell her until I came home—and I was going to, really. But it was all over before I was due to come back for Christmas.’
‘Because he cheated on you?’
‘Not exactly. It’s more complicated than that.’
