Page 40 of The Best Friend
‘I guess you never know what’s really going on,’ I reply. ‘She was so upset. I really felt bad for her.’
Jared’s phone shrills, making me jump. I close the washing machine door, press the start button and straighten up.
‘Who’s that?’ I ask as Jared answers his mobile.
‘Darcy,’ Jared mouths.
I hear her voice, tinny and far away, but I can’t make out the words. I know why she’s ringing.
‘Hang on,’ Jared says to her. He covers the phone with his hand and turns to me. ‘Darcy said you mentioned I could go running with her tonight?’
Shit. I can’t back out of my offer now. ‘Um, yeah, she askedmeto go with her, but… my knee. So I said you might go. Sorry, I know how busy you are so don’t worry if—’
‘No, that’s cool. I don’t mind.’
My heart sinks.
He puts the phone to his ear again. ‘No problem,’ he says. ‘Half an hour? Yeah, I guess I can…’ He laughs. ‘Okay, see you in a bit, Darce.’ He ends the call.
‘What about the takeaway?’ I ask, ‘Shall I order it for when you get home?’
‘Nah, I’ll grab a quick snack now and have cheese on toast or something when I get back.’
Disappointment tugs at me. I was looking forward to spending the evening with my husband, eating delicious food and maybe watching a movie. I know I shouldn’t be so selfish. Darcy’s going through hell. The least Jared and I can do is be there for her while she’s so upset.
‘I still can’t believe Mike left her,’ Jared says, opening the fridge and pulling out a tub of hummus. ‘I hope this won’t affect the contract.’
‘Shouldn’t think so,’ I reply, sitting down at the table. ‘Business is business, I guess.’
Jared dollops a lump of hummus onto a cracker and plants a kiss on my forehead. ‘Right, going to get changed and then I’ll be off. See you later, Lou. Love you.’
‘Love you, too.’
I hear the squeak of the dial turning, the hiss of the water coming on, the clatter and bang of the rickety shower door. Jared didn’t get home until after eleven. He texted me earlier to say that Darcy begged him to stay for a drink after their run. That she was really upset. What could I say to him? It would have been mean of me to say no. Now he’s back home having a shower. I’m in bed attempting to read, but I can’t concentrate on the words. I’ve read the same paragraph about a dozen times already, and I still don’t know what it says. I give up, and set my Kindle down on the night stand.
I’ve never experienced this type of jealousy before. I don’t like the way it makes my heart race, my head hot, and my guts churn. The way my fingers shake as I pull the quilt up to my chin. I draw in a deep breath and let it out again, slowly, trying to calm myself and stop the rush of unwelcome thoughts crowding my brain. I trust my husband so there’s nothing to worry about. Darcy needs friends right now, and that’s what we are – friends.
‘Hey.’ Jared comes into the bedroom, naked, drying his hair with a hand towel.
‘Hi,’ I say, my voice tight.
‘You okay? Sorry I’m so late. It was hard to get away. She’s really upset.’
‘I know,’ I say. ‘Poor woman.’ I sit up. ‘Did she tell you why Mike left?’
‘No. She just said they hadn’t been getting on.’
‘How did you leave things? Was she still upset when you left?’
‘Pretty upset, yeah. I don’t think she wanted me to go but it was getting late so I told her to get some sleep. I offered for you to go over tomorrow, but she said she had too much to do. She did ask if I could go running with her again tomorrow evening…’
‘Really? Again. Do you think she wants to make a regular thing of it?’ I have visions of Jared spending all his evenings over there while I wait here, alone. No matter how upset Darcy is over Mike, I’m not sure I could cope with that.
‘I said I wasn’t sure about my work schedule,’ Jared says. ‘Thought I better talk it over with you first.’ Jared slides into bed next to me and kisses me on the lips, his breath minty clean.
‘I don’t mind you running together,’ I lie. ‘But… I’d rather you didn’t spend the whole evening over there. It’s lonely here without you.’
Jared scooches up close to me. ‘I missed you, too,’ he says, kissing my earlobe and my neck.
