Page 62 of The Silent Bride
‘That doesn’t help, but no. It’s just not for me. If you could send details of any other one-bedroom flats in the area, that would be great.’
‘Sure.’
Daisy and I leave the flat and I’m happy to be back out in the fresh air. I hope there are better places out there to rent. Otherwise, I might well find myself back at my parents’.
‘There’s something different about you,’ Daisy says, staring at me.
I feel my cheeks warm under her gaze.
‘Different?’
‘Yes. There’s a definite vibe going on.’ She points at me with her forefinger, waving it around.
I shake my head. ‘No. No vibe.’ I change the subject. ‘Do you think I’m being too picky about the flat?’ I ask as we head back towards our own gorgeous apartment. An apartment that I’m now beginning to realise we’ve beenverylucky to have. I’m not sure I’ll ever find anywhere half as nice.
‘Absolutely not,’ she replies. ‘That place was a dive. You can’t live there.’
I’m grateful to her for being honest when it’s in her best interest to have me find somewhere and move out. ‘Thanks, Dais. I promise I’ll do everything I can to find somewhere soon. I know you and Martin were looking forward to having the flat to yourselves.’
‘Honestly, Alice, I promise there’s no rush.’
‘And you know he can absolutely move in now. I don’t mind.’
‘I know you don’t, but I don’t want to make it weird for you. You’ve been through such a traumatic time. He’s fine where he is for now.’
‘It’s not weird for me. I like Martin.’
She nods and looks down at the pavement.
‘Everything okay, Daisy?’
‘Yeah,’ she replies glumly. ‘If you want the truth, I told Martin he could move into our flat now, but he said he’s happy to wait. I think he’s dragging his heels.’
‘No, he’s probably just busy.’
‘Too busy forme,’ she replies.
‘What are we like?’ I shake my head.
‘Pathetic,’ she replies. ‘We should have a girls’ holiday or something. Cheer ourselves up.’
‘Sounds like heaven, but I’ve literally just had two weeks off work, and I’m not sure it would go down too well if I took any more time off. Plus, I’m skint, apart from my deposit money.’
‘Next year,’ she replies.
‘Definitely.’
We walk in silence for a moment or two, lost in our own thoughts.
‘How are you doing since you ended things with Seth?’ she asks.
‘Okay, kind of,’ I reply, as we turn into our street. ‘I think I made the right call. I feel better, knowing I don’t have to see him any more.’
‘Really?’ Daisy still doesn’t get why I ended things with Seth. I know it must seem strange to have been so in love with someone one minute and then ending things the next. But it was an odd, unexplainable situation. I wonder if I’ll ever get to the bottom of it.
I also can’t help wondering if maybe Laurence would be a better fit for me than Seth was. We’re already so close. We know almost everything about each other so there would be no nasty surprises. But do we have that all-important chemistry? Do I actually fancy Laurence? I can honestly say I’ve never thought about him like thatbefore. I’m not the kind of person whose eyes stray to other people while I’m in a relationship. When I was with Seth, I was all in.Until I wasn’t. I don’t love Seth any more, but could I love Laurence?
‘Something happened yesterday,’ I say, my heart starting to pound as I realise I’m about to tell Daisy.
