Page 52 of The Ex Factor

Ashley just wanted to go now, and she turned, expecting Molly to follow silently.

Instead, Molly looked Ashley’s dad square in the eye and said, ‘Oh, we will.’ Then she turned slightly to Ashley. ‘Shall we?’

She grabbed Ashley by the hand and led her off. And Ashley was shocked to find she was trying not to laugh.

***

In Ashley’s bedroom, Molly closed the door behind them. ‘Whoa. You are neat.’

Ashley looked at her bedroom through Molly’s eyes. It did look a bit overly organised.

The bed was made properly, corners tucked in. Guitar pedals sat in a plastic crate, each one facing the same direction. Spare strings, capos and picks lived together in labelled biscuit tins she’d stolen from the kitchen. Two guitars rested on a stand beside the window. Her battered acoustic from busking and the cherry-red electric she’d bought second-hand after nearly a year of saving.

There were posters, but only a handful. Joni Mitchell. Jeff Buckley. Radiohead. None of them framed. Blu-Tack had left pale circles where older heroes had once lived.

Molly was still looking around with an expression somewhere between admiration and anthropological curiosity.

‘I bet all your socks are paired.’

‘Sorry.’

‘It wasn’t a criticism.’ Then Molly let out a breath, almost a laugh. ‘So… your dad’s intense.’

Ashley winced. ‘He’s not usually that bad.’

Molly raised an eyebrow. ‘Ya sure?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe I’m just used to him.’

‘Did I… Should I not have said that thing about curfews? Was I rude?’

‘He was rude. You just matched his energy,’ Ashley told her sincerely. She was happy Molly hadn’t taken his shit. It told her that Molly was exactly who Ashley thought she was. And she liked Molly all the better for it.

Somehow, they ended up sitting side by side on the edge of the bed, apparently their favoured position. And they sat like that for a long time, in a lovely peace that Ashley had never experienced in the company of another person.

‘Is it okay?’ Molly asked, quieter now. ‘With him downstairs.’

Ashley nodded once. ‘Yeah,’ she said. She hoped that was true. That he wasn’t going to suddenly bang on the door with some excuse to intrude and ruin the moment.

She realised Molly was watching her.

‘What?’ Ashley asked.

Molly smiled faintly. ‘You’ve gone somewhere.’

‘Have I?’

‘Mmm.’

Ashley looked down at her own hands. She had been twisting the cuff of her sleeve without noticing. She let go of it immediately, embarrassed at having been caught doing something so unmistakably anxious.

Molly reached over and untwisted the fabric again with surprising care.

‘There,’ she said. ‘Better.’

Ashley laughed softly. ‘You fixed me.’

Their eyes met in one of those charged looks that kept happening.