‘Thanks a lot, Sophie,’ Mark said drily, as she followed Olivia from the room.
Soon after that, the party started breaking up.
‘Well, I guess we should be off,’ Mark said to Claire. ‘I’ll just find Olivia to tell her and then I’ll call a taxi.’
‘Okay. I’m going to the loo.’
When Claire got to the top of the stairs, she heard muffled voices coming from a door opposite. She recognised Sophie’s and it sounded like she was crying.
‘I mean, I’ve gone to all this bloody trouble to clean up my act and sort myself out, and he doesn’t evencare. He’s fucking moved on!’
‘But you didn’t just do it for him, did you?’ Olivia said softly.
‘Of course I did it for him!’ Sophie said, on a sob. ‘He’s all there is. Oh God, Ol, what am I going to do? If I can’t get him back…’ She sniffed.
Claire froze. She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she needed to know what was going on between Sophie and Mark.
‘You needed to sort yourself out anyway,’ Olivia said sensibly. ‘For your own sake.’
‘I know. But what’s the point? If I can’t have him, I’d rather be back on drugs.’
‘You’re such a drama queen,’ Olivia mocked, earning a half-laugh from Sophie. ‘I wish you’d at least given me some warning you were going to turn up tonight.’
‘I was afraid you’d tell me not to come.’
‘I might have done,’ Olivia said.
‘Honestly, Ol, I didn’t care about doing it for myself. The whole time I was in rehab, I just thought abouthim– how pleased he’d be. I wanted him to be proud of me.’
‘He is proud of you, babe. We all are. But you may not get him back. You have to accept that.’
‘I can’t!’ Sophie wailed.
‘Sorry, Soph, but Claire seems really nice. She could be good for him.’
‘Not like me, you mean. God, I’ve never wanted to get wasted so much!’
‘I didn’t mean that, but you hurt Mark a lot.’
‘I know, I know,’ Sophie sobbed. ‘I’ve been a total flake and a fuck-up and I messed him around too many times. I’ve let everyone down so often. But if he’d just give meonemore chance…’
Claire turned and raced downstairs, as if she was being chased. Mark was waiting for her in the hall.
‘Okay?’ he asked, looking at her with concern.
‘Fine,’ she said faintly.
‘The taxi’s outside.’
She felt too shaken to say anything in the cab on the way home. When Mark glanced over at her and asked if she was all right a couple of times, she just smiled and said she was fine, but the conversation she had overheard had really rattled her. Mark obviously knew that something was up – and he probably had a good idea of what it was. But it would have to wait until they got home. She needed time to gather her thoughts and calm down.
‘Well, that was an interesting evening,’ Mark said wryly, when they got back to his flat. ‘Sorry about the food.’
‘It’s not your fault. It was… different.’
‘So, would you like a drink? Or do you just want to go to bed?’
At the mention of bed, Claire knew she had to say something. She suddenly felt like an impostor. Everything had changed, and she couldn’t go to bed with Mark now, knowing she might be sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend.
