CHAPTER SEVEN
Reece
Shit! My heart sinks as I watch Holden disappear out the door. That was definitely not a good start.
“What did you do?” I turn and find myself confronted by a dark-haired woman holding two glasses. She’s stylish, in a quirky way, with heavy bangs and flashing violet eyes. Her mouth is formed into a tight line.
“What?” I ask.
“Holden.” She nods her head towards the exit. “What happened?”
“I just said hello.” I shrug, not sure what I’ve actually done.
She huffs a disapproving sound and sets the drinks down on the nearest table. “I need to go and find him.” She sets off across the room and I fall into step beside her.
“What are you doing here?” She shoots at me as we walk down the hallway.
“It’s my school reunion,” I reply and she stops abruptly, tipping her head back with a barely concealed sneer.
“Are you always this obnoxious?”
No, not usually, but I’m wound up from spending the last few hours looking for Holden and then him running out on me, so worry is dulling my ability to be nice.
“I’ve lived in the UK for the last twenty years,” I answer like it’s some excuse.
“Who are you?” she asks, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Reece Fisher, who are you?”
She ignores my question and turns sharply, and continues walking quickly along the corridor. I catch up with her within three strides.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she says bluntly. I bite back the answer that I can certainly be at my own school reunion as it would just reinforce her opinion of me. But her comment tells me that she’s heard of me, and I’m not sure how much she knows. Probably enough judging by the black looks she keeps giving me. Well, tough. I’ve come this far and I want to see Holden, check if he’s alright as he certainly didn’t look like it. We come to a stop outside the men’s bathroom.
“You need me to go in there?” I point to the sign on the door.
The expression on her face conveys that she definitely doesn’t need me as she pushes open the door herself. I follow her into the men’s room and stand by the door. It looks empty.
“Holden?” she calls softly. “Are you in here?”
Holden backs out of a cubicle and she rushes over and puts an arm round him, guiding him to the sink and running some water. He hunches over and sloshes some onto his face. She hands him some paper towels. Once he’s cleaned up he stands and turns. I don’t like the look of shock that comes across his face but I should’ve expected it.
“W-w-what’s he doing here?” he asks, his voice rising.
I’d almost forgotten he had a stammer. I internally wince, not that he has it, but because it was one of the things I taunted him about. I really was a piece of shit back then.
The woman glowers at me. “He followed me, like a bad smell. I said he shouldn’t have after he scared you.”
“He didn’t s-scare me. I-I-I was s-sick from the alcohol,” he says.
“Holden, I’d like to talk to you if I may?” I ask, and Holden snaps his head toward me.
“S-so you can taunt me? Well, you can now add being sick at my own reunion to the list,” he says with a vehemence that surprises me. I take care to keep my voice calm.
“No, I’m not going to do that. I’m not the same person I was then.”
He takes a deep breath and replies. “Neither am I, and I won’t take it anymore.”
I can see by the determined set of his jaw how much it took for him to say that. I both admire him for it and hate that I made it so he had to.
