What was he doing here? Why was he—
Then it hit her. A memory dragged through the scrapyard of her consciousness, assaulting her senses.
Launching herself at Fin.
Kissing Fin.
‘Oh no.’ Her hand flew to her mouth. Her stomach heaved, guilt and confusion threatening to drown her.
She ran into the bathroom, her body springing to life with the sparks of adrenaline. Throwing herself under the shower, she turned the water up to the hottest setting and scrubbed at her skin. She wanted to erase the entire memory, remove its traces from her and emerge anew, but the thoughts were whirling around faster than she could keep up with.
Did he kiss you back?
Does it matter?
Yes!
When was I sick?
Oh God, no …
Straight after?
Oh God, yes …
‘Argh!’ she screamed into the burning stream of water.
A loud knocking on the door stopped her immediately.
‘Eleanor?’ Fin’s voice drifted through the steam. ‘Are you OK in there?’ he called.
‘Yes. I’m fine,’ she shouted back, overly bright and way too breezy. ‘I’ll be out in a second.’
‘That’s OK, as long as you’re all right,’ he replied.
All right? This whole thing is anything but all right.
She allowed herself five more minutes under the shower before stepping out to face him.
‘Hey! How are you feeling?’ He was sitting on the edge of the bed, folding up the blankets he’d used for his makeshift bed.
‘I can’t say I’m feeling my best.’ She grimaced. ‘How are you? Sleeping on the floor can’t have been too comfortable.’ She hovered awkwardly, unsure whether to sit or stand or crawl back into bed. Her body throbbed with the hangover.
‘I’ve slept on worse, trust me.’ He smiled.
Eleanor pulled her towel tighter around her, the damp curls trailing down her back sending a chill along her spine.
‘Sorry, you probably want to get changed and stuff,’ Fin mumbled, his face turning a shade of red that matched his ruffled hair. ‘I’ll head back to my hotel and get cleaned up.’ He stood and made his way to the door. ‘Are you going to be all right to drive?’
You kissed him.
You kissed that face and then vomited all over him.
‘Elles?’ His voice cut through her whirring thoughts.
‘Oh – yes.’ She pulled her mouth into a forced smile. ‘I’ll be fine. I’ll down a coffee or twelve and then come by and pick you up. Say in an hour?’
He nodded, a strange expression clouding his face. If only Eleanor had a fully functioning brain cell left to decipher it. ‘See you in an hour.’
