Lissa feels her face crumple. ‘I’m so sorry, Mia. I shouldn’t have called you.’
Mia blinks slowly again, clearly forcing herself into full wakefulness. ‘Of course you should have. That’s what I’m here for. But now that you’re up, I’d kill for some coffee.’
‘You got it,’ Lissa says, as brightly as she can. ‘No murder necessary.’
She pulls on some socks and heads to her little kitchen, scraping her hair back into a bun. Her head is hurting again, pressure at her temples. It’s because she’s tired and stressed after last night, she tells herself firmly.
Mia comes into the kitchen, phone in the palm of one hand, as Lissa is pouring out the coffee from the cafetière. She’s already dressed in her work clothes, freckly face a little paler than usual. Lissa hands her a mug of coffee, after putting in an extra teaspoon of sugar, like she’s trying to emulate Mary fucking Poppins or something.
‘Can I make you breakfast?’ she asks. ‘I can do toast. I think I’ve got some eggs. And I’ve got—’
‘Lissa,’ Mia says firmly. ‘It’s fine. As long as you’re okay.’
Lissa swallows, nods. ‘I’m okay.’
Mia smiles a little sadly over her mug. ‘I wish I could make it better.’
‘I know,’ Lissa whispers.
Mia moves across the kitchen, puts one slim arm around Lissa’s shoulders. ‘I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but it’s not your fault. What happened to Chloe, what is happening to your mum. You know that, right?’ Lissa says nothing, because Mia is wrong, but she doesn’t want to argue the fact, not after Mia has been here for her, the way she always is.
Still with her arm around Lissa, Mia lifts her phone, smiles at something. Because she’s standing so close, Lissa can see the message – a long one, fromLottie, NYC.She averts her eyes as Mia takes another sip of coffee.
But she can’t stop herself from commenting. ‘That looks like more than the occasional GIF to me.’ Mia frowns up at her. ‘I didn’t read it,’ Lissa adds. ‘Just an observation, that’s all.’
‘Yeah, well. We talk a lot.’ It’s said like an admission, like Mia has something to feel guilty about. ‘I thought it would peter out, but we just, I don’t know …’ She taps her index finger against her phone. ‘She might come over here. To see me.’
‘That’s exciting! Isn’t it?’ Lissa adds, because Mia doesn’t look particularly enamoured with the idea. ‘Or do you not really like her – are you just talking to be polite or something?’
‘No,’ Mia says slowly. ‘I like her, it’s just …’ She shakes her head. ‘Nothing. It’ll be fun if she comes. I’m overthinking it.’
‘Well, tell me if she does. I’d love to meet her – if that’s not too intense.’
‘Of course. We’ll go to the pub or something.’ Mia lifts her phone again, clearly to check the time.
‘Please don’t feel you have to stay,’ Lissa says quickly. ‘I know you have work.’
Mia bites her lip. ‘I would stay. It’s just, today is a London day and—’
‘You don’t need to explain. I shouldn’t have even—’
She holds up a hand to cut Lissa off. ‘Stop.’ She sets her mug down on the counter. ‘So look, maybe we could do a spa day soon. Invite Darcy if you want too.’
‘A spa day?’
‘Sure. I thought it might be good for us. They’re supposed to be relaxing, right?’
‘So I’ve heard.’ Lissa contemplates Mia, picking up her own mug and cupping it in her hands. She has a suspicion that by ‘us’ she means Lissa specifically. Emotion clogs her throat, but she manages to smile. ‘I’d love that. Thank you.’
She sees her own phone light up on the counter and picks it up automatically, her stomach tightening with dread at the thought that it might be her mum again. It’s a Facebook message, though, which makes her frown. She has a Facebook account, but she hasn’t posted on there in about five years. Some kind of scam, maybe?
When she sees the name, her heart does a funny kind of nervous spasm. Ash Hawthorne.
Hey. I hope it’s not weird to track you down like this. I just wanted to check you were okay after yesterday.
Then a follow-up message:It’s Ash btw. Mark’s friend.
She stares down at it for a moment. He’s checking she’s okay. She can’t work out whether to be embarrassed or pleased by that.
