‘You don’t want to be here for ever either.’
Darcy shrugs. ‘I won’t be. I’ve nearly got enough saved to go travelling for a few months, then who knows?’ She smiles slyly. ‘Maybe I’ll even take Aaron with me.’
Lissa frowns. ‘Who is … Your date?!’ Darcy is nodding. Lissa laughs, pulling a hand through her hair. ‘You have one date and you’re goingtravellingwith him?’
‘Well, to be fair, I haven’t actually told him this yet, but I always said I’ll know when I know, didn’t I? And I’m pretty sure I know. So now I just have to work on convincing him of that too.’
Lissa reaches for Darcy’s hand, squeezes it. ‘If he’s smart, he’ll already be convinced.’
Darcy twirls her other hand in the air. ‘Well exactly. Come on, let’s go get a celebratory coffee.’
‘Ah … shouldyouskive off work in the middle of the day?’
‘Sure. Liam’s not out to getme, remember?’
They walk to the nearest coffee shop, order two cappuccinos and take a seat by the window.
‘Can I ask how the funeral went?’ Darcy asks in a quiet voice.
Lissa scrubs her hands over her face. ‘It was … I mean, the ceremony was beautiful. And Ash … He’s definitely notokay, but …’ She breaks off, looking at Darcy. ‘He’s leaving,’ she whispers. She’s been trying not to say it out loud. Trying not to think it. Trying not to remember his expression right before he turned away from her.
I love you, Lissa. I just thought you should know that.
And she just stood there staring.
‘Leaving?’ Darcy asks with a frown.
‘Bath,’ Lissa explains, trying to keep her voice totally normal. ‘He only ever moved back here for his dad.’
Darcy picks up her coffee, studies Lissa over the rim of the cup. ‘I’m guessing you didn’t ask him to stay.’
‘I couldn’t, Darce. I …’ She trails off, bites her lip. Looks out the window at the golden hue of the city, then back at her friend. And takes a breath. ‘Okay. I’m going to tell you something mad. And just to be clear, Iknowit’s mad, okay? But I need someone to talk to about it.’
‘Okay,’ Darcy says. ‘Shoot.’
When she’s done, Darcy considers her for a solid minute without speaking. ‘You really believe it,’ she says eventually.
Lissa lets out a shaky laugh. ‘Yeah. I really do. Do you think I’m crazy?’
‘Nah.’ Darcy waves a hand in the air, then cocks her head. ‘Okay, maybe a little. But I love you anyway.’
Lissa snort-laughs and feels something like relief course through her. It doesn’t really matter if Darcy believes it. She’s okay withLissabelieving it, and that’s what counts.
‘Maybe it’s not about the fact that you keep dying in the past,’ Darcy says musingly. ‘Maybe it’s about the universe offering up the chance to get it right one day.’
It’s a nice thought, Lissa concedes. ‘How do I know, though,’ she murmurs, ‘that I’m not making the same mistakes? That it’s not just going to happen all over again?’
‘Well, I suppose you don’t. Or I guess it’s like with anything else – the only way we stop making mistakes is to learn from them. And the only way to learn is to look at why the mistakes happened in the first place – which might mean looking at the parts of yourself you don’t want to face up to.’
Lissa considers her. ‘Anyone ever tell you you’re pretty wise?’
‘Oh, all the time. Dr D, remember?’
‘I thought that was your supervillain alter ego.’
‘Well, supervillains are usually wise, aren’t they?’
‘I mean, no, not notoriously.’
