‘No,’ Kat said. ‘Not yet.’
‘What?!’
‘He would if I got my hands on him.’
‘Kat, for God’s sake! Tell me!’
‘You were right, you know. Absolutely right.’ She took a deep breath and then blurted it out. ‘Michael has a new girlfriend.’
Chloe let that sentence settle, first on the surface and then, after a few milliseconds, she let it creep inside, waited for her mind and her heart to process it. It was fine. It was to be expected. She had expected it. Why wouldn’t he have moved on? What else was there to do? Except maybe dwell and be too scared to move on like her…
‘OK,’ she said in a tone that definitely gave away that she was, in some way, moved by the news. She hated that.
‘OK?’ Kat clarified, giving Chloe the large eyes seeking confirmation she thought might be detected better if the eyes were made bigger.
‘I mean, yes, it’s been a while, like I said and?—’
‘And… Chloe…’
‘What?’ Chloe asked, heart racing suddenly.
‘I’m just going to say it.’
‘OK.’
Kat gripped her arm and held on tight. ‘She’s pregnant.’
And that moment was the moment she realised that it felt like it wasn’t just her feet sinking into the black sand, it felt like it was her entire being. Pregnant. Michael had a girlfriend. And Michael’s girlfriend was pregnant.
‘That’s why I’m here, Chloe,’ Kat carried on, still holding her. ‘It’s not because I was stressed about my mother coming for Christmas or whatever else I told you about being disorganised. As soon as I saw the post I prayed you weren’t still stalking his social media and I booked a flight and I came so that I could be the one to tell you.’
Pregnant.
‘And I know that telling you on a black sand beach surrounded by frankly very annoying fellow coach trip passengers isn’t the best thing, but when you said about fire dancing, well, I had to tell you.’ Kat took a breath. ‘Because that’s where they were when they made the grand Instagram announcement. On some beach in Bali with a blazing arch and a fiery flash mob like it was a weird over-produced Addison Rae video.’
Pregnant.
Run.
26
Chloe’s heart was pumping hard and her head felt like it might burst as the pressure of a million thoughts all pushed against her skull. She was running up the black sand, boots and the terrain making it heavy work, but she was determined to get as far away from Kat and this revelation as was possible in this moment. Except being utterly determined and focussed about escape was counterintuitive when it came to practicalities. She found herself not caring about her foot placements on the steps upwards, adrenaline surging, hurt powering through her.
‘Chloe, you need to slow down.’
A voice. Her subconscious. Telling her what to do. She was absolutely not listening to reason right now.
She stepped faster, feet slipping as she tried two steps at once.
‘Chloe, stop.’
It was then she realised it wasn’t a voice in her head, it was real. Gunnar.
‘Not stopping,’ she replied, her breath catching as she carried on rushing up the incline.
‘You will stop,’ came the reply. ‘Because you are not reading the signs that say caution is needed. Because the stone is wet. Because you are on my tour.’
‘I don’t care about any of those things. Leave me alone.’
