My heart begins to beat faster as I swallow. ‘You’re making me uncomfortable.’
Which is when Ellie’s voice rings down the corridor like a school bell.
‘Kaaaat!’
Greg flinches as Ellie barrels around the corner at full speed, nearly colliding with me.
‘Oh,’ she says, glancing between us. ‘Hello there.’
Greg steps back, dropping his arm from the doorway. I don’t hesitate before barging around him.
‘Come on,’ Ellie says, taking me by the hand and tugging me down the corridor. ‘Coffee awaits, and you can tell me all about whatever that was.’
Halfway down the corridor, I glance back over my shoulder. Greg looks furious, those shadowed eyes still burning into me. For a second, that horrible thought stabs back into my head.
Fourteen years.
That awful crunch.
What if the boy from the woods grew up with a different memory of that summer than I did? What if he grew up hating me for what I did?
What if he wants revenge?
The stone heart at my neck feels heavier as I curl my fingers around it, a shiver running up my back.
The coffee shop is so busy that we queue for ages, Ellie checking her watch every thirty seconds. I can’t help but scan the windows looking over the concourse outside, that feeling of being watched creeping over me.
Ellie nudges me as we get to the front of the queue, looking at me like I’ve grown two heads.
‘Cappuccino, please. Double shot,’ she says to the barista, before turning to me. ‘I feel like I’m going to need to pin my eyes open to make it through my next lecture.’
The barista flushes a deep red as Ellie speaks to him. He’s always all gooey-eyed for her, and barely ever even deigns to look up when I order.
He can’t be much older than us. Maybe twenty-four. Soft brown hair flopping into his eyes, his apron tied a little squint around his waist.
He looks at Ellie like she might lean over the counter and bite him. And that if she did, he’d enjoy it.
‘Yes. Yes, of course,’ he stammers, reaching for the cups with trembling hands.
I lean against the counter beside her, watching the poor man unravel under Ellie’s attention. Can’t blame the poor guy, Ellie’s hot. She’s leggy and vivacious,funny and just has a swipe of Nigella Lawson about her. She could make sharpening pencils sexy, I bet.
Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance when she leans over and flashes a killer smile. ‘Could I have extra chocolate on top, please, Sam?’
It’s borderline cruel.
‘Just a latte for me,’ I say, tapping my card when he grunts and rings it up.
Within about thirty seconds, my drink is shoved into my hand while Ellie’s is slid sheepishly toward her. I roll my eyes when Ellie grazes her fingers over his as she grabs the cup.
‘Thank you,’ I say, a little sarcastically, being that I may as well not exist.
We carry our drinks to a small table by the window, and the moment we sit down, I lean over and raise a brow at Ellie.
‘He’s totally smitten. Are you going to put him out of his misery?’
Ellie blows across her coffee.
‘He is not.’
