‘No one knows, Katy. You’re being a paranoid android.’ Zola shoved Katy to loosen up.
‘I’ve had a million similar emails, Katy. I have a few saying they’ve caught me watching hardcore porn, and if I don’t pay immediately, then they’ll send my family the weird genre I watch! It’s crazy. Because we all know I don’t watch that shit.’ Ella flicked back her hair. ‘It’s a stupid scam, babe,’ she reiterated, trying her hardest to make her friend feel better.
‘But they didn’t ask for money. It literally just said “I know what you did!”’
Zola shook her head. ‘Babe, you’ve donea lotof things. You don’t know if it has anything to do with Travis. Look, we have a big shoot tomorrow. Ella’s picked up our outfits. Let’s have a chill night, then go and smash the interview and put that two-timing prick behind us. You’re overthinking!’
Katy huffed, leaning into Ella for a hug.
‘How was your day with Fee?’ she asked eventually.
Ella pushed back Katy’s hair. ‘Honestly, she’s lovely. She’s kind of impossible not to like, and she really stuck up for me with Britney, who is a complete bitch, by the way.’
Katy sat up. ‘How come?’
Zola rolled her eyes. ‘Wait till you hear this!’
Ella darted up. ‘Grab the laptop! I want to show her the finished logo too!’
For the next few hours, the girls sat around, recounting their days to one another. Surrounded by takeout pasta and cookies, with the breathtaking view of the city’s lights beyond the apartment’s huge windows, they gossiped and vented, enjoying a chill night in New York.
Chapter Twenty
Zola
Zola woke to three missed calls from Curtis.
She squinted at the screen, trying to work out what time it had been back home when he called and whether it was an emergency. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. It was 6 a.m. in New York, which meant it was 11 a.m. in Glasgow. She called him on WhatsApp, and he answered immediately.
‘Hey, how are you?’ she asked. ‘I have missed calls. The day’s only just started here, remember?’
‘Zola.’ His voice was low and croaky. ‘I’ve done something.’
‘What? Are you OK?’ Panic flared as she swung her legs out of bed.
‘I’m OK. I just .?.?. Last night after the gym, I met up with some lads I train with and .?.?. there were some girls there too .?.?.’
Immediately, Zola’s stomach dropped. She closed her eyes, bracing for what he was about to say.
‘And I got really drunk, and I’ve been missing you, Zo.’ She could hear the shake in his voice.
‘Uh huh?’ Zola felt her hands tremble. She pulled the phone away from her ear and took a long, deep breath, trying to stay calm till he continued.
‘With one of the girls, one thing led to another, and I .?.?. I slept with her, Zo.’
Silence down the phone line.
Zola was speechless. She knew she and Curtis weren’t in the best place, but he’d always been someone she could trust. They had been teenagers when they first met and had grown up together. Despite their differences, she thought he’d always be there.
‘I’m so fucking sorry, Zo,’ he blubbered. ‘I hate myself.’
She tried to speak, but felt sickness scorch her throat.
‘Zola. Are you there?’ Curtis called out in panic.
Zola cleared her throat. ‘I’m here. I – I just don’t know what to say.’
‘Look, I know. But it’s not like you haven’t done this to me. You met up with that guy last year, and I know two wrongs don’t make a right, but .?.?.’
