I nod my head, which prompts them both to sigh heavily.
‘Amorie . . .’
‘I know. I had one job – not to fall for my cute travel friend, and I messed up and did it anyway.’ I take one big sniff through my snotty nose.
He keeps texting me about Nice. He keeps asking when we’ll next meet, because I can’t give an answer because I’m terrified. I don’t know if I can be around Noah any more without being reminded of the brutal truth... that while I fell in love, he fell for another girl and caused me to fall apart in the process.
‘Oh, babe, we’ve all been there,’ Paige says softly. ‘Falling for a friend can be pretty rough.’ Her hand moves to my back, rubbing it softly as she speaks. I close my eyes and rock into it, following each motion, letting it lull me back to peace. ‘Have you asked him how he feels?’
I shake my head. ‘I don’t need to.’ A small quiver accompanies the words as new tears fall from my eyes. ‘He’s off in Nice with another girl, telling her how he feels. They’ll be so cute and happy and in love, and I’ll be...’
I take a deep, broken breath, blowing it out of firmly pursed lips. Sara’s arm flings round my shoulders as I lean into her, my head falling helplessly into the crook of her neck.
We must look like a state, all three of us sitting on the cobblestones, huddled together as I weep softly in the middle, but I don’t care. This is exactly what I need. With them by my side, the world feels a little less bleak.
. . .a letter to Juliet
My sisters left for the day without me this morning – got changed, grabbed their handbags and left me to wallow. It was for the best. All I can do right now is bring the vibe down and that’s no way to spend their last day abroad.
I pack my body in as tightly as it will go, curling up into a tiny pearl in the ocean of my king-size bed. Mourning Noah was hard enough when it was something I kept locked away, but now that it’s out in the open it hurts even more. I want to disappear under the covers, close my eyes and wake up sometime when my heart is no longer broken.
I wake up from my third nap of the day to the sound of a beep, then an opening latch of the hotel-room door.
‘How are you doing, Squeak?’ Paige asks as the pair shuffle in.
I glance up at their arms overflowing with shopping bags before resting my head back on the pillow and closing my eyes.
‘Have you been up at all? Showered?’ Sara asks, setting her bags down. ‘We brought you back a pastry from this cute bakery. You would have loved it.’
I let out a small groan of thanks as I stir, before pulling the covers tight over my head. That doesn’t stop them from pushing. I feel a dip in the bed as Paige sits next to the mound I’ve left and holds my hand through the sheet.
‘Paige, please. Not in your outside clothes,’ I hear Sara whisper as she too comes closer.
The two of them softly squabble, their voices hushed but clipped, before Sara sighs deeply and the bed dips again. Aslither of light finds my eyes as her hand pulls back the covers just enough to stroke me gently on the head.
‘We missed you today, Squeak,’ she says.
She pulls more of the sheet down, completely freeing my face so they can both look me in the eyes. They tower over me, their faces deeply concerned and I feel a second lump form where the first has barely left in my throat.
‘I’m fine.’ My voice cracks.
A stray tear rolls down my face just in time with the end of my terribly unconvincing sentence. Sara catches it with her thumb, tenderly brushing it aside and smoothing over the area like it never existed.
‘You sound fine,’ Paige says jokingly.
I give a small, empty huff of an attempt at a laugh. She squeezes my hand tighter, her eyes sinking as she looks into my own, before jumping off the bed and clasping her hands together.
‘Right, let’s get you fed,’ Paige says.
She grabs a paper bag from the table and runs it over, shoving it in my hand.
‘Sit up.’ Sara taps the bed twice.
The two make enough room for me to shuffle up to a sitting position, with my back propped against the headboard. They reposition themselves in turn, both choosing to sit cross-legged, facing me from the bottom of the bed. I peek into the bag and see a fat, white wedge of cream, sandwiched between two domes of soft, golden pastry. I take a bite.
‘Okay, that’s good,’ I mumble, mouth still partially full.
‘And we have something else for you too,’ Sara says.
