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Going around to the lobby, I was on my way to the reception desk when my path was intercepted by the same tall man who’d escorted me out this morning. Tristan’s dad had called him Mr Parsons. He didn’t seem as scary now, and his expression was almost sympathetic. Ah hell, did everyone know about me? I guessed Tristan must’ve come clean to his dad about it all after I’d left. Was that how Natalie and her friends had found out? Did they know someone who worked here? This explanation strangely made me feel a little better. It meant Tristan hadn’t carelessly blabbed about my situation as I’d feared.

“I take it you’re looking for your belongings,” he said, and I nodded. “Come with me.”

I followed him into a small office just off the lobby. It was full of CCTV monitors, and another man was watching the screens. Mr Parsons had my things stored away in the corner. I grabbed both bags and turned to leave when I paused and turned back.

“Could you give Tristan a message from me?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“Can you tell him I said thank you for everything? Tell him I appreciate his kindness and all he did for me. Tell him that I’m leaving town with my sister, and he probably won’t hear from me again, but I’ll never forget how he helped me.”

Emotion formed a lump in the back of my throat.

Mr Parson’s expression softened. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell him yourself? It seems like—”

“No, it’s better this way. Please just tell him what I said.”

With that, I quickly left, walking in the direction of the train station. Once there, I bought a one-way ticket. I found a window seat and settled in. It would take maybe an hour and a half to get to Bray, where my uncle lived. My chest was tight to be leaving like this, and it hurt to wonder about what might’ve been if things were different.

As the train left the station and I watched the scenery drift by, I told myself that this was for the best. Sloane and I would be with family, and perhaps we’d finally get to settle down and live our lives, make something of ourselves. I was already a couple of stops away when my phone vibrated with a text from Tristan.

Hey, where are you? I’m at Christine’s, but they said you left early.

Tears welled behind my eyes as I pulled up the options and blocked his number. I felt ridiculous to be this upset to leave behind someone I’d only known for such a short while, but Tristan Balfe was someone who’d left a mark. It was true when I said I’d never forget him, and I hoped he wasn’t too hurt by my disappearance, but even if he was, it wouldn’t last long. A boy like him had his whole life ahead of him. The world was his oyster. He might be sad for a little while, but he’d soon move on, and I’d be nothing but a blip in his memory.

Just that girl he once knew who was gone from his life almost as quickly as she arrived.

12.

Tristan

“Tell me again what she said,” I repeated.

I stood by the kitchen counter, raking my hands through my hair in agitation. My parents sat on the other side, both looking at me with sad, sympathetic eyes. Panic was a rising tide within me, my head conjuring all manner of catastrophic reasons why Erin might’ve left without seeing me. She hadn’t said goodbye, and I was gutted. I’d never been so distressed, not even when Rhys turned up at our house, battered and bruised by his own father.

“She told Mr Parsons to tell you she said thanks for everything,” Dad replied. “That she appreciated your kindness and all you did for her. Then she said that she was leaving town with her sister and that you probably wouldn’t hear from her again, but that she’d never forget how you helped her.”

What was this feeling? I was bereft that she’d gone, but I was also worried. Panic churned up my insides, and I was spiralling. I had so many questions, like what had happened between her sister and Graham? Was he leaving with them or were they going alone? Where were they going, and why couldn’t we stay in touch? I’d texted all this to her phone but had quickly realised she’d blocked my number. It didn’t make any sense. Last night was one of the best nights of my life. I’d been on cloud nine, and now she was gone. I was hurt and confused, and honestly, I was scared. Scared about what she might be running from.

“Tristan darling, you need to calm down,” Mam said, standing and coming to wrap her arms around me.

“I can’t. I need to know what happened to make her leave.”

“Sometimes there are people we can’t help,” Dad put in, and I wanted to argue with him that I could’ve helped Erin if she’d just stuck around. I didn’t bother because he wouldn’t understand. He and Mam had been together for so long. He probably didn’t even remember what it was like to find someone who was everything you didn’t even realise you were looking for, and now, she was gone. The quiet on the other end of my texts hurt in a way I’d never felt before.

I spent the rest of the weekend in my room, losing myself in video games and trying not to fixate on the empty hole in my chest. At school on Monday I found myself searching for her in the crowd, wishing that it was all a big misunderstanding and that she was still here.

By the end of the day on Tuesday, I accepted that she was gone. I was on my way to English when Natalie Green approached me.

“Tristan, I’m so sorry about what Cathy did to Erin on Saturday. When I told her I never thought she’d be cruel enough to confront Erin about it.”

I froze. “What are you talking about?”

Natalie winced. “My brother works at the hotel, and he found out about how you were helping Erin to live in the attic.”

I ground my teeth together. Yeah, he found out all right—by pressing his ear up against my dad’s office door and eavesdropping. Nosy prick. If I were a more vindictive person, I’d have him fired.

“He told me about it and I ended up telling Cathy and some of the other girls. I never imagined she’d say something to Erin, but Cathy took it upon herself to ask her if it were true when we went to Christine’s for coffee. I feel so terrible. Can you tell Erin I’m sorry? I know she must be so embarrassed, and she hasn’t been in class for the last two days.”