Page 77 of Plot Twist

‘She’s my boss, Becca.’

‘Not any more,’ I pointed out. ‘You’re the same level now. Even-stevens. That’s what you said.’

‘I never said that. I wouldn’t say that. That phrase,’ he said.

Shit. Shit. Shit. He hadn’t said that. It was Leila. It was on her social media page.

‘Oh,’ I said.

The penny dropped right about then. I could see it all over his face as he realised.

‘You’ve been looking at her social media,’ he said.

‘What? No.’ I shook my head.

Deny to the death. That was my new plan. How had this suddenly turned on me? He was the one in the wrong, not me.

‘Becca, don’t lie to me.’

He placed his fork on the plate and looked me dead in the eye.

‘All right, Inspector Fucking Morse. I look at her social media every so often. It’s not a fucking crime. And do you know who’s a star guest on it? You.’

His face flushed a deep shade of pink. Embarrassment, I thought at first, but when he spoke, I realised it wasn’t. He was angry. Really fucking angry.

‘She doesn’t even tag me in pictures. You must actively go on and seek them out.’

‘Every girl does it, Drew.’

‘Oh wait, because Rae does it then it means it’s normal? Mickey is an asshole, Becca. Don’t put me and you in the same category as him. Them.’

‘At least Mickey wants to come to her graduation,’ I pointed out. ‘He might be a horrible person who has sucked every ounce of confidence she ever had but at least he wants to support her on the most important day of her life.’

‘Enough!’ Drew’s chair flew back to the floor as he stood up. He threw his napkin down on the table. ‘Becca, I can’t deal with your insecurities any more. There is nothing going on between me and Leila.’

‘Yet,’ I muttered under my breath but also loud enough for him to hear. ‘You do know this is exactly what she wants, Drew. She’s been after you from the minute you first met.’

‘Oh God, Becca! What, she wants you to stalk her on social media and then accidentally slip up and tell me what she’s saying so we break up? Is that it?’

‘Are we breaking up?’

My eyes filled with tears at the words coming out of his mouth. I’d pushed him to it. I knew that.

‘I think we are,’ he said.

And with that, he walked away. I blinked back tears and took out my phone. I could barely see the words as I scrolled through mindless nothingness, just to look like I was doing something as the tables all turned back round to their conversations and the low chatter resumed across the room.

The waiter arrived at my side a few minutes later.

‘Your, em, friend paid the bill before he left,’ he said. ‘And he left a tip. So no need to.’

Always following the fucking hospitality etiquette. That was Drew.

36

NINE YEARS AGO

‘Look,’ Rae said. ‘I’m sorry, Becca. There’s no easy way to say this. But he’s lying. He is seeing Leila.’