The fizzing intensified. ‘Stop saying my fucking name.’
‘Whoa. Relax.’ He was now holding up both hands at her, like she was pointing a gun to his head.
‘No. You fucking relax,’ she said louder than intended. It was hard to stop now. ‘I … I … do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?’
‘Okay, time to leave I think,’ Milo said, chuckling as he opened the bathroom door, letting himself out. The men from the bathtub were waiting outside like bodyguards – perhaps they were. Rose stayed still, staring back at them. They patted Milo on the back and walked off, laughing.
SIX
There were fifteen missed calls when Rose woke up. Three of them from Minnie. The rest were from Luce. Fuck: girls’ night. An instant wave of nausea hit her, like someone was dancing on her gag reflex. She ran through all the excuses she could offer up. It was a work thing. She had to convince Clara to come to the event or she’d lose her job. Her phone temporarily glitched. She fell down one of those giant unexplained holes in the street and lost all sense of time and space for the exact amount of time they were meant to be having their girls’ night. Rose sighed. There were no excuses. There was just Milo.
Flashbacks of him in the bathroom played out like a mental tableau. The dancing turned to stamping. Rose groaned and muffled her face into the pillow, trying to work out a plan of action. Luce first. The best thing to do was ring her. FaceTime would work well; it was harder to be angry over FaceTime. Rose’s face filled the screen; she looked haggard, all sunken eyes and grey skin. She would eat something green after the call.
Luce answered on the second ring and Rose’s face shrunk to the right-hand corner.
‘What the actual fuck?’
Even in her anxious, post-break-up state, Luce still looked like she’d just returned from a two-week holiday in Barbados. Her skin was so poreless and clear that it shone; her lips pink and pouted.
‘Luce, please. I’m so sorry.’
Rose put her fingers to her forehead, pausing for a few seconds.
‘I don’t even know where to start. Can I just explain please?’
Luce scoffed. ‘Try me.’
‘It was a work thing, okay?’
Silence.
Rose started from the beginning, clear and clinically, as if pitching to an investor. StandFirst. Firehouse’s flailing readership figures. The importance of social media influencer marketing. Clara.
‘All I’m hearing is that you ditched me to hang out with some hashtag hoe.’
‘Minnie asked me to try and convince her to come to this launch, it wasn’t like that. I promise.’
‘Yeah? Why do you look so hungover then? And why were you online on WhatsApp at two a.m.?’
‘What were you doing up at two a.m.?’
‘Rereading old messages to George.’
‘Luce, you really should stop—’
‘You are in absolutely no position to lecture me right now.’
‘You’re right. I’m really sorry.’
‘Are you going to tell me the truth?’
Rose’s throat went dry. There was no way that Luce knew about Milo.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Oh, come off it, Rose. I know Milo was there.’
‘What?’
‘Are you dating him? Is that what this is about?’
‘Of course not.’ Rose could feel her eyes watering.
‘I saw pap photos of him leaving some hotel last night. And according to Clara’s Instagram Stories, she was also at that hotel. It’s all over the Daily Mail. They think they’re dating.’
‘Oh God.’
‘I knew this would happen.’
‘Luce, look, this isn’t what you think.’
‘Whatever. I didn’t end up coming to London after you ignored all of my calls so I’m going to be at home for a bit longer. I’ll see you when I see you.’
‘I really miss—’ but before Rose could finish her sentence, Luce was gone and she was staring at the ghost of herself again.
She still had another hour before she could get away with making something up about a broken boiler and working from home. The only thing to do now was turn her phone off, set an alarm for 9.29 a.m., and go back to sleep.
When the alarm went off, Rose could only see Milo’s face. He was grinning, looming over her like a demonic clown. And the laughter. God, the laughter; it ran around her head like a siren. Rose shook her head and closed her eyes until it all dissolved. Everything was thudding steadily, her throat raspy from the cigarettes she must have chain-smoked at some point. She replied to Minnie, who’d left several concerned messages.
