Page 86 of You Spin Me Round

What for?She asked.

Because I need your help,came the reply.

With what?

You’ll see.

I’m not coming because you click your fingers, Alex.

This isn’t finger-clicking. It’s begging. I’m on my knees, Leigh. I really need your help.

Leigh was amazed that Alex was being so contrite, but not enough to drag her arse back to that glitzy mess. At least not right away.

She waved at the bartender, and he came over. ‘I’ll have another whisky.’

‘If you don’t mind me saying, maybe you should order something you like?’ the bartender said, placing her glass under the optic and injecting it with a fresh shot of whisky.

‘I like it fine.’

‘You keep grimacing.’

‘I’m having a long, dark night of the soul. You can’t pair those with Malibu and Coke,’ Leigh explained.

The bartender smiled. ‘There’s a million ways to poison yourself. You might as well make it a fun one.’

‘I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment,’ Leigh theorised as she paid for the drink.

She drank the drink, grimaced, and shoved a tenner in the tip jar. She walked out of the bar, still trying to decide which way she’d go. Away from this chaos to reevaluate everything? Or right back into madness?

Thirty-Seven

Alex dragged herself back into the hotel, intending to humble herself before Isabelle and beg her not to press charges. She also told herself she was never going to get in contact with Leigh ever again. Alex couldn’t be around her anymore. It was starting to feel like torture. Something kept trying to get out of Alex, and she wanted that thing, whatever it was, to climb back down and, ideally, die.

In the ballroom, people were getting loud and sloshed. It was still a good few hours until the actual screening, but Alex didn’t think most would make it that far. Not that it mattered. It was only listed for appearance’s sake. People were here to be greased and nothing more. Hell, even Alex hadn’t seen the movie.

Alex spotted Erin still propping up the bar. She truly did want to kick the living shit out of her; she wasn’t kidding about that. These new violent impulses needed to be curbed, or she was gonna be stabbing people by next week.

She let Erin be for the time being and kept looking for Isabelle. She couldn’t seem to spot her because the place was heaving, packed a fair bit tighter. Either people had come late, or randoms were getting past security.

Maybe Isabelle wasn’t in here, anyway. Maybe she was nursing her cheek in private. One of the few places that might be empty right now was the screening room.

Alex left the party again and went down the corridor to a smaller room where the movie was to be shown on a large screen. She opened the door and popped her head in. Someone was in the first row of seats, but it wasn’t Isabelle.

‘Steven!’ Alex said as Isabelle’s assistant came into focus. ‘What are you doing in here?’

He turned in his seat, slightly frightened. ‘Just getting some work done.’

‘Have you seen Isabelle?’ Alex asked him.

‘No!’ he said quickly.

‘I’m just trying to find her so I can apologise,’ Alex explained. ‘I’m not after round two.’

‘She’s probably in the car,’ Steven told her.

Alex nearly left to follow his suggestion. But something inside her said that opportunity lay in the room. Maybe she reallywaspart shark because she smelt blood in the water.

She closed the door behind her and went down to the front row of seating, sitting right next to him. ‘Steven, we’ve never really talked, have we?’

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