Page 112 of Between Us

‘Try me,’ Roisin said, still walking.

‘Out of all our friends, one of them knew about Beatrice and me. Imagine if that one person had agreed not to tell and keep my secret for me. I imagine you’d feel pretty betrayed by that friend, right? Choosing me, over you?’

Roisin made a shrug gesture and produced her car key fob, while her heart raced.

‘Go ask Matt McKenzie why you didn’t deserve to know. I’m sure he’ll keep his white knight credentials intact through that.’

Roisin betrayed no emotion, despite her queasy shock. ‘You are one spiteful bastard, aren’t you.’

‘Just introducing some balance to the narrative. Inconvenient to your world view, but there we go. One thing I’d like to know, in return,’ Joe said, as she unlocked the car door. ‘How did you find out? I know Bea wouldn’t have told you.’

‘I turned detective again. I’ll let you work it out. You write the stories, don’t you? Thing is, Joe, if you play the odds, sooner or later, you win.’ She hesitated. A last roll of the dice. A neat way of showing his best mate that no onewas sacred. ‘Oh, and Dominic, can I ask you something? What’s Victoria’s closest friend called?’

‘Er. Closest friend? My wife’s? … Jess.’

‘Not Amber? You don’t know an Amber?’

Dominic frowned. ‘Er. No? Amber? Should I? Who’s that?’

‘I think I will take it that your character “Gwen” was based on Gina, then,’ Roisin addressed a glowering Joe. ‘But shouldn’t Vic have a best friend called Amber, who Dominic’s got a secret obsession with?’

‘What?!’ Dominic said.

‘I’ll let you make something else up to cover for that one, Joe. Enjoy your pizzas.’

70

Roisin let herself in with the key that, only hours ago, had felt like such a lasting pledge. She placed it on the coffee table instead of back in her bag, in a tiny act of pessimism and defeat.

‘There you are, I left you a voicemail. I was going to ask if— Are you OK?’ Matt said, seeing Roisin’s murderous countenance.

He snapped the hob ring off, pointed his phone to turn the music down.

‘I found out who Joe was going behind my back with. His long-term ex, who he originally left me for, Beatrice. In York. I met up with her, heard all about it and had a showdown with Joe, just now. Which felt like closing the door on it, on my terms.’

She left a pause, let Matt nod. She could see he was apprehensive.

‘… Except right at the last minute, he told me a really awful thing. He said you knew all along. Tell me it isn’t true, Matt.’ Tears started to slide down Roisin’s face, and she wiped them away. ‘I’ve prayed all the way here you’re going to tell me it’s not true. You’re going to say itistrue, aren’t you?’

She knew it had to be. It made no sense for Joe to use it unless he knew it’d pay off.

‘That total bastard,’ Matt said.

‘Don’t do that!’ Roisin shrieked, emotion breaking free. She’d had to stay in character with Joe; she couldn’t manage that now. ‘Don’t turn it into a You Versus Him! The whole point is you’re better than him, Matt.’

‘I knew about one incident. When we’d be about twenty-six. Not through choice.’

Roisin slumped against the wall. She should’ve known this, the two of them together, was too perfect to be true. Her life never worked out that way.

The flat was quiet and the city noises, a long way down.

‘One evening, I got a pocket dial from him. I answered the call. I didn’t hear much, but enough to get the gist it was not meant to be overheard. He was calling her Bea.’

‘You heard him actually having sex?’Hunter. He’d used this inHunter.Of course Joe had. The whole thing was a crime scene with those number markers next to each exhibit.

‘No,’ Matt said, ‘but as good as. I could tell it was a possibility in the near future, put it that way. I messaged him and asked what was going on. He scrambled to meet me for a pint and did the whole number about how it was a mistake, he was knocking it on the head immediately.Don’t ruin what I have with Roisin, she’s the love of my life. My future kids are erasing from theBack to the Futurefamily photo as we speak. Heaped all the responsibility onto me if I told you. Pleaded and begged and leaned as hard as hecould on our friendship, which existed a little more back then.’

‘You knew she was his ex?’

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