Page 106 of You Belong With Me

‘Sounds familiar. Hang on …’ Elliot ran off to rinse and spit and returned without the toothbrush.

Edie sat up straighter.

‘Yes?’ Elliot said, arms folded.

‘… I accidentally saw a message from his sister that made it look like he’d been misspeaking me.’ Edie edited out misspeaking Elliot, as it would add nothing other than even higher blood pressure. ‘I saw his phone on the train … He was forced into correcting it by admitting he likes me.’

‘“Forced”? I refer you to my point: not trying hard enough to hide it.’

‘Well, he stressed he’d never do anything about it. He was mortified.’

Elliot stood, staring, as he took this in. ‘I need the actual wording for “likes me”.’

‘He said he adored me.’

There were several beats of silence before Elliot spoke. ‘You weren’t going to tell me, were you?’

‘Yes, I was. Just not today,’ Edie said, with conviction. ‘I promised you I would. I was finding the right time, and Ididn’t think this was it. Well done for being entirely correct about it all,’ Edie continued. ‘Safe to say, I feel a right twat.’

‘It’s not a victorious feeling. I’m now worrying about how much I was right about. I don’t want to be right twice.’

‘What do you mean? You don’t trust me?’ Edie said.

‘I do trust you. I know when the day comes that you have to speak to me, you won’t have done anything, and you’ll still hate yourself.’

‘Have to speak to you about what?’

Elliot picked up his tie and started putting it on. He stopped and said: ‘It’s not working, is it? One of us has to say so.’

‘What isn’t working?’

‘Us.’

‘Itisworking?’ Edie said, shocked. She could already hear her voice sounding unnatural.

‘Whenever we’re alone, it works. It couldn’t be better. Then we go back to daily life, and the rolling shitshow resumes. This is the latest episode. I don’t know what to do about someone competing with me when I’m not there most of the time.’

‘You don’t have to do anything?’ Edie said. ‘I sorted it.’

‘I don’t ever want you to stay with me in order to keep your word,’ Elliot said.

‘I’m not!’

‘Nor do I want you to feel you have the responsibility of saving me from the life I chose.’

‘Why are you saying these ominous things?!’

An inner voice piped up:wakey wakey,sounds likeyou are being dumped, and she could not begin to comprehend it.

‘Not passing that on about Declan has forced me to confront this.’

‘I was waiting to discuss it with you face to face!’

‘Now we’re face to face, and I had to drag it out of you.’

‘It’s an hour before your brother’s wedding!’ Edie whisper-hissed.

If Elliot needed a gesture of commitment to get past this crisis of faith, it was definitely time.

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