Page 122 of Cover Story

He was halfway down the stairs to the car, about to put the keys into the lockbox and make them irretrievable, when heremembered. He bounded back up the stairs and unlocked the door, walked over to the mantelpiece and picked the envelope up from behind the candlestick.

He ripped open Shaun’s card. It was two sentences long. Connor read them and reread them and said aloud, in disbelieving and somewhat choked voice: ‘Smart-arse bastard!’

He locked up again, bounded down the stairs with a new vigour and found his father fiddling with the car radio.

‘Dad, would it be all right if we made a small detour? I have something I absolutely have to do before I go.’

‘As long as it’s not too far. What’s the address for the Sat Nav?’

Connor folded the card he was holding and put it in his jeans pocket.

‘It’s in Ancoats.’

67

There was a ring at the door and Bel thought, I hope it’s Anthony, I could do with some free violence.

She answered it combatively, not caring who saw her eyes pink and puffy like this. She was confronted with a deeply apprehensive-looking Connor, hands thrust in front pockets of his jeans.

‘Hi …’ he said.

‘Er … hi!’

Bel wiped at her face as she stood aside. She did care ifhesaw her like this! Shit. She’d not anticipated it might be him for a single second.

Connor fully focused.

‘Wait, are you OK? What’s wrong?’

He stepped forward, possibly to put a consoling hand on her arm, and she stepped back as if he was contagious.No more physical affection, please, it’s sent me a bit mad.

‘Bel, what’s the matter?’ Connor said, leaving the door open behind him, too disconcerted by what he must think was Bel’s bad news.

‘Uh …’ Bel couldn’t think of what she could invent as cover story, or more to the point, if she should bother. She could also feel the risk of tears restarting if she started talking.

Confessing to him was a humiliation, but last night couldn’t really be topped anyway.

‘Would you believe me that you’re the one person I can’t tell?’ she said, stalling, trying for a playful tone, but she was already floundering.

‘I would, but I’d really like to be someone you can tell anything,’ he said, with a vulnerability she’d not heard before.

On his head be it then, Bel thought.

‘It’s this guy at work,’ she said.

‘Oh?’ Connor said, frowning.

There was a long pause while Bel summoned the courage and Connor added: ‘One of the ones I know, or someone I would be happier not knowing about? How many are in the Bel metaverse?’

‘No need to make me sound slutty,’ she smiled weakly, and Connor said: ‘I’m just anxious.’

Bel couldn’t make sense of that and ploughed on:

‘He’s … someone I couldn’t stand at first, and he didn’t like me either. We were thrown together by a job and got to know each other, and at some point, really hit it off. He stood up for me, again and again, in a way I don’t think anyone ever has. Somewhere along the line, the closeness we’d imitated became genuine for me …’

She paused, unable to read Connor’s shellshocked look. Bel hoped he wouldn’t think this was supposed to make him feel guilty.

‘… When I realised how I felt, I threw everything at it on the last night I had with him, made a clumsy attempt at seduction. He told me he didn’t want me that way. He saw us as friends. I know, so cringe. Except it turns out cringe was the least of myproblems. Now he’s going back to London forever, and it turns out I had in fact …’ Bel cleared her throat ‘… fallen in love with him. I can tell, because my heart is broken and I can’t eat anything. Unusual for me, as you know.’

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