Page 22 of The Life Experiment
Angus hoped the woman would laugh at his joke, but she didn’t.
‘I mean a really, really bad day. The worst day. The kind you fall apart over. Ever had one of those?’
Angus’s thoughts went to Saira’s office. The news she delivered had blasted him apart, and he didn’t know why. ‘Honestly? I think I’m having one of those days today.’
The woman smiled a beaming smile, blinding Angus with her beauty. ‘Well, that’s the first thing anyone’s said today that’s made me happy.’
A burst of laughter escaped Angus. ‘My misery makes you happy?’
‘Is it wicked if I say yes?’
‘Definitely, but what’s the saying? Misery loves company?’
She giggled. ‘Another saying! Although I’m guessing not many people would want an invite to our pity party.’
Angus’s heart lurched at her use of ‘our’. He opened his mouth to fire off a witty retort, but the woman’s phone began to ring. At the interruption, reality flooded back into focus. The sound of cups hitting saucers and people speaking over each other seeped into Angus’s consciousness, and he hated it.
When she saw who was calling, the woman grimaced. ‘I should take this. In fact, I should go.’
‘You’re leaving already?’ Angus said, fighting the urge to ask her to stay.
The woman gathered her things as if she hadn’t heard him, then paused. ‘Isn’t timing funny? On the worst day of my life, you appeared and made it seem not so bad.’ The woman paused again, digesting her words. Then, shaking her head, she stood to leave.
‘Wait,’ Angus cried. ‘May I have your number?’
The woman froze. ‘You want to speak to me again after all I’ve rambled on about?’
‘I do.’
Cautiously, she studied him. Angus could see her calculating the pros and cons of saying yes. Then a miracle happened – she reached out her hand. ‘If you give me your phone, I’ll put my number in it.’
As Angus handed his phone over, their fingers brushed. A jolt of electricity passed through him. His eyes flicked to the woman, wondering if she’d felt it too, but she was busy typing out her number.
‘You have to agree to one thing, though,’ she said. ‘You can only contact me when you have a bad day. Not a “my boss shouted at me” or “I spilled coffee on my shirt” bad day. I mean a really, really bad day. You said it yourself – misery loves company. The way I’m feeling, I only want to be surrounded by people who are as miserable as I am.’
Angus faltered. ‘Are you okay? Is there anything I can help with?’
At this, the woman gave a watery smile. ‘I don’t need you to fix anything for me, Angus. I don’t have time for a hero, and I don’t want one.’
Angus’s heart twisted at the blunt certainty of her words, but he felt himself nod. ‘Okay, deal,’ he said. ‘When I’m the most miserable I’ve ever been, I’ll call you.’
‘I look forward to it,’ the woman replied before walking away. Angus watched her go, wishing she would turn around so he could get another glimpse of her face, but she never did.
When she disappeared from view, Angus looked at his phone and read the digits he was certain would change his life forever. Above the number was her name.
‘Layla,’ he said. Angus loved the way her name sounded and how each letter rolled across his tongue. Most of all, he loved the way he felt himself come to life when he said it.
11Layla
The curtains were closed. Layla didn’t know what time it was, nor did she care. She was in bed, as she had been for the last two days.
She’d missed work. She’d missed calls from her family. And that morning, she’d decided she wasn’t going to fill out any more of OPM Discoveries’ stupid surveys. What was the point? In two years’ time, none of it would matter anyway. Besides, what did Saira expect her to say – ‘I feel happy knowing that I’m barrelling towards my untimely death’?
Groaning, Layla rolled onto her side. Her hand reached for her laptop, but at the last moment, she stopped herself. Why research OPM Discoveries again? It wasn’t like it helped.
Ever since finding out her result, researching was all Layla had done. Scrolling through endless results, she had been consumed with trying to find a flaw in the company’s work history. Something, anything, to delegitimise their claim that they could predict her death. In all those endless searches, Layla found nothing. Worse still, those fruitless hours added to the ‘Days Layla Has Wasted’ tally she was collating. The only thing more terrifying than seeing the number of wasted days was realising how quickly a new one was added.
Burrowing her face into her pillow, Layla let out a frustrated groan. She was grateful that her flatmate Rhi wasn’t there to hear her. A junior doctor who worked even harder than Layla, Rhi used theapartment as a place to sleep and little else. Usually, the two women’s schedules meant they were like ships that pass in the night, but even their fleeting interactions over the last few days had concerned the elusive Rhi, who normally didn’t bother herself with Layla’s life.Hope you’re feeling better. Text if you need me to pick up more paracetamol, Rhi had written on a Post-it note stuck to the bathroom mirror. Layla had politely ignored it.
