Page 14 of Will You Stay Another Day?
‘As always, you are right, my friend,’ said Em. She leant forwards and kissed her on the lips.
Lili pushed her away, laughing, and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. ‘Too far.’
Em laughed too and got up. ‘Come on. Kamal is waving. Time to thrash him and his mates at footie again. Hope I’m on the same team as Zach, he’s sooo hot. Race you there!’
She went to run but Lili stood up and caught her hand.
‘You and me won’t change, will we? Whatever happens? We’ll always be there for each other?’
‘Course. You know that.’ A mischievous look crossed Em’s face. ‘In science the other day we were doing marine animals and Mr Morley said turtles can carry salmonella bacteria on their shells, which is really dangerous to humans. So as long as we always stick together, we’ll always be able to keep the dickhead humans in their place.’
‘Forever and ever,’ said Lili in a satisfied tone. ‘Till we’re old ladies, when our names will finally suit us.’
‘Yep. Together forever. Apart from the next two minutes when I run so far ahead you’ll never catch up!’
9
The Rough Tor pub suited its name. Halloween decorations didn’t hide peeling wallpaper and a chunk of missing plaster. The tables were scratched and the carpet was stained. However, the bar and glasses shone like beacons of light guiding the way. Immediately, Lili could tell why Em had chosen this place. It confirmed all of Lili’s hopes that she’d faked her death and run away from such a difficult time in her life. Laughing punters had got into the Halloween spirit, wearing an array of witches’ hats, skeleton jumpers and zombie make-up. Lili had booked a room, not knowing if Em would come straight from the airport. It meant Lili could stay up as late as she wanted, catching up with her friend’s news. She’d decked it out in the way she and Em always prepared their lounge for the spookiest night of the year, with suitably themed snacks and a bottle of caramel apple Martini. Only a double room had been available, which was fine. Travelling the world, Em and Lili had often crashed out together, Em shrieking about how Lili would dribble on the pillow during her sleep, Lili waking in the morning to find her friend had stolen most of the duvet.
Happy memories the last year had lacked. A spurt of emotion flared in Lili’s chest, unpleasant, angry, a sense of having been betrayed even. Had Em ever stopped to think how much her actions would devastate those who loved her? How could she make her parents, make Lili, go through a funeral? Had things really been that bad?
And breathe… The main thing was that Em would soon be back. There’d be plenty of time to hear her explanations.
Lili smoothed down her pumpkin-themed jumper and headed to the bar. She perched on a stool and ordered a glass of wine. Em would have grinned and called her a posh idiot. Bottles of beer were more her style. Lili pulled out her phone. Three minutes to eight. Two messages. One from Tommo, one from Meg, both wishing her luck, despite their reservations.
Lili hadn’t thought anyone had noticed her struggle this last year. She’d put on a smile for staff and customers, gone home up to Manchester with Easter eggs in the spring, hosted northern friends from the Oxfam shop who’d visited Cornwall in the summer, danced at a beach party, eaten pasties and ice creams with gusto, got to know a visiting American, a nice, no-strings holiday romance if you could call two weeks of hangovers that. Life was tough for most people these days; Lili wasn’t going to drag others down. That had been the great thing about living with Em. They’d show each other everything, the good, the bad and the fugly, as they joked. They’d get the bad stuff out of their systems. That way it never festered.
Bobbin the robin had been Lili’s only true listening ear since Em.
Five minutes past eight. Someone sat down beside her. She looked up to meet the gaze of a man in a Dracula cape with black shoulder-length hair and a shadow of stubble. He was nothing like pale Em, who consistently dyed vivid colours into her boring mousey hair. Well, she called it that. To Lili it was a lovely shade of brown.
The man was around Lili’s age and kind of cute. Okay, he was hot! She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was up there with Glen Powell, she admitted to herself, but real, here, with an earthiness coupled with a friendly smile. Em would have given Lili a pointed look and then gone over to chat him up.
Em.
Her being five minutes late turned into ten, turned into twenty. Soon it was a quarter to nine and Lili was on her second glass of wine. The man next to her hadn’t moved either and kept glancing at the clock above the bar. With a heavy feeling, she watched the funny impromptu dancing going on by the jukebox as themed song after song played, ‘Monster Mash’ being the current favourite.
Punctual Em would have been early if anything.
At that moment the door opened and both she and the man next to her jumped as someone came through the door. A woman, around Em’s height, with bright purple hair, crowned with black evil queen horns – that was so like Em to stand out!
Oh my God, it was really her! The nightmare was over!
Lili waved, heart thumping, heart singing!
The woman took off her mask. She gave Lili a friendly smile before… she turned away.
Lili gulped, hand still in the air.
Time stood still. Reality slapped her on the cheek. She downed the remainder of the wine and wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist.
‘You okay?’ asked the man next to her, now looking as miserable as she felt. ‘You’ve been stood up too?’ She couldn’t answer. He held out his hand. ‘Dylan. Dylan Davis. Pleased to meet you.’
‘Lili Taylor.’ She slipped her hand into his. It felt warm and somehow comforting. She pulled hers away, having left it there for several seconds.
‘Sorry. Just a bit distracted. I’ve been waiting for Em, my friend. We… we haven’t seen each other for ages, but I finally heard from her.’
Dylan gestured at her glass. ‘Fancy another?’
