Page 32 of Bad Influence
‘What about your brother?’
‘Dan’s away in the States with Florence at the moment.’
‘What aboutEmily Furlow?’ I said the words spontaneously, before thinking it through. They spilled out with more sarcasm than I intended.
There was a moment of deafening silence between us.
‘Who?’ he asked, after a pause.
I gulped down a large breath and stayed mute.
‘Did you say Emily Furlow?’ he asked. Rob was sitting upright now and his features had hardened. It made my heart race.
‘I did. You know Emily, she’s an old friend of yours?’
‘She’s my ex-girlfriend, Amber. You know that. Why would I want to get in touch with her?’
‘Have you been in contact with her recently?’ I asked, nervously, the momentousness of this question not lost on me.
A little crease appeared above his right eyebrow, as he tried to understand why I had brought up her name and what it meant. Neither of us were awake enough for this. I was half regretting it already.
Hopefully he’ll prove me wrong. Come on, Rob. Prove me wrong.
‘Why in the world would I want to message my ex-girlfriend?’ he asked.
I swallowed hard. I hated any confrontation with him, even though I had asked for this.
‘I was just wondering if you were still in touch,’ I said, sticking to my guns.
If this was going to bethemoment, I had to see it through. I felt my heart pound in my chest as I waited for Rob’s response.
‘I haven’t spoken to her the whole time I’ve been with you, Amber,’ he said defiantly. If I was a police officer questioning him, I would be convinced by this response.
But I know it’s not true. I know they were messaging at Christmas because I saw them, clear as anything. Well, sort-of clear. As clear as a blurry zoomed-in phone image can be. Why won’t he tell me?
‘Anyway, why has this come up? Are you trying to suggest something?’ His green eyes didn’t look so warm now, as they searched my face for an explanation. I breathed deeply, trying to suppress the mild panic rising within.
‘I just wondered,’ I said calmly. I caught a glimpse of my alarm clock, and it was approaching eight. I needed to get out of bed and into my gym gear. I’d promised Jimi I’d meet him there at eight, to work out before Mandy did her nine a.m. session and I didn’t want to be late. I bottled telling him about the photo. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought her up.’
I needed more time to think about my approach to what might be going on here. If Rob was lying to me –which he is– I needed to find out why, but now wasn’t the moment.
‘I’m confused about why you’ve asked me this,’ he said.
‘I’m really sorry,’ I replied. ‘I guess it’s not seeing you every day, I got a bit jealous.’
‘There’s no need to be. There’s only you, Amber. Shall we chat later?’
‘I’ll call you when I finish work,’ I said.
I knew I had effectively thrown in a grenade and then retrieved it before it could explode, but it was still there, a ticking bomb in my pocket.
I texted Vicky:I think Rob’s having an affair.
Chapter Nine
WEEK TWO
‘Amber? Amber, can you hear me?’ The voice was coming from above my head.
