Page 20 of Wish You Once More
10
Bree
Since I bumped into Mat, the afternoon had dragged. I couldn’t stop wondering if would he really have told me the truth about why he left if his friends hadn’t turned up when they did? The question nagged at me as the afternoon bled into evening. I’d fended off a million stupid questions and right now, I found myself photographing lost property to put on our social media pages.
Darla wandered over, clearly a few G&Ts into her night. “Bree! How’s it been?” Her gaze scanned the ever-decreasing pile of t-shirts. “Looks like sales are going well.”
“Yeah, there was a peak around five, when all the families were here. Otherwise, all’s good.”
“What’s this?” she pointed at a mobile phone with a cracked screen and a bank card.
“Lost property. I’m just about to upload the pics to try and reunite them with their owners.” I picked up the bank card and squinted at the name. “I don’t recognise this as someone local.”
“Well, do the best you can.” She clutched my upper arm. “And make sure you get out and enjoy yourself. You don’t have to stay here all night.”
Ah, but it was so much easier to stay here and pretend I couldn’t leave. It would be the perfect excuse for me to avoid Mat Redmond, which had been my festival mantra before I’d seen him earlier.
“Maybe tomorrow, when there’s less to do,” I replied. “My friend’s around somewhere, so I’m sure she’ll come and find me when she’s ready.” Callie had messaged around half an hour ago to tell me she was headed home. I think it was code for finding a guy she liked and wanted to get to know better. I’d find out when I got back to the flat later.
“If you’re sure.”
I waved my phone at her. “I’ll finish uploading these pictures, close up here, then I’ll go and get a drink. Promise.” The corner of my mouth curled up.
“Don’t leave it too late and miss out.” She smiled back at me and turned to wander off, calling back over her shoulder, “Thanks, Bree, you’re a star.”
If Callie wasentertainingback at ours, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back and disturb her. Harry was around somewhere; he’d also been messaging me non-stop, asking when I finished, did I want some food, could he get me a drink. I could meet him and get wasted. But I didn’t want the hassle of letting him down again when he tried to make a move.
Seeing Mat earlier had thrown me. Obviously I knew he’d be here, and we’d had that strange texting session yesterday. But actually seeing him in the flesh, then seeing he had a girlfriend had brought all sorts of feelings bubbling to the surface.
Scott Lincoln’s presence hadn’t gone unnoticed either.
I burned with hatred for that man.
The man who made Mat choose.
Me or him.
Staying in Manchester with me or going to LA with him.
And we all know how that turned out.
Now he was here, with his supermodel girlfriend. I’ve already internet stalked her. And she was obviously close to Mat’s girlfriend, although I hadn’t been able to identifyherproperly. I wondered how long they’d been together, as there didn’t seem to be any social proof they were.
I bent over my phone as I finished posting the pictures - bank card details hidden for privacy, obviously.
“So about that question.”
My head jerked up at the familiar voice. The familiar chocolate brown eyes, sparkling even in the semi-darkness. The familiar features currently arranged into a shy smile.
Shit.
I couldn’t deal with this now.
I couldn’t deal withhimnow.
“Sorry, I’m just about to shut everything down.”
“Perfect, we can talk.”
