Page 71 of The Secret We Keep
“Oh, right.” I hold it out to her.
“Knew you’d get one eventually.” She nudges me.
I turn it over in my hand, showing her the front and back. “It was from Mum and Dad.”
She beams widely. “I bet they call you all the time, don’t they?”
My eyes narrow. “If you must know, I only talk to you and Paddy on here.”
And as if she never misses a trick, Holly smirks a ridiculous grin.
“What?” I ask, but I already know what she’s going to say.
“Nothing. Just funny, that’s all. Show me what you two talk about then.”
I should probably feel nervous about showing her my private messages, but I have nothing to hide.
“Oh.” Holly doesn’t say anything more as I scroll through mine and Paddy’s conversations.
Shifting my weight onto one foot, I then drop my arm by my side. “Were you expecting something different?”
“I was expecting something more exciting, yes. I notice he didn’t reply.”
I sigh, not meaning to so loudly. “He was probably busy.”
She quirks her head. “No, don’t let him off that lightly. You asked him if you two were friends, and he left you on read. That’s messed up and rude.”
I look over my shoulder, watching as Sarah leaves the office. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” Holly questions, now with venom in her voice. She loops her arm through mine. “There’s no maybe about it. I say we go home, get changed and go out for food. You can tell me all about what happened while I was away, and we can have a celebratory drink for your birthday.”
“It’s not my birthday anymore.”
Holly coolly bats me away as we start walking. “No, but we haven’t celebrated yet. We have to.”
I look towards the bus stop then turn to face her, pulling at what little energy I have left. “Do we? I’m tired and I have work in the morning.”
“So do I.”
“What?”
“Assignments are still work. I have to hand my last one in tomorrow. Then I’m done, and it will be my turn to find a job.”
“Speak to my dad. He’s really good at helping,” I say dryly.
Seconds later, we double over in a fit of laughter. It’s not really that funny, but at least with Holly, we can pretend like it is.
“Okay, fine,” I concede, wiping underneath my nose, my cheeks tingling from laughing. “We can go out, but only for food. No drinking.”
“Dinner and one drink,” she ventures carefully.
I don’t reply as the bus I’m meant to be catching whirs past us. “Shit.”
A slight flush paints her cheeks. “Oops. My bad. What do we do now? Walk back?”
“Walk back?” I gasp. “Holly, it’s easily over an hour.” I picture myself being able to drive and wonder how much simpler life would be.
“We could wait for the next one?” She beams, shrugging all carefree and chirpily. It may have only been a few days, but I’ve missed her.
