Page 106 of The Reboot
‘Bye, Ella.’ He kissed her cheek. ‘And good luck.’
‘Do you want to go too?’ Roly asked as they watched him leave.
‘Really?’ She looked at him in surprise. ‘Don’t you want to stay and party?’
‘Nah, I’d really like to get home, actually.’
She noticed for the first time that he was kind of jittery. ‘Oh, is it hard for you – being here?’ She realised it would be the first time he’d been at a booze-fuelled backstage party since he’d left Oh Boy! It must be difficult for him being here now and not able to join in properly.
He nodded, giving her an odd look. ‘It’s hard for me all right,’ he said with a smirk. ‘I don’t think I can stand much more of this, to be honest.’
She felt as if he was saying something she didn’t quite understand.
‘It’s just all this – the high of being on stage and everything…’
She nodded understandingly.
‘I’m all jacked up on adrenaline, I guess. And it’s made me really…’ He leaned down and whispered in her ear, ‘horny’.
‘Oh!’ Just his hot breath in her ear gave her a funny feeling inside. ‘Okay, then.’ She put down her half-full glass of champagne. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
Roly woke the next morning to a changed world. The single of ‘Nightfall’ had been released at midnight and was already being played on the radio. Everyone was talking about Roly’s surprise appearance at the Walking Wounded concert. He was trending on Twitter. Music critics mentioned his performance favourably in their reviews of the show, calling it a revelation – one even said it was the highlight of the night. Just like that, his star was in the ascendant again and everyone wanted a piece of him – including Oh Boy!
In the next few days, his phone rang constantly. Oh Boy! wanted him back. Zack and Liam called, claiming they’d always intended for him to be included in the reunion. Roly was buzzing. Ella was glad for him, but at the same time she felt like he was slipping away from her and it made her anxious, her new-found happiness suddenly feeling fragile.
Roly was achieving what he’d set out to do – he was getting his old life back. But, selfishly, Ella wondered what it would mean for them … for her. Would she be part of it, or would they go back to the way they’d been before – to late-night calls and messaging, and the odd brief catch-up whenever he was in town.
Even if he did still want to be with her, how long could they sustain it when he’d be off touring the world, moving around all the time? Their relationship would be long distance at best and, either way, she’d be back to occasional phone calls and sporadic meetings. Did she want that?
But there was another, greater threat that had been looming over her ever since they’d met up again, a guilty secret that was always there in the background, but weighed more heavily on her every day they were together. She should have told him when he’d offered her a room in his house, or when they’d slept together on her birthday, or any one of the days in between. But the longer it went on, the harder it was to say anything. She couldn’t bring herself to risk sabotaging their happiness. Yet until he knew the truth, that happiness would always be a little tainted.
There was a very small part of her that would be relieved if Roly’s new-found fame took him away from her and they simply drifted apart again – if he left her for a life that she couldn’t be part of. It would be out of her hands, and Roly would never have to know how she’d betrayed him.
27
‘Will Vince be there?’It was Friday night, and Roly and Ella were on their way to a party in Charlie’s apartment.
Roly shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Probably.’
Ella nodded, looking out the window at the passing traffic, wishing she were going anywhere else. She felt jittery and on edge, and couldn’t shake off a horrible sense of foreboding.
‘You look great,’ Roly said, smiling at her and taking her hand. ‘Wow, your fingers are cold.’ He closed his hand tighter around hers. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Just … I don’t know. Nervous, I guess.’
He frowned. She knew it wasn’t like her. She wasn’t particularly shy. She couldn’t explain it to Roly, but the thought of being among that crowd again brought back bad memories and filled her with dread.
‘No need to be nervous,’ he said, his thumb stroking over her knuckles. ‘There’ll be loads of people you know there.’
That was the problem, but she couldn’t say that to Roly.
Later she stood by the windows in Charlie’s apartment looking out at the glittering lights of the Aviva Stadium, the scene of Roly’s triumph. It was hard to believe it was only a week since she’d watched him on stage there. It had set in motion a chain of events that would change Roly’s life – and probably hers too. Maybe it was already changing, she thought, sipping champagne from her crystal flute. After all, she was spending Friday night here instead of at karaoke with her work colleagues. She felt a pang at the thought of it, wishing she could be there singing duets with Dylan.
‘Hi, Ella! Good to see you.’ Charlie joined her at the window, breaking into her thoughts.
‘Charlie.’ She turned to him and smiled, and he kissed her cheek. She’d always liked Charlie. He’d been a better friend to Roly than any of the others. ‘Nice place you’ve got here.’
‘Yeah, thanks. So, you and Roly…’
