Three
A week later, Ashley was on her couch, contemplating her silly life.
The couch was an obscenely expensive, oversized velvet thing that still only took up a fraction of the living room of her Knightsbridge flat—a massive, high-ceilinged space with huge sash windows and a marble fireplace she’d never used. She thought she might be depressed.
But she wasn’t going to say that out loud to anyone. It was laughable to imagine anyone should care.
‘Aw, poor wickle baby made a bit less money on her silly songs than last time. Boo fucking hoo. Some people have real problems,’ said her critical inner monologue. It sounded suspiciously like her father.
Her phone rang. Hallie. She was a backup dancer for Rocket Monkey, whom Ashley had met when she opened for them in the old days. They’d stayed friends—more due to Hallie’s efforts than Ashley’s. Ashley tended to let friendships die.
Ashley let it ring off. And immediately, it started again.
‘Someone better be dead, ringing me like this,’ Ashley answered.
‘Yeah, my dog,’ Hallie said.
‘Oh, God! Sorry.’
‘I don’t have a dog,’ Hallie said.
‘You sod!’
‘You know I don’t have a dog.’
‘I thought I’d forgotten you had one because I’m too self-involved,’ Ashley said with total honesty.
There was a tut. ‘You’re too trusting, if anything.’
‘Why are you cold calling me?’ Ashley asked.
‘I tried texting. I wasn’t getting any joy. You forced me to go old-school.’
‘Sorry,’ Ashley said sincerely. ‘I just needed a bit of time to myself before the tour.’
‘To wallow?’
‘Yep. That.’
‘I saw Reva, by the way,’ Hallie said.
‘What?’
‘Yup. She’s in rehab. Seeing one of my friends.’
‘I’m so glad it all worked out for her,’ Ashley breathed. ‘Did she mention anything about publicly retracting the lies that ruined my career?’
‘No. So anyway, there’s a party tonight.’
‘If it’s a dancer party, I’m not coming.’
‘What’s wrong with dancer parties?’
‘They always turn into dance-offs, Hal. I nearly lost an eye to a pirouette last time.’
‘It’s not a dancer party, I promise.’
***
Ashley was watching people vogue at each other very aggressively. ‘I’m gonna kill you,’ she muttered to Hallie.
Hallie laughed. ‘Sorry. I truly thought we’d seen the last of this after the worm incident.’
Ashley narrowed her eyes at her friend.
‘Oh my god, Jade’s here! Haven’t seen her in forever. I’ll be back.’
‘Of course,’ Ashley muttered as she watched her friend fuck off.
Left alone, Ashley drifted around the perimeter of the party.
The venue was a converted warehouse filled with exposed brick and fairy lights. Music thumped through the floor. Everyone pretended they were too cool to notice her. Ashley was grateful—she wanted to be ignored. God knows her album had been.
She checked the time. Forty-three minutes. A respectable appearance. Long enough that Hallie couldn’t accuse her of not trying.
She was already scanning the room for the nearest exit when she heard something nearby, something terrifyingly familiar. A laugh.
For a moment, Ashley thought she was imagining it. But she turned to it, and there she was.
Molly Sullivan.
The breath left Ashley’s lungs.
Molly stood by the drinks table in the middle of a small crowd. She looked completely different, yet somehow the same.
She was still effortlessly sexy, with the unbothered air of someone who’d stumbled into the party by accident.
She still wore her dark hair in thick waves with that trademark blunt-cut fringe.
Dressed in a simple yet flawless denim dress, she carried that same easy warmth and electric charm that had made people instantly gravitate toward her.
Molly could always walk into a room full of strangers and leave with ten new friends and three invitations to dinner.
Ashley, by contrast, could walk into a room full of friends and not speak more than ten words.
Leaving suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. She’d almost made it three steps when she felt it. That sensation of being watched.
Against her better judgement, she glanced back. Molly was looking directly at her. Their eyes met.
Molly’s smile faded into surprise. Ashley immediately looked away. But it was too late to play pretend.
When she looked back again, Molly was already making her way through the crowd.
‘Brilliant,’ Ashley muttered.
A minute later, Molly stopped in front of her. For a second, neither of them spoke.
The last time Ashley had seen her had been on a devastating FaceTime call five years ago. Now they stood beneath fairy lights with plastic cups in their hands, pretending they were warm acquaintances.
‘Ashley. Shit. You’re here.’
‘That’s correct,’ Ashley said. No devastatingly witty second sentence presented itself.
Molly gave a small, nervous smile. ‘It’s been a while.’
‘Yeah.’
Wow, Ashley really was killing this.
‘How have you been?’ Molly asked.
Ashley nearly laughed at the idea of an honest answer to that. As if she could say: ‘Not brilliant, actually. My album underperformed, my ex developed a meth habit, and I’m starting to wonder if I’m a hack.’
Instead, she settled for, ‘Good.’
Molly’s expression suggested she didn’t believe her. She probably knew everything. That was the worst part of fame. Exes knowing when your life blew up. Particularly this ex.
‘Good,’ Molly said. ‘That’s good. I’m good too.’
Ashley nodded. ‘Glad to hear it.’
It was remarkable how two people who’d been what they’d been could become such total strangers.
Molly glanced down at her drink. ‘I listened to the new album.’
Ashley blinked. ‘Oh? What did you think?’ she asked without meaning to.
Molly smiled. ‘I liked it.’
Ashley rolled her eyes. ‘Very diplomatic.’
‘No, seriously. I liked it. The third track’s my favourite,’ Molly added.
Ashley was horror-struck. ‘Half Light’. Of course Molly had picked that one.
The song was practically a breakup letter.
The only song she hadn’t struggled with.
It fell out of her in ten minutes, melody and all.
She had to fight Simon for it, who called it ‘moody’.
In the end, she’d made it a dance track to appease him.
But now, she wished she’d let him win. She wouldn’t be so humiliated now. She wouldn’t feel so naked.
After another pause, Molly shifted awkwardly. ‘Well. It was nice seeing you.’
‘Yeah. You too.’
‘I’m glad you’re doing okay.’
Ashley almost told her she wasn’t. The words reached the back of her throat before she swallowed them.
‘You too,’ she said instead.
Molly nodded. Then she smiled one last time and stepped away.
Ashley watched her disappear into the crowd before immediately turning in the opposite direction.
She found Hallie behind her.
‘Was that the Molly Sullivan?’ Hallie’s expression became deeply concerned. ‘How was it?’
‘Polite,’ Ashley said.
Hallie winced. ‘Ouch.’
‘Thank you.’
Hallie nodded sympathetically.
Ashley realised she hadn’t even asked Molly how she was doing. Molly had been forced to volunteer it. Fuck. She was so selfish.
‘I’m leaving.’
Hallie raised an eyebrow.
‘Fifty minutes is considered an hour in therapy. Which I now need, thanks to you.’
Hallie groaned. ‘Fine. Off you go.’
Ashley shuffled through the crowd. At the door, she thought, You won’t look back. You don’t need to. You’re over her.
But she did look back, just long enough to see Molly laugh again.
God, that laugh.
Ashley walked out.