Chapter 28 #2
‘Oh my God, really?’ Sophie chuckled. ‘Have you met her, then? Your precious NiceGirl?’
‘Yes, I have.’
‘What’s she like?’
‘He’s not telling us anything about her,’ Olivia said.
‘She wants to remain anonymous.’
‘I love that blog,’ Sophie said. ‘Do you know it, Claire?’
‘Yes, I read it all the time.’
‘Mark’s a bit obsessed with her, aren’t you, Mark? He flirts his arse off with her online. You want to watch him with that one, Claire.’
‘Claire has nothing to fear from her,’ Mark said, smiling secretively at Claire.
‘And you really won’t tell us anything about her?’
‘Nope.’
‘You’re no fun. I bet she’s a hag. That’s why you won’t tell us.’
‘I’ll tell you this much – she is definitely not a hag.’
Claire felt unnerved. She wasn’t sure what was going on.
Sophie certainly wasn’t behaving like a woman who’d just caught her boyfriend cheating on her.
And Mark wasn’t acting guilty. Maybe what Sophie had said was just banter – a bit of harmless teasing between friends.
But if that was so, why all the strange looks when she’d turned up?
‘Is anyone up for a picnic on the Heath tomorrow?’ Olivia asked later. She had produced cheese and crackers to end the meal, and everyone had fallen on them hungrily, making up for dinner. ‘It’s meant to be another lovely day.’
‘What do you think?’ Mark asked Claire.
‘It’s up to you…’
‘We’ll give you a ring in the morning and let you know,’ Mark said to Olivia.
‘And Andy’s having a barbecue tomorrow night,’ Sophie said.
‘Yes, you’re all invited,’ Andy said.
‘Claire’s going home tomorrow, so we won’t be around for that,’ Mark said.
‘Oh, that’s a shame. What time is your flight?’ Olivia asked Claire, as she started clearing the table.
‘Eight twenty.’
‘Well, you can still come, Mark,’ Sophie said.
‘I’m taking her to the airport.’
‘Oh, bum!’ Sophie pouted prettily.
‘If you want to go, I can easily make my own way to the airport,’ Claire said quietly, to Mark.
‘No, I want to take you.’
‘Course he does,’ Sophie said gaily, leaping up to help Olivia. ‘Mark is the model boyfriend at all times. I can vouch for that. If you ever need a reference, Mark, I’ll be happy to provide a glowing one.’
‘Thanks a lot, Sophie,’ Mark said drily, as she followed Olivia from the room.
Soon after that, the party started breaking up.
‘Well, I guess we should be off,’ Mark said to Claire. ‘I’ll just find Olivia to tell her and then I’ll call a taxi.’
‘Okay. I’m going to the loo.’
When Claire got to the top of the stairs, she heard muffled voices coming from a door opposite. She recognised Sophie’s and it sounded like she was crying.
‘I mean, I’ve gone to all this bloody trouble to clean up my act and sort myself out, and he doesn’t even care. He’s fucking moved on!’
‘But you didn’t just do it for him, did you?’ Olivia said softly.
‘Of course I did it for him!’ Sophie said, on a sob. ‘He’s all there is. Oh God, Ol, what am I going to do? If I can’t get him back…’ She sniffed.
Claire froze. She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she needed to know what was going on between Sophie and Mark.
‘You needed to sort yourself out anyway,’ Olivia said sensibly. ‘For your own sake.’
‘I know. But what’s the point? If I can’t have him, I’d rather be back on drugs.’
‘You’re such a drama queen,’ Olivia mocked, earning a half-laugh from Sophie. ‘I wish you’d at least given me some warning you were going to turn up tonight.’
‘I was afraid you’d tell me not to come.’
‘I might have done,’ Olivia said.
‘Honestly, Ol, I didn’t care about doing it for myself. The whole time I was in rehab, I just thought about him – how pleased he’d be. I wanted him to be proud of me.’
‘He is proud of you, babe. We all are. But you may not get him back. You have to accept that.’
‘I can’t!’ Sophie wailed.
‘Sorry, Soph, but Claire seems really nice. She could be good for him.’
‘Not like me, you mean. God, I’ve never wanted to get wasted so much!’
‘I didn’t mean that, but you hurt Mark a lot.’
‘I know, I know,’ Sophie sobbed. ‘I’ve been a total flake and a fuck-up and I messed him around too many times. I’ve let everyone down so often. But if he’d just give me one more chance…’
Claire turned and raced downstairs, as if she was being chased. Mark was waiting for her in the hall.
‘Okay?’ he asked, looking at her with concern.
‘Fine,’ she said faintly.
‘The taxi’s outside.’
She felt too shaken to say anything in the cab on the way home.
When Mark glanced over at her and asked if she was all right a couple of times, she just smiled and said she was fine, but the conversation she had overheard had really rattled her.
Mark obviously knew that something was up – and he probably had a good idea of what it was.
But it would have to wait until they got home.
She needed time to gather her thoughts and calm down.
‘Well, that was an interesting evening,’ Mark said wryly, when they got back to his flat. ‘Sorry about the food.’
‘It’s not your fault. It was… different.’
‘So, would you like a drink? Or do you just want to go to bed?’
At the mention of bed, Claire knew she had to say something. She suddenly felt like an impostor. Everything had changed, and she couldn’t go to bed with Mark now, knowing she might be sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend.
‘I’d like a drink,’ she said, even though she’d already had more than enough. ‘Some wine would be nice.’
‘Coming right up,’ Mark said, glancing at her warily. It was like there was a bomb in the room, and they had to be careful not to trigger it.
When they were settled on the sofa with their drinks, she took a deep breath and began, ‘So – you and Sophie…’
Mark let out a long sigh of resignation or relief – perhaps both. ‘What she said about me moving on while she was in rehab – it’s not true,’ he said. ‘We’d broken up long before then.’
‘So why did she say that?’
He shrugged. ‘Sophie likes to make mischief. And she has a rather creative relationship with the truth. Honestly, Claire, you could ask anyone around that table tonight. They all know it wasn’t true.’ His eyes radiated sincerity.
Claire just nodded.
‘She doesn’t really mean any harm,’ he said.
Claire wasn’t so sure about that. She felt Sophie had been deliberately trying to unnerve her. And it had worked.
‘Do you believe me?’ Mark asked.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It was a bit of a shock, though, hearing that out of the blue.’
‘It’s all in the past.’
‘But she’s still in your life.’
‘She’s a friend. You’re still friends with the Artist.’
‘I suppose so,’ she conceded.
‘More than friends,’ he mumbled.
She wished she could tell him that he had no reason to be jealous, that she wasn’t friends with any exes because she didn’t have any exes, because she’d never had a proper relationship with anyone ever, least of all Luca, and that she was the only person in this room who had any possible cause to be jealous. But she couldn’t say any of it.
‘I’ve known Sophie for a really long time. I can’t just cut her out of my life.’
‘She doesn’t seem your type,’ Claire mused.
‘She’s not. That’s why I’m not with her any more,’ Mark said. ‘We’re not good for each other. It just took a while to figure that out.’
‘I don’t think Sophie’s there yet.’ Claire thought of what she had overheard. Sophie had sounded devastated.
‘Maybe not,’ Mark conceded. ‘But there’s nothing I can do about that. Other than not encourage her, which I don’t.’
That was true. She had almost felt bad for Sophie, he had been so cold and aloof.
‘I really like you, Claire,’ he said pleadingly, taking her hand, his thumb stroking over her fingers.
‘I really like you too.’ And when he leant in for a kiss, she met him halfway. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was trespassing.
‘Have I blown this?’ he asked, pulling back, perhaps sensing her hesitance.
‘It’s not your fault.’
He sighed wearily. ‘Bloody Sophie! I should be used to her sabotaging my life by now.’
‘Sorry. I do really like you, Mark. I just can’t… not tonight.’
‘I know,’ he said, standing and pulling her to her feet.
‘I’m really sorry.’
‘Don’t be. There’s no rush. We’ve got plenty of time.’
But they didn’t have plenty of time, Claire thought, as she got into bed alone.
She was going home tomorrow, then Mark would be in New York and it would be weeks before she could see him again.
Bloody Sophie, indeed! Mark wasn’t the only one whose life she was sabotaging.
She tried to ignore the niggling voice in her head that said Sophie was just a convenient excuse because she didn’t want to admit that her heart simply wasn’t in this.