Chapter Twenty #2
‘Shit,’ said Nate, letting out a long, slow breath, then closing his eyes and taking a few more, his hand on Lucy’s arm to steady him. ‘OK. Let’s do it.’
Alex hurried down the bus and spoke to Ulrich about helping him create some space, then took Nate’s arm and guided him through the noisy crowd who were calling his name and asking questions. The noise retreated as they moved away, leaving Lucy and Willem watching from the steps of the bus.
‘Come on,’ she said, already worried about Nate’s state of mind after being in a crowd like that. She climbed down from the bus and bowed her head against a biting wind, then followed the mass of people moving towards the hotel.
‘This is wild,’ said Willem. ‘I’ve seen Alex pull some shit before, but this is next level.’
‘Did he know?’ asked Lucy quickly. ‘Was he expecting this reception for Nate?’
Willem shook his head quickly and laughed. ‘Lucy, you’ve spent the last few days in Alex’s company. Do you really think he’d have engineered a welcome that wasn’t all about him?’
‘No,’ said Lucy. ‘He must be gutted.’
‘Are you kidding?’ laughed Willem. ‘He’ll appoint himself as Nate’s manager and be forever known as the person who made him a star.’
‘Hmm,’ said Lucy, wondering if that was a good or a bad thing. ‘Is there money in that?’
Willem shrugged. ‘Yes, but Alex doesn’t need money; his family are very wealthy. He just needs a profile and a spotlight.’
‘OK, but will he look after Nate?’
Willem stopped on the path outside the hotel and looked intently at Lucy. ‘He will be taken care of, Lucy. Alex is a good guy. I’m marrying him, remember?’
They pushed through the waiting crowd of .
. . who are these people? thought Lucy. Press?
Fans? She tried to take the measure of them, but they were all bundled up in coats and scarves.
Men and women, young and old, talking in a mix of French and German and English.
Handy, since Nate spoke all three. The only thing Lucy knew for sure was that they had seen Alex’s videos barely eight hours ago and immediately made their way to Zermatt to wait for him to get off the mountain, which seemed entirely deranged.
Without seeing the online discourse, it was hard to imagine how that had happened.
They barely gave her and Willem a passing glance, so clearly Nate was why they were here.
Willem flashed his room key card to the doorman to gain access, then led Lucy into the foyer of a very fancy Alpine hotel.
Nate and Alex were by reception, talking intently to a woman in a long green coat.
Lucy did a double-take, then realised it was Sasha, holding the handle of Nate’s luggage.
She’s already packed his bag, then, thought Lucy, realising how entirely surplus to requirements she was right now.
Alex hurried over to them, holding his phone to his ear and talking at a million miles an hour.
‘Hold on,’ he said to the person on the other end, then turned to Lucy and Willem.
‘There’s a car waiting to take Nate to the airport,’ he said importantly.
‘Sasha has asked me to go with them, give her a debrief and put together a plan. They’re expecting a crowd at Geneva and Heathrow. ’
Heathrow? thought Lucy. What happened to flying back to Bristol?
‘Who’s Sasha?’ asked Willem.
‘Nate introduced her as a friend,’ said Alex with a shrug. ‘She knew we were staying here and has been waiting for us to get back. She seems to be very much in control of things.’
‘She works with me and Nate,’ said Lucy. She tried to catch Nate’s eye, but he was deep in what appeared to be an intense conversation, Sasha holding his hand. ‘Am I booked on the same flight?’
‘No,’ said Alex bluntly. ‘Nate asked the same question. There weren’t enough seats, so Sasha said you could fly back tomorrow.’ He turned to Willem before Lucy could say anything. ‘Can you take my stuff back to Amsterdam? I’ll buy whatever I need in London.’
‘Sure, no problem,’ said Willem, his tone weary and resigned.
‘It was great to meet you, Lucy,’ said Alex, already turning his attention back to whoever was on the phone.
Lucy could see that he was in influencer mode now, thinking of all the ways he could milk this for every content opportunity.
A little make-up in the car to hide the shadows under Nate’s eyes, maybe videos of him walking through the airport, a short interview on the plane where he’d humbly say how shocked he was by the welcome party.
Alex would ask him to sing a verse or two, and Nate would say an embarrassed no.
And because it was Nate, it would all feel totally authentic and charming.
‘Ik houd van je,’ said Alex, kissing Willem on the lips and hurrying off, holding out his arms to herd Sasha and Nate out to the car.
Nate was hidden from view, so there was no way of knowing if he had looked back, or hesitated and said he wanted say goodbye to Lucy but was told there was no time. Within moments he was gone.
‘What did Alex say?’ asked Lucy.
‘He said “I love you”,’ said Willem with a hollow laugh.
Lucy tried to remember the last time anyone had ever said that to her, other than Jonno or her parents. Nope, not once, she thought, blinking away tears of exhaustion and grief and loss and a whole bunch of other emotions she didn’t have a name for right now.
‘You really liked Nate, didn’t you?’ said Willem, putting his arm around Lucy’s shoulders.
‘We hardly knew each other,’ said Lucy, tempted to shrug him off but instead leaning into his sturdiness. ‘But then . . . things snowballed. It’s complicated.’
‘Love always is,’ said Willem wearily. ‘Where are you staying?’
‘A hotel down the road,’ said Lucy. ‘I need to get back there and charge my phone.’
‘Same,’ said Willem. ‘And I need a shower and some sleep. You want to meet up later, get some dinner?’
‘Sure,’ said Lucy, already not relishing the idea of being in the Titan hotel on her own. ‘Are you going back to Amsterdam?’
Willem shrugged. ‘I’m booked here until Friday, so I’ll probably stay and do some skiing. There’s nothing to rush home for now, Alex could be in London for a while.’
‘Shit,’ said Lucy. ‘This has really fucked your holiday. And your engagement announcement. I’m so sorry.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Willem with a resigned smile. ‘When you date a man like Alex, you get used to the rollercoaster. I might start planning our wedding for the autumn; it will give me something to focus on. Will you come?’
‘Of course,’ said Lucy, reminded that she’d agreed to go to a wedding with Anthony next weekend, and she really needed to let him and Marco know she wasn’t dead.
‘Go back to your hotel, Lucy,’ said Willem, putting his hand on her arm. ‘You look exhausted.’
‘OK,’ she said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by tiredness and an aching, hollow feeling she hadn’t felt since the months after Leo had died.
She grabbed a pen and piece of paper from reception and scribbled her number on it.
‘When you’ve charged your phone, drop me a message so I have your number, and we can meet up later. ’
‘Sure,’ said Willem, pulling her into a hug. ‘Keep me updated.’
Lucy blew him a kiss and headed back out into the snow, slipping and sliding her way back to the Alpina.
It was almost dark, but the front door was open and the key to her room still worked.
Everything was just as she’d left it, apart from the note from the owner on her bed that read It is fine for you to stay tonight but we have new guests arriving tomorrow. Please vacate by 10 a.m.
She sighed and plugged in her phone and her watch, unable to decide if she needed food or sleep more.
A trip to the bathroom necessitated a glance in the mirror while she washed her hands, and she was forced to acknowledge that she looked like someone had drawn a pair of eyes on a crumpled paper bag.
Maybe she’d have a snack, then a shower and a nap, then meet Willem for dinner later.
She padded down to the breakfast room in her socks, filling a bowl with some kind of muesli, then sat by the window to eat while she watched the gentle flurries of snow.
Nate would be well on his way to Geneva airport by now, Sasha and Alex already working together on a strategy.
Lucy wondered how Nate was feeling, and whether there was a tiny part of him that was still thinking about her, or if that had been left behind on the mountain to melt into nothing.