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She lifted her gaze to me. “I love you, Erin. I practically raised you, but losing our dad when you were so young obviously messed with your head. Look, I know Graham’s not perfect, but he would never touch you. He’s not a creep like that. You’re just putting other issues onto him. Maybe I need to find you a therapist—”

Before she could finish, I was on my feet.

Something in me cracked.

I started pacing without realising I was doing it, shaking my head in disbelief, my hands curling and uncurling at my sides just to keep myself steady.

“You really think this is all what? Delayed grief?” My voice rose despite me trying to hold it down. “I don’t have issues, Sloane. Yes, it hurt when Dad died, but I worked through that. I lived through it. I’m telling you what’s happening right in front of you, and you’d rather rewrite it than listen.”

Sloane stood too, wiping at her face. “Erin, please.”

“No.” I stopped pacing, staring at her now. “You’ve made yourself perfectly clear.”

My chest hurt so much it was hard to breathe through it.

“You’re not thinking straight.”

“I wish you were right,” I said, quieter now, “I wish this was all in my head. But it’s not. And that’s what makes it worse. He’s going to ruin your life, and you’re standing here acting like I’m the problem.”

Silence.

I dug my keys out of my pocket with unsteady hands and placed them on the bench between us. The sound of metal against wood felt too loud.

“I hope he’s worth all of this,” I said, and even I could hear how wrecked my voice was under the anger.

I turned before she could answer. She called after me, but it was a weak attempt, my name quiet on her tongue. I really couldn’t look at her any longer. I loved her more than anything, but it was like trying to make a deluded person see sense.

I was lost in my head as I wandered toward the back of the hotel, just trying to find somewhere quiet where I could sit and cry in private. There were hotel quests and staff everywhere, but I eventually found a back door that was miraculously unlocked. It led to a staff stairwell, and I wandered up, finding it blessedly empty. I paused on a step and sat down, letting my face fall into my hands as the tears finally flowed freely.

I couldn’t believe how that conversation had gone, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Anytime I’d tried to have a frank talk with Sloane about Graham, she’d always brushed off my concerns as overreaction, and this time was no different. Well, no, it was different, because she hadn’t ever inferred that I might be having emotional issues that were clouding my judgement. I was so incensed I wanted to scream again.

I wasn’t sure how long I was there for, but it must’ve been a lesser used section of the hotel because not one single person happened upon me. I noticed it looked older than other parts, the paint on the walls peeling a little and in need of repair. It was getting late, and I had no idea where I was going to sleep. I still had the invite to Tristan’s house party, but I couldn’t go in my current state. Not only were my eyes red from crying, but my head was a mess, and I just didn’t have the confidence after the day I’d had.

A thought struck me that I might be able to find an empty, unused room to squat in since this part of the building was so vacant. Instead of going back down the stairs, I climbed up, eventually finding myself on the very top floor. There was a door marked ‘Storage’, and I tried the handle. It opened, and I stepped into a vast attic space filled with old, disused hotel furniture.

Most of it was covered with plastic to prevent dust. Spotting what looked like a bed, I pulled off the covering and found several king-sized mattresses stacked high, one on top of the other. On the wall close by was a power outlet, and as I dug through the other covered items, I discovered some pillows and blankets. An idea started to form. Could I sleep here for a couple of nights without being discovered? Judging by the dustiness, it didn’t seem like anyone came up here very often.

What was the worst that could happen? A member of staff might find me and report me to security, but I was a fast runner, and surely I could slip away before they caught me. The risk was worth it not to have to sleep rough for the night.

My decision made, I grabbed a pillow and blanket, threw them on top of the mattress pile, slipped off my shoes and climbed up. It was quiet here, just the faint noises echoing from the bustle of the hotel below. I put on my earphones and hit play on my music. All the stress of the last week subsided as I drifted off to sleep.

5.

Tristan

She hadn’t come.

I sat in the den surrounded by my friends from school and couldn’t stop wondering why Erin hadn’t turned up. Had that creep who was dating her sister done something? Was she okay? I chastised myself for not asking for her number so that I could contact her. Hell, I didn’t even know where she lived. Anything could’ve happened, and I had no way of knowing.

“You’re looking a little pale. Is your knee hurting?” Natalie Green asked. She’d been sitting next to me for the last half hour, but I was only half tuned in to what she was saying. Something about the dress she planned to wear to the Debs later this year and its plunging neckline. My head was elsewhere, worrying over Erin.

Leo and Sean were playing a game of pool, and my twin sister, Nuala, was around somewhere, probably hanging out with her own friends downstairs.

We often had parties like this when my parents were away. This weekend, they’d taken an anniversary trip to Paris and, paired with the team’s big win this week, the party was inevitable. My older brother, Derek, was out with some of his college friends, and I really could’ve used his company tonight. Derek always gave insightful advice when it came to matters of the opposite sex.

Never had I been so eager to see a girl turn up at one of these parties, and the disappointment I felt that she hadn’t come was unexpected. I couldn’t stop thinking about Erin, and that hadn’t happened to me with a girl before. I mean, I had Natalie here practically begging me to ask her to the Debs. Clearly, that’s what all the dress talk was about, but I had no interest. I just wanted to see Erin, make sure that her sister’s prick of a boyfriend hadn’t tried to fuck with her again.

The entire time I’d been away this week with the team I’d been thinking about her, wondering if she was okay. That day outside the school I’d been about to tell her she could continue to pretend I was her boyfriend if it kept Graham off her case, but then Coach Hillan had interrupted, and I’d lost my nerve. Maybe it was for the best. It would be a little weird to make that offer to a virtual stranger anyway.