‘Carter, I—’
‘I didn’t come here to hear your explanations,’ he said, cutting her off. Then he stopped. ‘Or maybe I did … I don’t know.’
For a second she saw a raw pain in his face that matched her own. Unable to bear it, she looked down at her hands and noticed they trembled slightly. She shoved them down on to her thighs.
‘I just saw you walk in here and I had to come and talk to you.’
She was still staring at her hands and he raised his voice just a little.
‘Look at me, Allie.’
Reluctantly, she raised her eyes to his. The pain she’d seen was gone, replaced by icy blankness.
‘I heard what happened at the bonfire last night.’
She felt ill. ‘I … But nothing …’
‘I’m not talking about you making out with Nicole and having some sort of scene with Sylvain, although we can discuss that if you want,’ he said coldly. ‘I was talking about what Katie said about Lucinda. I wanted you to know that I never told anybody about Lucinda, and I never would.’
She looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise. ‘I never thought you did.’
The strength of her reaction seemed to catch him off guard, and for a second his eyes flickered. But all he said was, ‘Good.’ Then he moved as if he were about to stand up. ‘Well, I guess that’s it.’
‘Carter, wait.’ Without thinking she leaned forward across the table, reaching out as if to hold him back. He recoiled from her touch and, cheeks flaming, she withdrew her hand. ‘Can we just talk for a second?’
‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea,’ he said but he stayed in his seat.
‘I know I haven’t been completely fair to you and I’m so, so sorry. But you haven’t always had faith in me either. We’re such good friends, but …’ She held his gaze. ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I think we weren’t the best couple. You don’t trust me to make good decisions. And I don’t trust you enough to tell you things. And I know that’s caused our problems.’
‘Not just that,’ Carter snapped. ‘There’s also Sylvain.’
A hole seemed to open in her chest. ‘Yes.’ Her voice dull, she leaned back in her chair. ‘There’s also Sylvain.’
‘The thing you never realised is that how you feel about him is written all over your face. You go … still, when he walks in the room. Your whole face changes.’ He laughed bitterly.
‘Carter,’ Allie said, ‘Sylvain saved my life. If I … care about him, it’s because of that. Not because I fancy him or whatever it is you think.’
‘You know what’s sad?’ Carter looked tormented, ‘It’s just so bleeding obvious to everyone except you that you like him.’
He stood suddenly, and walked to the door, then stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He spoke his last words with his back to her. ‘You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t enjoy watching this little love story play itself out.’
When he was gone, Allie dropped her head into her hands. All she wanted to do was cry. But the tears wouldn’t come.
By the time Allie ran into Katie that afternoon, she was poised for a fight. When she saw that familiar red mane ahead of her in a quiet hallway she ran to catch up, grabbing her by the sleeve.
‘How did you find out?’ Allie asked before Katie had even turned to face her.
‘Like I’m going to tell you.’ Jerking her arm free, Katie took a step away from her.
Her lips were painted a warm shade of apricot that perfectly suited her colouring. Allie hated that Katie’s beauty made her feel insecure even now.
‘The fact is, you lied to people,’ Katie continued, ‘and now people know you lied and you have to deal with the consequences of your own action. I don’t see how that’s my fault.’
Anger made Allie shake. ‘How is not telling people something private about my family a lie? What business is it of yours or anybody else’s?’
At first other students swirled past them as they argued but then a few, clearly sensing a fight was brewing, stopped to watch. Soon a crowd grew.
Katie looked bored. ‘You were asked more than once whether or not you were legacy and you said no. Darling, it doesn’t get any more legacy than Lucinda Meldrum and I find it hard to believe you didn’t know that. So the real question is: why did you lie?’
When Allie hesitated, she smiled, sensing victory. ‘You can tell us, Allie.’ She gestured at the watching crowd. ‘We won’t tell a soul. Why did you keep your family connections a secret?’
‘Because it’s none of your bloody business,’ Allie snapped, her cheeks burning.
Katie rolled her eyes. ‘That’s hardly an answer. And it’s everybody’s business now.’
‘Thanks to you.’
‘Yes.’ Katie smiled. ‘You’re welcome.’
Looking in her eyes, Allie knew this argument was pointless. She would never reveal her source – she was enjoying this too much.
Defeated, she turned to walk away, but Katie’s parting words sliced through the air after her. ‘Why don’t you run and cry to Sylvain? Oh wait.’ She covered her mouth. ‘Should I have said Carter? No. I’m sorry, which one of them is it this week?’
When Allie whirled back towards her, fists clenched, Katie’s green eyes widened. ‘Oh no! Are you going to punch me?’ Her laugh was patronising. ‘Grow up, Allie. You’re pathetic.’