Friend Request(54)

‘Oh my God, don’t do that to me!’ I jump up, clutching my chest.

‘Sorry,’ says Pete. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you. I was hoping you were still here though.’

‘What on earth are you doing skulking around out here?’

‘I couldn’t stay in there. Sophie was being so vile to me, and I don’t know anyone else. I didn’t want to drag you away from your evening, so I thought I’d wait out here for you.’

‘How long have you been out here?’

‘Not sure. An hour?’

‘But why are you waiting for me? What do you expect me to do about it?’

‘Sophie booked us into a B&B, but I can’t go back with her now.’

‘A B&B? On your third date?’

‘I know, I know.’ Pete looks slightly shamefaced. ‘Anyway, I thought maybe you could give me a lift back to London.’

‘A lift? I can’t drive, I’ve had loads to drink. I’m leaving my car here and staying at the Travelodge. Taxi’ll be here soon.’

‘Oh, shit.’ He looks miserable. ‘What the fuck am I going to do? The last train from Norwich back to London goes at ten. I’ve missed it by miles.’

I can’t help smiling. ‘It’s your policy that’s got you into this. Why don’t you come back to the Travelodge? I only booked it today, I’m sure they’ll have rooms. Where’s your car, or did Sophie drive?’

‘No, I did. She doesn’t have a car. It’s here too.’ He gestures up the school drive. ‘We drove over from the B&B, I was going to come and collect it in the morning.’

‘OK, well, we can come over together tomorrow.’

We are silent in the taxi, both wrapped in our own thoughts. I check in first, then Pete enquires about a room.

‘Sorry, we’re full.’ The young girl behind the desk is supremely uninterested in what this means for Pete.

‘What, you’ve got nothing? Not even… I don’t know… a room that’s not made up? Or one you keep back for emergencies?’

‘Emergencies?’ the girl repeats, as if Pete has suggested he engage in some sort of deviant sexual practice with her. ‘Like what?’

‘Oh, I don’t know.’ He looks at me pleadingly. ‘What am I going to do?’

We both know that there’s only one solution that doesn’t involve him calling another taxi to drive him around the cheap hotels in the area, one after another, in the vain hope that one will have a room. He knows that he can’t suggest it though – it’s too presumptuous – so he is tacitly leaving it up to me. I can’t let him spend the night on a park bench. I turn to the girl.

‘Does the bed in my room come apart? I mean, can you make it into two singles?’

‘No.’ She looks from me to him, her interest piqued.

‘I’ll sleep on the floor,’ Pete says hastily. ‘Oh my God, this is kind of you. Thank you so much.’

In the room, we are studiedly polite to each other, taking turns in the bathroom. I thank God I brought decent pyjamas and he declines to take anything off other than his overcoat.

‘Look, you don’t really have to sleep on the floor,’ I say when he emerges from the bathroom. ‘Just stay on your own side, OK?’

‘Of course. That would be great. If you’re sure.’ Pete gets under the covers. If he was any closer to the edge he would be on the ground. I climb into my side and turn off the bedside light.

‘Good night then,’ I say stiffly.

‘Good night. And thanks again.’

I pretend to fall asleep straight away, and soon his breathing evens and slows – either he’s pretending too or he really is asleep. I stare at the hump of his back, barely visible in the darkness. At the time it felt like a basic human kindness to let Pete share my room. He seems totally decent, apart from his questionable taste in women. But here in the darkness I feel vulnerable. Who is this man? Eventually I fall into an uneasy doze, waking every half-hour or so until around four o’clock when, exhausted, I fall into a deeper sleep.

I slowly become aware of the noise of the TV news, and turn over. Light streams into the room between the gap in the curtains. The bed is empty, the door to the bathroom open.

‘Pete?’

No reply. I look around blearily. His shoes and coat are gone.

Before I have time to wonder why the TV is on, the voice of the newsreader pierces my early-morning fug and her words begin to make their way into my brain.

‘The dead body of a woman has been discovered by dog walkers in the woods behind a school in Sharne Bay, Norfolk, this morning. Police have not released the woman’s name, but it is thought she was attending a reunion at the school last night. They are asking anyone with any information to contact them as soon as possible.’

Chapter 21

1989
Back in the hall, I scanned the room. It was getting darker outside now, so the strange twilight had been replaced by a more conventional disco atmosphere. The heat was rising and, as an overweight boy brushed past me on his way from the dance floor, I felt the dampness of his skin against my arm and smelled fresh sweat and cheap aftershave.

Sophie was talking to Matt; she flicked her hair over her shoulder, her eyes never leaving his face. She had to put her lips close to his ear to be heard over the music, and they gradually moved closer and closer together, the heat from him palpable even from where I stood across the hall. I saw Sophie put her hand softly on the side of his neck to draw him even closer to say something into his ear, and as she did so, Matt bent to kiss her. She pulled away giggling and gave him a playful push. I watched as she danced away from him towards Claire and Joanne, laughing coyly at him over her shoulder. When I looked back at Matt’s face, he wasn’t laughing at all.