Brew Books

Chapter 39

'What was that about?' Ed is holding Harper's coffee.

'I have no idea.' I stare at the front door, where Harper has just departed. 'He must have forgotten something,' I say uneasily, feeling a sinking feeling in my stomach. 'You didn't tell him about the laptop, right?'

Ed shakes his head. 'Why would I? And why would Harper care?' He takes a long sip of the coffee he's just made for Harper, while staring at me.

I realise that Charlotte is watching me too, so I disappear back into the bookshelves to continue sorting through the new arrivals, worried that Charlotte and Ed suspect something.

The rest of my shift takes forever, because I spend the whole time thinking, and worrying, about Harper. Surely it's not my imagination - he saw me, and he bolted. And I have no idea why.

Is it because of Friday night? Is he having second thoughts about us, after we kissed and I slept in his bed? He must have realised, in the light of day, that he didn't really want to be with me, and now he has to avoid me.

I work myself into an unhealthy spiral of more and more ridiculous thoughts, until we close the café for the day. I mop the floors with an unhealthy vigilance, scrubbing at the floorboards until Ed actually has to tell me to stop.

Ed and I walk upstairs together, and when we get into the flat I make tea, because I think a tea will help settle me. Ed drops down onto the sofa and picks up a book, and I bring him a tea and sit beside him. I try to read War and Peace but it doesn't hold my attention, because my brain is still buzzing about Harper. But I can't sit still, and I definitely can't read Russian literature, so I leave the flat, heading across the hall to Kitty and Harper's flat.

Kitty is in the kitchen, chopping vegetables.

'Hey,' I say, collapsing onto her sofa, and picking up one of the fluffy cushions and clutching it in my arms. 'Are you the only one here?'

'Harper's not here,' Kitty replies.

I frown, and Kitty turns to look at me. She's holding a very large knife.

I sigh. 'Today, Harper came into the café, and as soon as he saw me he turned around and bolted. It was like he couldn't even stand the sight of me.'

Kitty blinks. 'But that's not like Harper.'

'Is it?' I say. 'I don't know Harper. I don't know what he's like with girls. In fact, the only thing I know is that he kissed Charlotte but then nothing came out of it. Is that what it's going to be like with me?'

'You really like him, don't you?' Kitty says, understanding dawning on her face.

I feel myself blushing, but don't reply.

Kitty takes her hair out of its messy braid and starts to redo it. I watch her, entranced by her hands, as she weaves pieces of her hair in and out, to create a new, tighter braid.

'What do you think I should do?' I eventually ask. 'He's avoiding me.'

'He's not avoiding you, I'm sure,' Kitty says. 'But... I really don't think you should pursue this. Sylvie dated this guy George for a while - he worked at the bar, he basically moved in. Then when they broke up, shit got messy. The boys used to hang out with him all the time but now we've all kind of fallen out. I don't want that happening again.'

'Is that what happened with Matt, too?' I ask.

Kitty stiffens. 'What happened with Matt was different.'

She ties the end of her braid, stands up, and resumes cutting vegetables. I follow her into the kitchen and put the kettle on, because I don't know what else to say.

• Author's Note •

Thank you for reading! Just a short chapter but things are about to get very dramatic, I hope you're ready!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments! And as always I have a question for you...

If you could travel to any place in a novel, where would you go?

See you next chapter!

elle xx