The Three-Month Rule

Chapter 32 - What She Doesn't Know

Allegra walked down the steps and into the office.

"Oh, uh, morning, Allie," Lucy stuttered, clearing her desk quickly to attend to the unexpected company. "I wasn't expecting you. How did it go at the police station?"

"Lucy, we need to talk," Allegra said, folding her arms across her chest as she leant on what was once her desk.

"We do?" Lucy asked nervously.

"The other day, I came here expecting to find you, but you weren't here," Allegra began to explain, looking around the cold room. "Your laptop, however, was."

"Ok..." Lucy said slowly.

"I wanted to ask you if you could resend the first draft of the book to me as the first file was corrupted, but, as I said, you weren't here."

Allegra started to walk slowly around the room, observing the damp wall that had all of the battery-powered electrical equipment against it.

"I thought I'd quickly send it to myself because I knew you wouldn't mind. After all, what friends keep secrets from each other?" she continued with a laugh. "And guess what I found." Allegra stopped, turning to face her friend again.

She pulled her phone out of her coat pocket, unlocking it and placing it in front of Lucy, photos of her emails with Taylor Swift plain for all to see on the screen.

"Allie, I can explain," Lucy breathed, beginning to stand up.

"Oh, I expect you to," Allegra hissed, snatching her phone up again.

"Basically..." Lucy sighed, standing up straight in front of her friend. "Taylor reached out to me because she knew that you're my best friend, and she said she would give me money to give her information. I agreed but only because I knew the money would help your book campaign, and I never thought anything would come of it."

"Oh..." Allegra said slowly. "So, you only pretended to go along with it."

"Yes, exactly!" Lucy smiled, relieved.

"I knew there was a reasonable explanation. That makes perfect sense," Allegra laughed.

"I'm so sorry," Lucy said, beginning to cry.

"It's ok. Thank you for thinking of me," Allegra smiled.

"That's ok. I love you, Allie," Lucy pulled Allegra into a hug, burying her wet face into the fur on Allegra's hood.

"I love you too, Luce," Allegra smiled sadly, stroking her best friend's hair as relief warmed her body.

***

"Thank you for meeting me," he said.

"What do you want, Tom?" she asked bitterly.

He hesitated, looking at his shoes on the cold, wet, dark path.

"I want to say I'm sorry," he told her quietly.

"You're sorry?" she repeated with a scoff, placing a hand on her hip to accentuate her attitude.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"For what?" she asked, crossing her arms in amusement, wanting to hear him say the exact words she predicted.

"Where do I start?" he asked her, shrugging gently and looking around at the dark shadows of the trees in Primrose Hill.

"That's what I would like to know," she grinned, turning and beginning to walk away.

"Taylor, wait," he demanded, making her stop.

She turned to him slowly, her blonde hair catching in the cold December night's breeze.

"I was wrong," he said slowly. "I was wrong to end things with you."