Part 3 (2/2)
”Honestly?” said Zelda. ”A bit wary. I dont want to get too excited in case he changes his mind but I cant seem to help it. Its what Ive wanted for so long. You all know that. And now its finally within my reach.”
”Did he say why hed had a change of heart?” Mercy asked.
Zelda shook her head. ”No.”
Dawn picked up her drink. ”Maybe what you said to him the night of Zels party did make an impression, Mercy, despite what you thought.”
”Maybe,” she said doubtfully, trying to keep a lid on the hope that was welling up inside her at the thought that perhaps she hadnt failed after all. That perhaps she had actually managed to fix things. ”But it could have been anything. An epiphany. A blow to the head. Anything.”
”Pretty coincidental timing, though, you must admit,” said Dawn.
”I guess,” said Mercy.
”I think it was because of you,” said Zelda. ”Because what I said to him that evening certainly didnt seem to make an impression. But even if it wasnt, thank you anyway for sticking up for me and being so loyal.”
”Youre welcome.”
”There was one thing I was curious about, though...”
For some reason Mercy felt a flicker of apprehension. ”What?”
”Seb said that he came to see me just after I went into rehab to see how I was doing. Apparently I told him he was too late and to f.u.c.k off.” Zelda frowned and bit her lip. ”I dont remember it. I was in a bit of a state at the time. But it sounds plausible.”
”Could he be making it up?” asked Dawn.
Zelda shook her head. ”He knew too much about the center. Details. He was there. The thing is,” she said, looking a bit bemused, ”how did he know where I was? I mean, that information never appeared in the press.”
Ah.
Mercy felt her heart lurch and her cheeks heat and looked down at her drink because the conversation was now heading into dangerous territory and maybe if she didnt draw attention to herself everyone might just skip over it.
”Did you ask him?” asked Faith.
Zelda nodded. ”He was vague. Said hed been told.”
”Who by?”
”He didnt say.”
”Maybe he had his finger on the pulse more than any of us realized,” said Dawn.
”I dont think so. It sounded like a visit on impulse, which is unlike Seb.”
Silence fell then for a few heavy, awkward moments, and Mercy was just considering a timely trip to the bathroom when Zelda suddenly turned her gaze on her.
”Youre the only one who knew where I went, Mercy,” she said, fixing those piercing blue eyes that had looked out of many a billboard on her. ”You found it. You researched it. You helped me get there.”
Mercys mouth went dry and to her appall she could feel the burn in her cheeks spread across her whole face. ”Dawn knew,” she pointed out, just about resisting the urge to press her cold gla.s.s against her forehead. ”I told her.”
”Only quite a while after,” said Dawn.
”Oh, yes,” she muttered. ”Thats right.”
”Why have you gone red?” asked Faith, peering at her way too closely for her liking.
”I havent gone red,” said Mercy, doing a Seb and going for denial because actually maybe there was something to be said for it.
”Yes, you have,” said Faith. ”Youre as red as a beet.”
Mercy blinked as if uncomprehending. ”Beet?” she said slowly. ”What is this 'beet?”
”Nice try, Mercs. Problem is, your vocabulary is better than mine, Miss Piddle Canoodle Shebang.”
”I think youre hiding something,” said the annoyingly perceptive Dawn.
”Youre wrong,” said Mercy firmly, wis.h.i.+ng like h.e.l.l she was a better liar.
”No, she isnt,” said Zelda slowly, her eyes widening with dawning realization. ”You spoke to Seb, didnt you?”
Mercy swallowed, her heart thumping. ”You know I did.”
”No, before the night of my slumber party, I mean.”
Dropping her hand Mercy squirmed on the banquette and opened her mouth to deny it again, but she knew her friends, knew they werent going to let it go, and anyway, maybe it was time she came clean and faced the consequences. ”OK, fine,” she said with a little huff. ”Yes. I did.”
”When?”
”Five years ago. Youd just gone into rehab. I know wed agreed to keep it a secret but I thought he ought to know how bad things had gotten. I wanted to make him see.”
”Why the flaming cheeks then?” asked Faith. ”What is there to be embarra.s.sed about? Seems like a pretty decent thing to do to me.”
”And why have you never mentioned it before now?” added Zelda.
Mercy felt a bead of sweat trickle between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and wished someone would switch on the d.a.m.n air conditioning. ”Well...I...you know...” she said, sounding so pathetically unconvincing she wanted to kick herself. ”I didnt think hed listened to me...I thought Id failed...”
”Theres something else, though, isnt there?” said Dawn.
”No,” said Mercy, widening her eyes in a stab at innocence. ”Why? What else would there be?”
”Im not sure,” said Dawn.
”Must have been a pretty short conversation,” said Zelda. ”The name of the clinic was pretty much all Seb knew. He didnt know about anything else Id been up to. Not in great detail anyway. And he didnt know about you pulling me out of that squat in the Pigalle. He didnt know much actually.”
”No. Well. Youre right,” said Mercy, panic fluttering inside her. ”It was a short conversation. Very short. He was busy, I was busy, you know how it is... And I was in New York on business anyway. Not a lot of effort had to be made.”
”Hmm. Well. I dont know about the rest of you,” said Dawn dryly, ”but Im sensing evasion.”
<script>