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‘Youknowwhat you said. I know, you know.’

Alex’s grey eyes lost their usual spark, dimming. ‘Yeah. I know.’

‘Why would you say that to someone? Why would you make them think—’

‘I was drunk,’ Alex shrugged.

Leigh was surprised to find Alex’s answer quite shocking. ‘That’s it? You said all that to me because you were drunk? Wow.’

Alex leant forward and began playing with a saltshaker, staring at the thing like it was the centre of the universe. ‘What does it matter? It was only one night.’

‘It mattered, Alex,’ Leigh admitted. Because that eighteen-year-old girl was still inside her, and that girl had her heart torn to bits.

Ten Years Ago

Leigh blinked, slowly waking. She felt happy immediately. Sure, she was a little hungover, but that was only her body. In her heart, she felt wonderful.

Alex had seen all of her last night, which included the worst thing she’d ever done. And she hadn’t looked away. Alex had taken her into her arms and loved her. She’d made Leigh feel wanted and accepted. Leigh had never felt that in her life. It was magical.

That magic lasted until she turned over and saw that she was alone in bed. Alex was gone.

***

Leigh sat down in Marketing Metrics and Analysis. Well, slumped might have been a better description. She didn’t hear a word the teacher said the whole lesson. All she could think about was Alex.

Where had she gone? Why? It didn’t make sense that she’d left without a word. Leigh didn’t want to believe that she’d simply been used. It couldn’t be that. There was no way Alex could look her in the eye and lie like that. Something else had to have happened.

The trouble was, they’d never exchanged numbers. There had seemed no hurry to, so Leigh hadn’t asked. But now there was no number, no address, no nothing. Leigh only knew one thing: she was on the same degree, albeit in the third year. She had to be here somewhere. As soon as this lecture ended, Leigh would track her down.

***

‘Hi,’ Leigh said to the receptionist, making sure to smile. She was being super normal right now. Nothing weird about this.

‘Hello,’ the young woman with the nose ring said, never looking up from her phone.

‘Umm, I found a book, a-a-a textbook, umm, for my course.’ Leigh was being careful not to ask anyone specifically about Alex. She didn’t want to seem stalkerish.

Wait,wasthis stalkerish? No. She just needed to talk to the girl who’d asked if she could fall in love with her. Alex couldn’t love her until Leigh found her.

‘A book?’ the girl replied, slightly confused. ‘The library is in a different building.’

‘It’s not a library book. I think it belongs to someone in another year. I was hoping to get it back to them,’ Leigh explained.

This was a weak gambit. Because the receptionist could just ask for the book so she could email the owner to come and pick it up. If she was conscientious.

‘What year?’ the woman asked.

‘It says Y3 MARKETING.’

‘I think they’re in 302 right now,’ she said and turned away, not giving a shit, bless her lazy arse.

Leigh headed to lecture hall 302 and waited outside the door. She could hear a teacher doing his thing inside. Leigh didn’t know how long the lecture had to go, but it didn’t matter. Leigh was blowing off her lessons until Alex came out.

It took twenty-five minutes for the class to let out. Leigh watched everyone leave, frightened, hoping she hadn’t gotten this wrong, that she wasn’t an idiot. That Alex would explain that this was all a misunderstanding.

After a throng of people passed through the door, Alex appeared at last. She didn’t see Leigh.

Leigh swallowed her fear. ‘Alex!’ she called.